Air quality
The challenge
The Mayor of London and Lambeth Council are looking for innovators to develop a solution that utilises data to help reduce vulnerable residents' exposure to air pollution
London Borough of Lambeth
Lambeth residents and workers and visitors to London Borough of Lambeth
- PM2.5 is a dangerous air pollutant.
- In 2016, Lambeth emitted 96.8 tonnes of PM2.5. Modelling shows that PM2.5 safe levels are being exceeded.
- The Mayor of London has committed to reaching WHO levels by 2030.
- Research has shown that strong interventions are needed to achieve this target.
- Vulnerable groups – unborn babies, children, the elderly, those with existing health conditions, and people in poorer working and living conditions – are most likely to suffer from its effects.
- A reduction in PM2.5 pollution is linked to positive health outcomes for vulnerable groups.
- There is currently no solution that combines data on PM2.5, location of vulnerable groups within the borough (schools, nurseries, care homes, hospitals), and models how specific interventions (e.g. traffic strategies, wood burning control measures, restrictions on cooking fuels) reduce exposure to PM2.5, and hence improve health outcomes, of those vulnerable groups.
- The tool can be of use to Lambeth Council and other London boroughs as well as local decision-makers and community-driven campaigns for improved air quality.
The Solution
Create a data service that models and visualises air quality data and health impacts from air pollution control measures to improve the health outcomes of vulnerable residents.
- Mapping exposure to PM2.5 for over 200 “sensitive receptor” locations in Lambeth, and mapping air quality/health impacts of five different types of measures in those locations to create:
- A visualisation (e.g. in map form) of air quality data and health impacts of specific air pollution control measures that a resident who is not an expert in air quality can understand
- A 50% reduction in the time taken by the council to identify sites for air quality interventions in Lambeth and quantify potential impacts
- Open data feeds
- Ability to quantify the potential air quality and health impacts of specific interventions
- Lambeth Council is strategic in its pollution mitigation interventions
- Lambeth residents are aware of PM2.5 levels and the impact of specific interventions
- In the longer term, improvement to Lambeth residents’ health and local air quality levels
Winners and finalists
Each team will receive £10,000 and the opportunity to work closely over five weeks with the Resilience Partner behind their challenge – which include councils, government agencies, BIDs and charities – to develop their solution. They’ll also receive specialised support in service design, pitch coaching, data usage, navigating government procurement processes and more. At the end of the first phase, the judges will review each team’s progress and choose one winner in each challenge, to be awarded £40,000 each and the chance to implement their solution.
Air pollution outdoors is a major risk to public health, with PM2.5 being one of the most dangerous pollutants. Research shows a correlation between the morbidity of COVID-19 & air pollution exposure which damages the heart & lungs. Just 1 microgram increase in PM2.5 is linked with a 15% increase in death rate.
BlockDox’s solution is HEAL – a disruptive and innovative gamechanger providing an intelligent solution for Lambeth and other London Boroughs to model and assess health impacts from air quality interventions. HEAL provides modelling capability by ingesting outdoor air quality data, geopositioning data of vulnerable groups within Lambeth, and will visualise that data in a dashboard interface. Through HEAL, BlockDox aims to create a digital tool built on an existing indoor air quality, occupancy and energy analytics solution currently being used inside buildings in the UK and internationally.
BlockDox is an award winning data science focused proptech SME whose patented technology uses the very latest innovations in the Internet of Things, as well as artificial intelligence to help make spaces smarter.
“BlockDox is thrilled to have been selected as a Finalist in the Mayor of London’s Resilience Fund Air Quality Challenge. Air pollution is a major risk to public health, with PM2.5 being one of the most dangerous pollutants. Indeed, recent research suggests just 1 microgram increase in PM2.5 is linked with a 15% increase in death rate from COVID-19.”
Most people understand that there is a link between air quality and public health, but very few can tell qualitatively or quantitatively how air pollution impacts on the health of the local residents as well as people in vulnerable groups.
Environmental officers in local councils working on pollution mitigation interventions are finding it very difficult to establish a robust air quality assessment methodology because the current tools available are not able to quantify potential impacts and cannot bring the efficiency needed within the short time frames for delivery.
We combine Artificial Intelligence, GIS, and dispersion model computing to come up with our solution. Let’s have WISDOM – Web Immersive Smart Data Organizer and Modeller:
Web – Online application multiple users can use with web browsers and mobile phones
Immersive – 3D Virtual Reality, data visualization, graphics animation and GIS
Smart – Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, Decision Making and Collaboration
Data – Database for 0D/1D/2D geo-spatial data, grid XYZ data and unstructured data
Organizer – Multi-pass data layer generation, manipulation, importing and exporting
Modeller – Machine Learning model training/prediction, dispersion model computing
Emu Analytics is taking on the challenge of bringing together and visualising data on air quality, public health, transport data, and the impact of air pollution control measures in Lambeth Council – providing an innovative mapping software solution to underpin strategic intervention by the council to improve air quality and the health outcomes for their residents.
Emu’s software is designed to be accessible and easy-to-use for all users, requiring no technical experience to explore the data – allowing several teams to come together to investigate the data insights and collaborate on the next steps. Additionally, because of the solution’s easy sharing functions and privacy settings, Lambeth Council can choose to share insights with the wider public; bringing awareness to the danger of PM2.5 and empowering Lambeth residents with information on air quality levels in their area and the impacts brought by council interventions.
“We are thrilled to have been selected for the Mayor’s Resilience Fund and to be focusing on the Air Quality Challenge. As a small, London-based team who live, work and travel within London, we are very aware of the risks and impacts of poor air quality, and are keen to showcase how our technology might help residents and council officials to better inform and protect vulnerable citizens through the use of more accessible and visual data insights.” Richard Vilton, CEO and Co-Founder of Emu Analytics
About the partner
London Borough of Lambeth is an inner London borough with a population of 326,000.
- Provide access to relevant data (i.e. air quality, public health, transport data)
- Facilitate meetings with Lambeth Public Health, Air Quality and relevant teams (e.g. Transport)
- Provide all necessary details of the interventions to improve local air quality and health
Need a document on this page in an accessible format?
If you use assistive technology (such as a screen reader) and need a version of a PDF or other document on this page in a more accessible format, please get in touch via our online form and tell us which format you need.
It will also help us if you tell us which assistive technology you use. We’ll consider your request and get back to you in 5 working days.