Mapping for Change now have £1,000 funding available to enable up to four communities to undertake Air Quality Mapping projects. Proposals are invited from communities across London. The funds will cover the cost of purchasing diffusion tubes to measure nitrogen dioxide (NO2), laboratory analysis, and map creation.
Community Air Quality Monitoring
Many people are rightly worried about London’s air. But air pollution can be hard to measure, and most air quality monitoring carried out by local councils relies on measurements from a few fixed measuring points. These often fail to reflect the ways in which air quality varies across small distances. There are many factors that affect our air, which makes the need for better measurement even more important.
The data you gather will help create a clearer picture of air quality at the very local level. This will inform us all and help encourage the Mayor and local councils to take effective measures to improve our environment.
How does this work?
Mapping for Change is a social enterprise based at University College London. We can help communities to collect information to build a better picture of local air quality. You mobilise the community, collect the information – we do the technical analysis and map the results. The aim is that each community uses the new data to inform, raise awareness and affect some form of change in their community.
You will use diffusion tubes which should be distributed across different sites in a community; on lampposts, street signs, a fence or other appropriate sites to collect samples. They should be left in the location for a month, or more, and then sent to the laboratory for analysis. The results from the analysis can be added to an online interactive ‘Air Quality Community Map’ to be shared with others and we can create paper maps on your behalf.
What do you need to commit to?
Collection of air quality samples should take place between June and July 2014. Teams of volunteers should be made up around six volunteers (or more) to collect samples and one person to act as the Local Co-ordinator.
To assess NO2 levels all that are required of volunteers is:
1. 1 hour in week one to position the diffusion tube in a suitable location
2. 1 hour in the fourth week to collect the diffusion tube
3. ½ an hour at the beginning and the end to collect the equipment and drop it off to your Local Co-ordinator. You don’t need to be any kind of expert. We’ll give you everything you need and will analyse the information for you. When that’s been done we will give you maps of the data which can be discussed at an open community meeting and be used for dissemination, raising awareness and local advocacy.
Want to know more?
Take a look at other air quality projects on the Mapping for Change Website where you can find out more about how other community volunteers have collected data and how they have used the information to bring about change.
To Submit a Proposal:
Tell us about:
• Your neighbourhood: the location and about the area
• Your group or organisation (for example are you a tenants or residents association or a local interest group?)
• Who will lead the project
• Problems and concerns with air quality in your neighbourhood.
• What you would like to change and how you would like to use the information.
Deadline for submission is 30th April, 2014
e-mail your proposal to: info@mappingforchange.org.uk
OR by post to:
Community Air Quality Mapping Project
Mapping for Change
The Chorley Institute
The Pearson Building
University College London
Gower Street
WCIA 6BT
