A new documentary is lifting the lid on the decades-long battle to clean up London’s toxic air and the families whose health has been caught in the crossfire.
Released by Imperial College London’s Grantham Institute, Inside Story: The Fight to Clean Up London’s Air follows community campaigners and scientists who have spent years pushing for change.
Among them is Jamila Bolton-Gordon from Ladbroke Grove, who watched her mother’s and daughter’s health crumble while living under a busy motorway. Her daughter was hospitalised – a crisis Jamila later realised was linked to relentless traffic pollution. ‘Had I known it was the motorway, I would have pulled her out,’ she says.
The film highlights the work of Imperial’s Environmental Research Group. On Marylebone Road – one of the capital’s most polluted streets – Professor Frank Kelly holds up a monitor showing pollution levels four times above health guidelines.
The health toll is staggering. Poor air quality is linked to asthma, strokes, cancer, dementia, and even miscarriages. Dr Abigail Whitehouse, a children’s lung doctor, warns that youngsters growing up in polluted areas ‘never reach the full potential of their lung function’, shortening life expectancy.
As part of London Climate Action Week, the Grantham Institute and Clean Air Fund are hosting an event at the Clean Air Hub on 24 June, which will include a screening of the film and a discussion of the themes it raises.
The film is also being screened at several events during a new London-wide festival called What’s the Matter which is taking place throughout June.
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