JOURNAL OF THE LONDON SOCIETY 2021
Londoners must be empowered to determine the city’s impact on their health says PLP Architecture’s Hala El Akl
Evidence is growing fast of a link between the quality of Londoners’ living and working environments and their levels of health vulnerability. Covid-19 is revealing the link increasingly, as those living in cramped housing suffer worst from the pandemic. Meanwhile, it has been established that air pollution contributed to the death of a nine year old girl living in Lewisham. In December a Coroner’s Court found that air pollution ‘made a material contribution’ to the tragic death of Ella Adoo-Kissi-Debrah, who had asthma and lived near a busy road.
questions such as, is my home fit for purpose, is it more vulnerable, is my workplace safe and is public transport safe? Questions of good density versus bad density have also found their way back into the public discussion. This is compounded by a growing body of research showing some areas have clearly been more vulnerable than others, and there are direct correlations between built form and health, between built form and air quality, and between built form and wellbeing. Taking pollution as an example, while the existence of a degree of physical impact might surprise few, the extent is shocking. A 2018 report led by King’s College London estimated that between 28,000 and 36,000 people will die in the UK as a result of toxic air pollution every year. Mental health impacts of poor quality environments have also been identified. Neuroscience researchers Centric Lab have found that stress responses are triggered by high levels of air and noise pollution. If the stress response is engaged continuously, the body begins to experience chronic stress and is unable to regulate itself. This increases the chances of illnesses such as depression, anxiety, obesity and diabetes.
Londoners deserve to understand how the built environment affects their health – and be empowered to effect urgentlyneeded change. The first step in making London a healthier place to live is to raise awareness of the causal link between its built environment and its citizens’ physical and mental wellbeing. There is compelling historic evidence for a start. Consider the global cholera pandemic of 1846–1860. In Soho, an investigation by physician Dr John Snow identified that the lack of sanitary services was allowing the disease to spread. This led to improved internal plumbing and wider streets in London. Today, partly because of Covid, London’s citizens, from front line workers and office occupiers to renters and homeowners, are becoming increasingly aware of the quality of their immediate environment and its direct impact on their livelihoods. Lockdowns have made each of us ask
To tackle these challenges we’ll need a multi-pronged approach, with urban designers and architects working alongside policy-makers, scientists and public health experts. But crucially, our best chance of far-reaching change is a movement that 36
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