Bradford Institute for Health Research, Bradford Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust, Bradford, BD9 6RJ, UK.
Department of Health Sciences and the Hull York Medical School, University of York, Heslington, York, YO10 5DD, UK.
BMC Public Health. 2021 Jul 3;21(1):1305. doi: 10.1186/s12889-021-11337-z.
Poor air quality is the one of the biggest causes of early death and illness across the lifespan. In the UK, 28 local authorities with illegal pollution levels have been mandated by the Government to develop plans to rapidly reduce pollution to legal limits. These plans include consideration of implementing one of four of charging 'Clean Air Zone' (CAZ) classes in areas of high pollution which would charge older polluting vehicles a daily charge to enter. While this offers a potential to improve air quality, the extent to which CAZ might impact (for example, economically) on socio-economically deprived groups and local businesses is unclear.
To explore the acceptability and perceived unintended consequences of a CAZ and other initiatives to improve air quality with seldom-heard communities living in deprived, multi-ethnic areas within the city of Bradford, UK.
Ten semi-structured focus groups were conducted with people who live in areas of high pollution and deprivation. A total of 87 people participated from a diverse range of ethnic backgrounds with the majority of Pakistani origin. Recorded data were transcribed, coded and analysed using thematic analysis.
As poor air quality was not always visible it was seen as a hidden issue by many, and not prioritised over other more visible environmental issues (e.g. fly-tipping, littering). There was resistance to proposals which included charging private vehicles. Many felt that low-income families did not have the resources to purchase compliant vehicles or pay daily charges, placing a disproportionate burden on them. It was also felt that low-income taxi drivers would be disproportionately affected financially by proposals. Public transport infrastructure was felt to be inadequate. Other traffic management or emission reduction activities were also explored. Views towards these initiatives were more positive if they did not directly affect individuals financially.
Air quality initiatives such as CAZs were felt to be likely to financially disadvantage communities already living in socio-economic and environmental poverty. Policy makers need to carefully consider appropriate mitigation strategies to ensure that health and economic inequalities are not increased by implementation of CAZ. Given air quality is low priority for some groups, careful engagement and communication will be required to increase acceptance interventions such as CAZs.
空气质量差是导致全生命周期早逝和患病的最大原因之一。在英国，28 个地方当局的污染水平超标，政府已强制要求这些地方当局制定计划，以迅速将污染降至法定限度。这些计划包括考虑在污染严重的地区实施四类收费“清洁空气区”（CAZ）中的一类，对污染程度较高的老旧车辆收取每日进入费用。虽然这有可能改善空气质量，但 CAZ 可能会对（例如，经济上）社会经济贫困群体和当地企业产生何种影响尚不清楚。
探索在英国布拉德福德市贫困多族裔地区居住的、很少被听到的社区对 CAZ 和其他改善空气质量的措施的可接受性和潜在意外后果。
对生活在高污染和贫困地区的人进行了十次半结构化焦点小组讨论。共有 87 人参加，他们来自不同种族背景，其中大多数人是巴基斯坦裔。记录的数据经过转录、编码和主题分析进行分析。
由于空气质量差并不总是可见的，因此许多人认为这是一个隐藏的问题，而且没有优先于其他更明显的环境问题（例如，乱扔垃圾、乱扔垃圾）。有人反对包括对私人车辆收费的提议。许多人认为，低收入家庭没有资源购买符合规定的车辆或支付每日费用，这给他们带来了不成比例的负担。人们还认为，低收入出租车司机的经济将受到提案的不成比例影响。公共交通基础设施被认为不足。还探讨了其他交通管理或减排活动。如果这些举措不会直接对个人的经济造成影响，那么人们对这些举措的看法就更为积极。
CAZ 等空气质量倡议被认为可能会使已经生活在社会经济和环境贫困中的社区在经济上处于不利地位。政策制定者需要仔细考虑适当的缓解策略，以确保 CAZ 的实施不会加剧健康和经济不平等。鉴于一些群体对空气质量的重视程度较低，需要进行仔细的参与和沟通，以提高对 CAZ 等干预措施的接受度。
