Stories of Luton Road: residents’ experiences of traffic, air quality and health
During 2023-24, researchers from the University of Kent worked with Arches Local, Ideas Test and Electric Medway to investigate the impacts of traffic and air pollution along the road for the local community, and explore ways to represent the experiences and concerns of residents to a wider audience.
Luton Road in Medway, a heavily traffic dominated road, features in the top 10% of most deprived areas in the multiple deprivation index, and is also subject to Air Quality Monitoring, with Chatham roadside monitoring indicating an annual measure of PM2.5 particulates at nearly 3x the WHO recommended guidelines. High level of respiratory infection and disease have been recorded in the area; other recent research indicates that there is a wide range of further negative health impacts from air pollution both in the short and over the longer term, with children and older people particularly at risk.
The project involved collecting residents’ ‘stories’ of Luton Road, in particular to highlight experiences of residents and pedestrians in a car-dominated environment. They were gathered through ‘go along’ interviews in place, talking to residents about health, and feelings of safety and risk on the road. We then worked with Electric Medway, commissioned by Ideas Test, to create a 360 degree visualisation about Luton Road, which can be explored via clicking on the image below – you can hear the voices of residents as you navigate the visualisation:
Image credit: Electric Medway
The research found many features that make Luton Road a ‘hostile environment’ for pedestrians, including poor air quality and volumes of traffic, rubbish and fly tipping, and some people not feeling safe, particularly at night. There was nonetheless a lot of care for the area and for the community among residents, and a desire to see further improvements, especially in relation to tree planting and green spaces.
Do contact Ellie e.f.jupp@kent.ac.uk if you would like to comment on this research
Credits
Researchers: Eleanor Jupp, Becky Alexis-Martin, Elise Wynkoop, Sarah Hotham, Simon Bailey, Tim Hopthrow
Other partners: Tracy Brunt (Ideas Test), Kent Grist (Electric Medway), Stephen Perez and Jackson Fraser-Hague (Arches Local)
Funding: Research England’s Participatory Research Fund