0:00:27 > 0:00:30We know that the air is toxic,
0:00:30 > 0:00:32so we have to try and do something.
0:00:32 > 0:00:36I'm now looking at you as a man who is basically pumping poison gas
0:00:36 > 0:00:37into these people's homes.
0:00:41 > 0:00:44Research shows that your fear is unwarranted.
0:00:44 > 0:00:47You cannot just go bang into something.
0:00:47 > 0:00:50Don't talk on behalf of me when you're talking about businesses.
0:00:50 > 0:00:52Have you done stuff like this before?
0:00:52 > 0:00:55Not in this way, not in such a dynamic experiment in a city.
0:00:59 > 0:01:01We've got some data coming in,
0:01:01 > 0:01:03but it's hard to say exactly what's happened yet.
0:01:03 > 0:01:05THEY COUGH AND SPLUTTER
0:01:15 > 0:01:16Do you think it's going to work?
0:01:16 > 0:01:17Are you optimistic?
0:01:34 > 0:01:36# Well, he feels like an elephant
0:01:36 > 0:01:40# Shaking his big grey trunk for the hell of it... #
0:01:40 > 0:01:42Air pollution.
0:01:42 > 0:01:45It's everywhere, it affects all of us
0:01:45 > 0:01:49and you have to go to extreme lengths if you want to avoid it.
0:01:49 > 0:01:54Right now, I'm totally protected from all the fumes from these cars
0:01:54 > 0:01:58because this mask contains filters that are
0:01:58 > 0:02:00designed for chemical warfare.
0:02:00 > 0:02:03This is military-grade technology.
0:02:03 > 0:02:06So at the moment, I'm breathing the cleanest air possible.
0:02:08 > 0:02:13This air contains high levels of harmful pollution from industry
0:02:13 > 0:02:16and construction, but here, mostly from vehicles.
0:02:22 > 0:02:25To test just how dangerous the air we breathe is,
0:02:25 > 0:02:29I'm first having to detox - free my body of pollution.
0:02:31 > 0:02:34For the past 12 years, Dr Mark Miller has been
0:02:34 > 0:02:37investigating exactly how traffic pollution affects us.
0:02:38 > 0:02:41I'm his latest lab rat.
0:02:41 > 0:02:43You should be breathing nice, clean air at the moment.
0:02:43 > 0:02:46So we'll do all these tests, and then, after that,
0:02:46 > 0:02:49we'll take the suit off, we'll repeat all the tests again
0:02:49 > 0:02:52and, hopefully, we might see that air pollution actually affects
0:02:52 > 0:02:54some of the things we've been looking at.
0:02:56 > 0:02:59Mark will analyse my blood,
0:02:59 > 0:03:02record my heart rate and even test how well my brain is working.
0:03:04 > 0:03:07Having done the tests pollution-free,
0:03:07 > 0:03:08it's time to expose myself...
0:03:11 > 0:03:14..and get a lungful of unfiltered city air.
0:03:18 > 0:03:20HE COUGHS
0:03:21 > 0:03:24After three hours, I rerun the same set of tests.
0:03:33 > 0:03:35So, can you talk me through the results?
0:03:35 > 0:03:38So, what we did see was consistently higher blood pressure
0:03:38 > 0:03:41once you've had your period of air pollution exposure.
0:03:41 > 0:03:44Your blood was a little bit more likely to clot,
0:03:44 > 0:03:46so it was, like, a little bit thicker.
0:03:46 > 0:03:48You have a slightly higher blood pressure,
0:03:48 > 0:03:50your arteries are a little bit more constricted,
0:03:50 > 0:03:52a little bit more tense.
0:03:52 > 0:03:54That's the sort of thing you would see, perhaps, if you were ageing,
0:03:54 > 0:03:56when you get a little bit older.
0:03:56 > 0:03:58If you were someone with heart disease,
0:03:58 > 0:04:00that does actually increase your risk of having a heart attack.
0:04:00 > 0:04:02I guess that, to me, is very shocking.
0:04:02 > 0:04:06They're very small changes, but my arteries have got a bit stiffer,
0:04:06 > 0:04:09my blood pressure has gone up and my blood has got stickier.
0:04:09 > 0:04:11I would be very worried about those changes.
0:04:11 > 0:04:14And what about the cognition test?
0:04:14 > 0:04:18Is my thinking worse after the pollution than it was before?
0:04:18 > 0:04:20There were signs that thinking was slower,
0:04:20 > 0:04:22a little bit more dampened down.
0:04:22 > 0:04:24Maybe not quite so sharp as you would have been
0:04:24 > 0:04:26before you'd had the air pollution exposure.
0:04:28 > 0:04:32Although this was a one-off, my results demonstrate the problem.
0:04:32 > 0:04:36Given that the whole urban population is exposed long-term,
0:04:36 > 0:04:39the consequences are terrifying.
0:04:39 > 0:04:40In the UK alone,
0:04:40 > 0:04:45air pollution kills 40,000 people prematurely every year.
0:04:45 > 0:04:47It affects our brains, our blood,
0:04:47 > 0:04:50our arteries and, of course, our lungs.
0:04:50 > 0:04:55Scientists and MPs agree it is a public health emergency.
0:04:55 > 0:04:57What we do about it is causing debate.
0:05:01 > 0:05:05I'm on my way to a suburb of Birmingham called Kings Heath.
0:05:05 > 0:05:07Like lots of built-up areas in the UK,
0:05:07 > 0:05:10the air quality around here is pretty atrocious.
0:05:10 > 0:05:13Lots of people have been trying to improve our air quality -
0:05:13 > 0:05:17governments, local councils, even businesses -
0:05:17 > 0:05:19but so far, it's a problem that isn't going away.
0:05:19 > 0:05:22So I want to see if one community can make a difference.
0:05:22 > 0:05:26I want to see if people power can give us the clean air we need.
0:05:29 > 0:05:32We're here because Kings Heath is a small suburb
0:05:32 > 0:05:34with a big traffic problem.
0:05:34 > 0:05:37Despite a series of motorways and ring roads,
0:05:37 > 0:05:40many drivers use Kings Heath High Street
0:05:40 > 0:05:43as a rat run into the city centre.
0:05:43 > 0:05:45Sat-navs have only made that worse.
0:05:48 > 0:05:50We've tested the air here and, like many high streets,
0:05:50 > 0:05:53it's on the cusp of the legal limit.
0:05:54 > 0:05:59Right now, I am breathing in a cocktail of nasty substances.
0:05:59 > 0:06:01There's loads of bad things in the air here.
0:06:01 > 0:06:04But two of the big ones are the nitrogen oxides,
0:06:04 > 0:06:08those are called NOx, and particulate matter, or PMs.
0:06:08 > 0:06:11Those are coming out of the exhaust of the cars, the buses,
0:06:11 > 0:06:14the lorries, and they're all bad for you.
0:06:14 > 0:06:17You can't see them, you can smell them,
0:06:17 > 0:06:20but every breath I'm taking is doing me harm.
0:06:21 > 0:06:23This is the perfect place to try and make a change.
0:06:25 > 0:06:27We're taking a gamble.
0:06:27 > 0:06:30We've booked the local church hall to have a meeting about air quality.
0:06:30 > 0:06:32But do people here care?
0:06:33 > 0:06:36We're making a film about air pollution in the region,
0:06:36 > 0:06:39we're trying to get people to come to a meeting at six o'clock.
0:06:39 > 0:06:40- Do you live locally?- No, we don't.
0:06:40 > 0:06:43You don't care? All right. Can you come at six o'clock?
0:06:43 > 0:06:45- No, we can't. - You can't make it at six?
0:06:45 > 0:06:48- No, we have other meetings. - We have meetings.
0:06:48 > 0:06:51We're having a meeting about air pollution on the high street.
0:06:51 > 0:06:53- Oh, no, thank you, I'm fine. - No?- I've got my inhaler out.
0:06:53 > 0:06:56You've got your inhaler! Can I give you a flyer, at least?
0:06:56 > 0:06:58Will you look at the flyer? You are really wheezing.
0:06:58 > 0:07:01- Oh, it's not due to pollution. - Are you sure?- Yeah, yeah.
0:07:02 > 0:07:05So, some interest in my flyers,
0:07:05 > 0:07:08but the weather has taken a turn for the worse and I am slightly nervous
0:07:08 > 0:07:09no-one's going to show up.
0:07:15 > 0:07:18But, by six o'clock, the room is filling up and it looks as if
0:07:18 > 0:07:20it might be a full house.
0:07:25 > 0:07:28APPLAUSE
0:07:35 > 0:07:36Hi, everybody.
0:07:36 > 0:07:39Thank you very, very much for coming.
0:07:39 > 0:07:42Air pollution is increasingly in the news at the moment and
0:07:42 > 0:07:45I think it's easy to think that air pollution is either something
0:07:45 > 0:07:48that affects people in Shanghai or people who live next to
0:07:48 > 0:07:51a factory or a power station and not that it affects us.
0:07:51 > 0:07:53But actually, it is a local problem here
0:07:53 > 0:07:55and in most urban centres.
0:07:55 > 0:07:58Children's lungs get stunted.
0:07:58 > 0:08:02These chemicals will thicken your blood, inflame your arteries,
0:08:02 > 0:08:05make your heart more likely to beat irregularly,
0:08:05 > 0:08:08make you more likely to have a stroke or a heart attack,
0:08:08 > 0:08:10make you more likely to develop asthma or,
0:08:10 > 0:08:12if you already have asthma, have an asthma attack,
0:08:12 > 0:08:13and they will shorten your life.
0:08:13 > 0:08:16I'm sorry, I know we've got young people in the audience,
0:08:16 > 0:08:19but this is the world you're living in. And the good news is,
0:08:19 > 0:08:20there's lots of things we can do about it.
0:08:20 > 0:08:24Yeah, I think we've become more aware of it in recent years
0:08:24 > 0:08:28when we found out that Kings Heath High Street was the third or fourth
0:08:28 > 0:08:31worst street for air pollution in the city.
0:08:31 > 0:08:33That was a big shock.
0:08:33 > 0:08:35I don't find that Kings Heath High Street is a place
0:08:35 > 0:08:37that I want to be.
0:08:37 > 0:08:39I avoid driving down it, walking down it.
0:08:39 > 0:08:42I don't find it a nice place to be.
0:08:42 > 0:08:45I think one of the problems is we don't know the scope of the problem.
0:08:45 > 0:08:49We know general statistics, we know so many millions of people die,
0:08:49 > 0:08:52what we don't know is exactly what's happening on the high street.
0:08:52 > 0:08:56We can't allow more cars to block up our roads.
0:08:56 > 0:08:57Communities don't work that well
0:08:57 > 0:09:00when you've got streets that have busy traffic.
0:09:00 > 0:09:02You had your hand up while that was being said.
0:09:02 > 0:09:04We are what we are in Kings Heath.
0:09:04 > 0:09:06It's a great place to live.
0:09:06 > 0:09:11And if you start messing about with Kings Heath, businesses will close.
0:09:11 > 0:09:15I'm 75, I've worked on the high street all my life,
0:09:15 > 0:09:17fit as a fiddle. But...
0:09:18 > 0:09:22..think carefully what they do in Kings Heath.
0:09:22 > 0:09:25As far as I understand what you're saying, if you restrict cars,
0:09:25 > 0:09:27businesses will lose customers, businesses will close,
0:09:27 > 0:09:29and you can destroy a neighbourhood.
0:09:29 > 0:09:31You can destroy a neighbourhood, yes.
0:09:31 > 0:09:35As a business owner, I'm excited by the opportunity that
0:09:35 > 0:09:38changes that can impact air quality and the quality of life
0:09:38 > 0:09:41of my customers in this area, really excites me.
0:09:41 > 0:09:45And I'm not scared of that change, scared of trying other things.
0:09:45 > 0:09:49What I'd really like to do is build towards an experiment where,
0:09:49 > 0:09:51on one big day,
0:09:51 > 0:09:55we can try to make a really noticeable difference
0:09:55 > 0:09:57in the air quality on the high street.
0:09:57 > 0:10:00If we can do that, then we can show Birmingham,
0:10:00 > 0:10:04we can show the whole of the UK and maybe even the whole of the world,
0:10:04 > 0:10:05that this is possible to do.
0:10:06 > 0:10:10That's the bit where you're all meant to stand up and cheer and cry
0:10:10 > 0:10:12and throw your... Anyway. LAUGHTER
0:10:12 > 0:10:16Is everyone, then, willing to join us and try to achieve
0:10:16 > 0:10:19a day where we can drive the air pollution down
0:10:19 > 0:10:22and prove that it is possible in a sustainable way?
0:10:22 > 0:10:25AUDIENCE ASSENTS
0:10:25 > 0:10:27Personally, I feel...
0:10:28 > 0:10:31..I don't know, excited and apprehensive.
0:10:31 > 0:10:34Does anyone else feel that way? LAUGHTER
0:10:34 > 0:10:36OK. Thank you very, very much indeed.
0:10:48 > 0:10:50It's gone better than I'd hoped and, within days,
0:10:50 > 0:10:53a number of residents have come forward, keen to see
0:10:53 > 0:10:55what can be done about their high street.
0:10:56 > 0:11:00Sara Aboutorabi is an urban designer who lives in Kings Heath.
0:11:01 > 0:11:05To tackle the air pollution problem, we need to change people's habits.
0:11:05 > 0:11:09And I'm guilty of that, I hop in the car everywhere.
0:11:09 > 0:11:11Cars are just absolutely jammed on the high street.
0:11:11 > 0:11:15It's made me conscious to use the car less and walk more.
0:11:18 > 0:11:20Peter Edwards is Kings Heath born and bred.
0:11:20 > 0:11:23He works for Birmingham University.
0:11:23 > 0:11:27We will always have naysayers who say, you can't see it,
0:11:27 > 0:11:31or in the '60s there was smog and it was dirty and you could see it.
0:11:31 > 0:11:34Well, I know from reading that it's scientifically proven
0:11:34 > 0:11:36that it is there and it is killing people.
0:11:36 > 0:11:40Stan Hems is the local butcher.
0:11:40 > 0:11:43He's one of those who thinks pollution is far less of a problem
0:11:43 > 0:11:45than it was in the past.
0:11:45 > 0:11:47The pollution has got a lot better.
0:11:47 > 0:11:51We'd have to clean this counter a four or five times a day
0:11:51 > 0:11:55because of the fumes and the pollution of the high street.
0:11:55 > 0:11:57Now, look, no-one has cleaned it yet.
0:11:57 > 0:11:59My hands are clean.
0:11:59 > 0:12:02Mohammed Farid runs the local taxi service,
0:12:02 > 0:12:05Kate Goodall is a business manager,
0:12:05 > 0:12:08and Cat Watton is an architect who lives and works here.
0:12:08 > 0:12:11It is fair to say that she's not a fan of cars.
0:12:11 > 0:12:13The high street is a very hostile place
0:12:13 > 0:12:16both for pedestrians, for cyclists,
0:12:16 > 0:12:18but also lots of other people.
0:12:18 > 0:12:20So, yeah, in my own utopia,
0:12:20 > 0:12:24I would be looking to completely block private cars.
0:12:25 > 0:12:27And the team is meeting in a cafe
0:12:27 > 0:12:29run by local resident James Connolly.
0:12:29 > 0:12:32They're not short of ideas or opinions,
0:12:32 > 0:12:36but they do agree that the high street can be improved,
0:12:36 > 0:12:38and I found a great person to help them out.
0:12:38 > 0:12:41- Hey, everybody. ALL:- Hello.
0:12:41 > 0:12:44- I have brought Roland with me. - Evening, everyone.
0:12:44 > 0:12:47Roland Leigh is a professor of air quality from
0:12:47 > 0:12:48the University of Leicester.
0:12:48 > 0:12:51This street, this area, is very typical of somewhere
0:12:51 > 0:12:54where you actually have control of a lot of what is produced
0:12:54 > 0:12:58and a lot of the impacts on health will be because of local traffic.
0:12:58 > 0:13:01So we definitely have a situation here that's worth some action
0:13:01 > 0:13:04and worth some management in terms of human exposure.
0:13:05 > 0:13:07THEY LAUGH
0:13:07 > 0:13:09What would you like to do about it?
0:13:09 > 0:13:11Reduce the buses in the daytime, the middle of the day.
0:13:11 > 0:13:13You've got three buses come together,
0:13:13 > 0:13:15one is full and the other three,
0:13:15 > 0:13:17there's two people and three people on them.
0:13:17 > 0:13:20There are far too many buses at daytime anyway,
0:13:20 > 0:13:22especially when the kids are coming out of school and all that.
0:13:22 > 0:13:24There is so much traffic there.
0:13:24 > 0:13:28Some of the residents think that parking on the busy high street
0:13:28 > 0:13:31causes a lot of the congestion and therefore the pollution.
0:13:31 > 0:13:34Actually, we should be making it more difficult to park,
0:13:34 > 0:13:36- unfortunately, and I think actually having...- Why?
0:13:36 > 0:13:38Because parking is what we want to...
0:13:38 > 0:13:40We're talking about an issue where we've got pollution from
0:13:40 > 0:13:41individual private cars.
0:13:41 > 0:13:44- This is potentially an effective thing?- Yes.
0:13:44 > 0:13:47Anything that keeps traffic flowing in general,
0:13:47 > 0:13:48anything that doesn't stop,
0:13:48 > 0:13:51particularly the large diesel engines.
0:13:51 > 0:13:52The parking isn't for hours.
0:13:52 > 0:13:55Some people are there for two minutes, three minutes.
0:13:55 > 0:13:56They go in the Post Office,
0:13:56 > 0:13:59buy some stamps and a card and they're back out in the car.
0:13:59 > 0:14:02So that parking space is changed over...
0:14:02 > 0:14:04It's stopping the traffic and therefore
0:14:04 > 0:14:07- creating more air pollution...- No.
0:14:07 > 0:14:09Traffic lights stop the traffic.
0:14:09 > 0:14:11So, shouldn't pedestrians cross the road?
0:14:11 > 0:14:13We should just let cars go free rein?
0:14:13 > 0:14:15A lot of people have invested a lot of money in Kings Heath.
0:14:15 > 0:14:16I'm one of them.
0:14:16 > 0:14:19Look, I want cleaner air for myself. Honestly, I do,
0:14:19 > 0:14:22but you have got to do everything in moderation.
0:14:22 > 0:14:24You cannot just go bang into something.
0:14:24 > 0:14:27I think for the day of action, removing those spaces,
0:14:27 > 0:14:28it's one day, it's an experiment.
0:14:28 > 0:14:30If it's a total disaster, we'll know,
0:14:30 > 0:14:31you'll be proved right,
0:14:31 > 0:14:34but it will be very interesting to see the net effect.
0:14:34 > 0:14:37I actually think we've got a real great opportunity to make a bit of
0:14:37 > 0:14:39a sea change in people's habits.
0:14:39 > 0:14:42I guess my professional experience is that I tell people
0:14:42 > 0:14:45all the time to do things that will be good for them, like,
0:14:45 > 0:14:48do more exercise, lose some weight, eat your greens, stop smoking,
0:14:48 > 0:14:52and they always ignore me completely.
0:14:52 > 0:14:54I feel...
0:14:54 > 0:14:57I don't want to say pessimistic, but this is terrifying to me,
0:14:57 > 0:14:59all the things you want to do. THEY LAUGH
0:14:59 > 0:15:03But I am totally blown away by the ambition in the room from everyone,
0:15:03 > 0:15:06so that is very exciting.
0:15:09 > 0:15:12The group decides on a date for their big experiment,
0:15:12 > 0:15:14just four weeks away.
0:15:14 > 0:15:16To see if they make any impact,
0:15:16 > 0:15:19Roland is going to measure the pollution around Kings Heath
0:15:19 > 0:15:21before and during the experiment.
0:15:21 > 0:15:24I feel like almost what we've got to do is step out into the traffic
0:15:24 > 0:15:27and just go, "No, no, sorry, you've all got to go home,"
0:15:27 > 0:15:29and that's going to be very hard to do.
0:15:29 > 0:15:31OK, do you think they can succeed or not?
0:15:31 > 0:15:33I would be optimistic and say, yes, they can.
0:15:33 > 0:15:35- Really?- I am keen to see.
0:15:35 > 0:15:38It will be a fantastic experiment to find out whether they will.
0:15:38 > 0:15:40The power of community organising, right?
0:15:40 > 0:15:41That's what we are going to see.
0:15:41 > 0:15:44Have you done stuff like this before?
0:15:44 > 0:15:48Not in this way. Not in such a dynamic experiment in a city.
0:15:48 > 0:15:50And has this been done before?
0:15:50 > 0:15:51Not to this extent.
0:15:51 > 0:15:53So there have been individual traffic measures
0:15:53 > 0:15:55where people have changed the traffic flow
0:15:55 > 0:15:57and looked at the impact, but not when you start to think
0:15:57 > 0:16:00about all the different ways a community can choose to act.
0:16:01 > 0:16:02No pressure, then.
0:16:04 > 0:16:07The trouble with pollution from most modern vehicles
0:16:07 > 0:16:09is that it is usually invisible,
0:16:09 > 0:16:12but you can see it if you know how to look.
0:16:12 > 0:16:14This is a special thermal camera
0:16:14 > 0:16:17with filters that highlight carbon dioxide.
0:16:17 > 0:16:21Other toxic gases in the exhaust fumes behave in a similar way.
0:16:22 > 0:16:24And the results are shocking.
0:16:26 > 0:16:31Massive plumes from buses, cars, and, most worrying of all,
0:16:31 > 0:16:33the diesel trucks and lorries.
0:16:37 > 0:16:40And it's when they pull away that the worst pollution comes out.
0:16:43 > 0:16:46Diesel engines are the monster polluters of our roads.
0:16:46 > 0:16:49It's diesels rather than petrol engines that pump out
0:16:49 > 0:16:52the NOx and particulate matter that damage our health.
0:16:53 > 0:16:56From 2001 until November last year,
0:16:56 > 0:16:59the UK Government was offering tax breaks on diesel vehicles
0:16:59 > 0:17:01in order to combat global warming.
0:17:01 > 0:17:06That's because they emit less carbon dioxide than petrol vehicles.
0:17:06 > 0:17:07And it worked a treat.
0:17:07 > 0:17:13The numbers exploded and there are now over 11 million diesel vehicles.
0:17:13 > 0:17:16That's 40% of everything on the road.
0:17:22 > 0:17:26Cafe owner James wants to get people out of their cars altogether,
0:17:26 > 0:17:29but he's worried that if we talk about pollution too much,
0:17:29 > 0:17:30it will scare people away from
0:17:30 > 0:17:32walking and cycling in the urban air.
0:17:33 > 0:17:37I think people feel that they are more protected in their cars
0:17:37 > 0:17:39from pollution on the outside.
0:17:39 > 0:17:43It doesn't feel like it gets in the car and you've got a nice,
0:17:43 > 0:17:45safe bubble that you're sitting in.
0:17:45 > 0:17:47And actually, when you're at the side of the road,
0:17:47 > 0:17:50people can feel, smell, taste the pollution on the high streets.
0:17:51 > 0:17:55I want to challenge James' ideas about cars.
0:17:55 > 0:17:57EU regulations should already be
0:17:57 > 0:18:00making each new generation of diesels cleaner,
0:18:00 > 0:18:03but can the way you drive make a real difference to how much
0:18:03 > 0:18:05pollution comes out the back end?
0:18:06 > 0:18:08To find out, I'm getting James to
0:18:08 > 0:18:11take me for a spin around Kings Heath.
0:18:11 > 0:18:13So, James, in this car,
0:18:13 > 0:18:16I have a machine that is the absolute cutting edge of
0:18:16 > 0:18:18- emissions measurement technology. - OK.
0:18:18 > 0:18:21Here, have a look. I mean, it is pretty cool.
0:18:21 > 0:18:23Whoa! That looks pretty fantastic.
0:18:23 > 0:18:25- That is amazing, right? - It is, yeah.
0:18:25 > 0:18:28So, the really clever thing about this is that it can give you
0:18:28 > 0:18:31the NOx output of the car in real-time.
0:18:31 > 0:18:33I'm going to give that feedback to you while we drive around
0:18:33 > 0:18:35and we're going to see if we can do something about it.
0:18:35 > 0:18:38- Okey dokey.- All right? So you are behind the wheel.
0:18:55 > 0:18:57So it is very dramatic...
0:18:59 > 0:19:02- ..the differences that I can see in your driving.- OK.
0:19:02 > 0:19:04Don't change anything, just drive completely normally.
0:19:04 > 0:19:07Do what you're normally doing, but I will just tell you,
0:19:07 > 0:19:11every time you pull away, every time you accelerate,
0:19:11 > 0:19:16you are going from NOx production ticking along at about 150 up to...
0:19:16 > 0:19:18Well, the last time you pulled away from the lights,
0:19:18 > 0:19:21it was more than 1,500.
0:19:21 > 0:19:22So you've gone up ten times.
0:19:22 > 0:19:25- And it wasn't an aggressive acceleration.- No, no.
0:19:25 > 0:19:27It was normal.
0:19:27 > 0:19:30You are being a completely normal driver.
0:19:30 > 0:19:34But even that, where you were accelerating quite gently there,
0:19:34 > 0:19:36that was up to 700.
0:19:38 > 0:19:41Now, this road with speed bumps is interesting.
0:19:45 > 0:19:51Basically, every speed bump is a little belch of NOx.
0:19:51 > 0:19:53- OK.- You haven't had...
0:19:53 > 0:19:57I mean, what's very clear from this graph is you have not had
0:19:57 > 0:19:59a single second of steady driving
0:19:59 > 0:20:02- where you're just cruising along at the same speed.- No.
0:20:02 > 0:20:05- You're always accelerating or decelerating.- Yes.
0:20:05 > 0:20:07There we go, Johnstans Butchers.
0:20:07 > 0:20:10There you go. Big, huge spike for Stan,
0:20:10 > 0:20:12and it wasn't you doing that deliberately.
0:20:12 > 0:20:13No, not at all!
0:20:14 > 0:20:17I mean, it's awful because I know it's not your fault,
0:20:17 > 0:20:21but I'm now looking at you as a man who is basically pumping poison gas
0:20:21 > 0:20:23into these people's homes.
0:20:23 > 0:20:25That's not a nice person to be.
0:20:25 > 0:20:26I don't want to be that guy.
0:20:26 > 0:20:29- You are that guy. I can prove it here, as well.- OK.
0:20:29 > 0:20:32So if you drive very steadily along here, just keep your speed.
0:20:32 > 0:20:35Careful now. Just go... You're now ticking along.
0:20:36 > 0:20:39Just gently, gently, gently.
0:20:39 > 0:20:41You coasted all the way down here,
0:20:41 > 0:20:45you haven't had a single spike on that bit of high street and you're
0:20:45 > 0:20:48behind the car in front, just the way you would have been.
0:20:48 > 0:20:50So, what we're also saying, then,
0:20:50 > 0:20:52is it's not just about the type of vehicle you're in,
0:20:52 > 0:20:56- it's about the driving style which is really, really important.- Yes.
0:20:56 > 0:20:58- So that was better.- Thank you.
0:20:58 > 0:21:01But it was really hard to try and balance that out.
0:21:01 > 0:21:04I mean, you almost want it to give you a little electric shock
0:21:04 > 0:21:05every time you accelerated hard.
0:21:05 > 0:21:08I'm not sure car manufacturers would go in for that!
0:21:10 > 0:21:16When James drove more smoothly, he dumped about 50% less NOx.
0:21:16 > 0:21:17If everyone did this,
0:21:17 > 0:21:20it would go a long way to solving the pollution problem,
0:21:20 > 0:21:23but I've got something even more surprising to show him
0:21:23 > 0:21:26and it's about where you are most exposed to fumes.
0:21:26 > 0:21:33OK, so, look, this is the level of NOx inside the car
0:21:33 > 0:21:37and this is the level of NOx on the street.
0:21:37 > 0:21:38Wow, OK.
0:21:38 > 0:21:42That's NOx, so that's the toxic stuff,
0:21:42 > 0:21:47and you are very much more exposed to one of the more toxic pollutants
0:21:47 > 0:21:49than I am in your car.
0:21:49 > 0:21:51So what...? I mean, that, for me, is really surprising.
0:21:53 > 0:21:56So James now has ammunition for persuading people
0:21:56 > 0:21:57to get out of their cars.
0:22:00 > 0:22:02With just a fortnight to go until the big day,
0:22:02 > 0:22:05we need some data on the number of polluters on the high street.
0:22:08 > 0:22:10Local resident Tom Tierney has organised a survey
0:22:10 > 0:22:13to see what types of vehicles and how many
0:22:13 > 0:22:15are travelling on the high street
0:22:15 > 0:22:17in two hours on a normal weekday afternoon...
0:22:20 > 0:22:23..and our scientists are putting up state-of-the-art pollution monitors
0:22:23 > 0:22:25that will measure the levels of NOx and PMs
0:22:25 > 0:22:27leading up to the big experiment.
0:22:33 > 0:22:35Some of the more ambitious members of the group
0:22:35 > 0:22:39want to suspend the parking bays along the high street.
0:22:39 > 0:22:40They think the bays should go
0:22:40 > 0:22:42because they make the traffic stop and start
0:22:42 > 0:22:46as people try to park, dumping more pollution into the high street -
0:22:46 > 0:22:50but Stan believes they help the businesses thrive.
0:22:50 > 0:22:54The parking bays, if you suspend them off the high streets,
0:22:54 > 0:22:57all that will happen is the shops will go down,
0:22:57 > 0:22:59people won't be able to pick big parcels up.
0:22:59 > 0:23:03If people can't park, they go to out of town and pick things up there.
0:23:08 > 0:23:11Local architect Cat has brought me to an upmarket area
0:23:11 > 0:23:13of Walthamstow in London.
0:23:13 > 0:23:15She has been doing her own research
0:23:15 > 0:23:19and is convinced that removing parking and discouraging motorists
0:23:19 > 0:23:21is the answer for Kings Heath.
0:23:22 > 0:23:25In 2015, the council here closed the road
0:23:25 > 0:23:29between ten in the morning and ten at night, seven days a week,
0:23:29 > 0:23:32and they took away all the parking bays that used to line the street.
0:23:32 > 0:23:36This road seems a million miles from Kings Heath High Street,
0:23:36 > 0:23:39but it does have one or two similarities -
0:23:39 > 0:23:41like a popular local butcher.
0:23:41 > 0:23:43- Is it Ron?- Hi!
0:23:43 > 0:23:44- Hiya. Yeah, Ron.- Hi, how are you?
0:23:44 > 0:23:46- Not too bad.- My name's Cat. - Nice to meet you.
0:23:46 > 0:23:49- Hi.- Hiya.- I'm Xand. - Nice to meet you.
0:23:49 > 0:23:52Do you know what the main reason for making the change was?
0:23:52 > 0:23:54This was a bit of a rat run,
0:23:54 > 0:23:57so the traffic, you were getting up to -
0:23:57 > 0:23:59probably around about 2,000 to 3,000 cars a day
0:23:59 > 0:24:01going through this stretch of road.
0:24:01 > 0:24:02Plus, before the closures came in,
0:24:02 > 0:24:05there were cars parked on this road opposite.
0:24:05 > 0:24:08- Yeah.- So there was only one track going through,
0:24:08 > 0:24:11- so there was congestion and the whole thing was...- Yeah, yeah.
0:24:11 > 0:24:12So you've just got idling cars outside
0:24:12 > 0:24:13- all the time.- Yes, all the time.
0:24:13 > 0:24:17One of the things that I'm hearing from Stan the butcher in Kings Heath
0:24:17 > 0:24:21is that he's worried about if no-one can park on the high street,
0:24:21 > 0:24:23no-one is going to be able to come in and shop
0:24:23 > 0:24:28and that business is going to suffer. Was that your experience?
0:24:28 > 0:24:30No. It didn't affect us at all.
0:24:30 > 0:24:32In actual fact, we got busier
0:24:32 > 0:24:35- because a lot of people were visiting the street...- Right, yeah.
0:24:35 > 0:24:37..and we picked up more business.
0:24:37 > 0:24:40Overall, Ron, has it been good or bad for the area?
0:24:40 > 0:24:42I think, personally, it's been good.
0:24:42 > 0:24:45- That's my personal view.- And would you say there is someone else
0:24:45 > 0:24:47in particular that we should go and speak to on this street?
0:24:47 > 0:24:49Mark Finamore, which is two doors down.
0:24:49 > 0:24:51- He'll probably have a different view to me.- OK, great.
0:24:51 > 0:24:53- All right, thanks very much. - Thank you very much.
0:24:53 > 0:24:56- Good to meet you.- Good to meet you. - Lovely.- Thanks for your time.
0:24:56 > 0:24:57- Cheers, man.- Cheers.- Thank you. - Thank you.
0:24:59 > 0:25:02So far, Cat's heard exactly what she wants to hear,
0:25:02 > 0:25:05and it's hard to believe that anyone would object
0:25:05 > 0:25:07to the improvements on this street -
0:25:07 > 0:25:09but there are two sides to every debate.
0:25:10 > 0:25:14The impact on me, I mean, I've been here 28 years now, I think,
0:25:14 > 0:25:18is that it's actually quite difficult for my business.
0:25:18 > 0:25:23I mean, my passing trade's gone, and also the issue of parking -
0:25:23 > 0:25:27it's very limited. You know, it is fantastic here without cars.
0:25:27 > 0:25:29I mean, you know, it is.
0:25:29 > 0:25:31You can see that for yourself -
0:25:31 > 0:25:33but it's just if I come down this end of the road
0:25:33 > 0:25:36and there is nowhere for me to actually park and unload,
0:25:36 > 0:25:38I have to then circle all the way round
0:25:38 > 0:25:41and get to that end of the road to, hopefully, find a space there
0:25:41 > 0:25:43to unload and bring things into my shop,
0:25:43 > 0:25:47so I'm now creating much more pollution than I ever used to.
0:25:49 > 0:25:51This is far from simple.
0:25:51 > 0:25:52The street feels great,
0:25:52 > 0:25:56but it seems as if the pollution has just been moved elsewhere -
0:25:56 > 0:26:00and, I must admit, this looks nothing like Kings Heath to me.
0:26:00 > 0:26:02This just feels different enough.
0:26:02 > 0:26:05For whatever reason, it's a bit more villagey, it looks a bit different.
0:26:05 > 0:26:08It doesn't feel quite enough on its own to win an argument
0:26:08 > 0:26:10with Stan and the other sceptics.
0:26:10 > 0:26:13How do you think you're going to do that?
0:26:13 > 0:26:16I think it's very tricky, because, I think, in many ways,
0:26:16 > 0:26:18all of us are set with our own viewpoint.
0:26:18 > 0:26:20Even talking to Mark,
0:26:20 > 0:26:22I still was reluctant to really see
0:26:22 > 0:26:24that it was a bad thing in some ways.
0:26:24 > 0:26:27It's still difficult when you really want someone to tell you
0:26:27 > 0:26:28what you want to hear. It's very difficult.
0:26:28 > 0:26:30The parking bays here..
0:26:32 > 0:26:34..are quite a big feature of what they've done.
0:26:34 > 0:26:37- Yeah, the lack of parking bays. - Removing the parking bays...- Yeah.
0:26:37 > 0:26:40..and that is a thing that we can trial.
0:26:40 > 0:26:41Absolutely.
0:26:44 > 0:26:45Back in Kings Heath,
0:26:45 > 0:26:48Sara's meeting pollution expert Professor Rob MacKenzie
0:26:48 > 0:26:51from the University of Birmingham.
0:26:51 > 0:26:53He's got an idea about how to disperse
0:26:53 > 0:26:55some of the worst of the omissions.
0:26:57 > 0:26:59So, this is a computer simulation
0:26:59 > 0:27:03- superimposed on a picture of the high street.- Ooh, that's fun!
0:27:03 > 0:27:05So, the red means higher pollution.
0:27:05 > 0:27:07- Yeah.- The green means lower pollution.
0:27:07 > 0:27:10Is the air coming from the exhausts hot and therefore it rises?
0:27:10 > 0:27:12The way I think about this
0:27:12 > 0:27:15- is by analogy with blowing across the top of a milk bottle.- OK.
0:27:15 > 0:27:18That's basically what's happening here - it's circulating inside.
0:27:18 > 0:27:20- OK.- Because you're blowing across it,
0:27:20 > 0:27:24you are giving the top of the air a push...
0:27:24 > 0:27:28- Yeah.- ..and that's causing all of the rest of the air to follow.- OK.
0:27:28 > 0:27:30It's a wall of shops either side, isn't it?
0:27:30 > 0:27:32- And that's a big problem.- Yeah.
0:27:32 > 0:27:35What do you think we can try?
0:27:35 > 0:27:38Well, you could look at trying to put barriers
0:27:38 > 0:27:42- between the pedestrians and the traffic.- OK.
0:27:42 > 0:27:44Because in the first instance,
0:27:44 > 0:27:50what you're trying to do is just gave the air longer to mix.
0:27:50 > 0:27:51So if you think about that hedge, there...
0:27:51 > 0:27:54- Yeah.- ..you're getting some gain
0:27:54 > 0:27:58from pushing the air up over the hedge and down the other side,
0:27:58 > 0:28:01because as long as the air is moving,
0:28:01 > 0:28:03taking a long time to get from the source
0:28:03 > 0:28:05- to the person who's breathing it... - OK.
0:28:05 > 0:28:08..it's slowly mixing in slightly cleaner air,
0:28:08 > 0:28:11and so it's becoming, itself, slightly cleaner.
0:28:11 > 0:28:14You're also giving the best opportunity
0:28:14 > 0:28:17for the pollution to be deposited onto the leaves.
0:28:17 > 0:28:20- OK.- I mean, I guess it's a little bit of a suck and see,
0:28:20 > 0:28:22- to be absolutely honest.- Yeah.
0:28:22 > 0:28:24- As it gets higher...- Yeah.
0:28:24 > 0:28:26..I'm still not promising that you'll see any effect,
0:28:26 > 0:28:28but what I can say is, the higher it gets...
0:28:28 > 0:28:30- Yeah.- ..the more likely you'll be to see an effect.
0:28:30 > 0:28:33Even though hedges might only make a small difference,
0:28:33 > 0:28:35it seems worth a try.
0:28:35 > 0:28:38Actions like adding greenery cost money,
0:28:38 > 0:28:41and many towns and cities simply don't have budgets
0:28:41 > 0:28:43to pay for extras like this -
0:28:43 > 0:28:45but this could be a false economy.
0:28:45 > 0:28:49In fact, one study has calculated that air pollution costs the UK
0:28:49 > 0:28:54£20 billion a year in medical costs and lost labour.
0:28:55 > 0:28:58We know that the lungs of children living in polluted areas
0:28:58 > 0:29:00are permanently damaged,
0:29:00 > 0:29:02so I want to try and persuade parents
0:29:02 > 0:29:05not to drive their cars to school on our big day.
0:29:05 > 0:29:10To do that, I need evidence that kids' lungs are being damaged.
0:29:10 > 0:29:14So, what we want to do is look at how much pollution
0:29:14 > 0:29:18you've all been exposed to over the course of your life,
0:29:18 > 0:29:23and so Dr Lisa and Dr Norise, here, are experts in looking at that.
0:29:23 > 0:29:26What they're going to do is get you to inhale,
0:29:26 > 0:29:28basically, some salty water mist.
0:29:29 > 0:29:33The salt is going to make everything a little bit looser,
0:29:33 > 0:29:35so it's easier for you to cough up.
0:29:35 > 0:29:37So it doesn't hurt, it doesn't taste funny.
0:29:37 > 0:29:39It tastes a little bit salty.
0:29:39 > 0:29:41Just imagine you're on a beach.
0:29:42 > 0:29:44So, the kids have just had their nebulisers,
0:29:44 > 0:29:47and what that's going to do is loosen up the mucus,
0:29:47 > 0:29:49the sputum deep in their lungs
0:29:49 > 0:29:52and then they're going to start to do some coughing
0:29:52 > 0:29:55and bring up cells from deep in the lungs,
0:29:55 > 0:29:56along with the mucus and sputum -
0:29:56 > 0:29:59and in those cells, called macrophages,
0:29:59 > 0:30:02we're going to be able to count particles of carbon
0:30:02 > 0:30:04and the number of particles of carbon
0:30:04 > 0:30:08will tell us how much pollution these kids have been exposed to.
0:30:09 > 0:30:11- THEY COUGH - You guys are good!
0:30:14 > 0:30:17Oh, that's so horrible!
0:30:17 > 0:30:19- Xand is disgusting! - It's not very dignified, is it?
0:30:19 > 0:30:21It's quite... What?! You...
0:30:21 > 0:30:23I'm not doing any worse than you were doing!
0:30:23 > 0:30:25We know that kids are most exposed
0:30:25 > 0:30:28when they are on their way to and from school.
0:30:28 > 0:30:31Any changes in their sputum that are down to pollution
0:30:31 > 0:30:33are invisible to the naked eye.
0:30:33 > 0:30:36The samples will need to be analysed in a lab
0:30:36 > 0:30:38to discover what our exposure has been.
0:30:42 > 0:30:45It's just ten days before the big experiment.
0:30:45 > 0:30:49The team is meeting up to feed back on what they've been doing,
0:30:49 > 0:30:52and Tom has got some surprising results from his traffic survey
0:30:52 > 0:30:54about who the main culprits are.
0:30:54 > 0:31:00Overwhelmingly, the most traffic is actually cars, private cars.
0:31:00 > 0:31:03My impression of that was that most of them had one person,
0:31:03 > 0:31:04that was the driver, in.
0:31:04 > 0:31:06Sorry, I shouldn't really be interpreting,
0:31:06 > 0:31:09- I should be just telling you. - THEY LAUGH
0:31:09 > 0:31:11I can't help putting my own spin on it! Sorry about that.
0:31:11 > 0:31:16The next highest number of vehicles was buses.
0:31:16 > 0:31:17There were 64 buses.
0:31:17 > 0:31:19That's just about 6%.
0:31:19 > 0:31:22HGVs, there was less than I thought there would be,
0:31:22 > 0:31:24to be absolutely honest with you. It's about 3%.
0:31:24 > 0:31:29And what was shocking, in my view, only 16 bikes in two hours.
0:31:29 > 0:31:31- Wow.- Mm.
0:31:31 > 0:31:33Tom will do another survey on the big day
0:31:33 > 0:31:36to see if we've made any difference to the number of vehicles.
0:31:38 > 0:31:41Buses and lorries may only represent a small proportion
0:31:41 > 0:31:44of the overall traffic, but they are major polluters.
0:31:48 > 0:31:52National Express runs 80% of the buses in Kings Heath.
0:31:52 > 0:31:54To make a difference, we've got to get them on board -
0:31:54 > 0:31:56and we've managed to set up a meeting.
0:31:57 > 0:32:00I have to say, I'm not feeling very optimistic.
0:32:00 > 0:32:04They are a massive, multi-million-pound company
0:32:04 > 0:32:07and I'm expecting jobsworths, gatekeepers
0:32:07 > 0:32:10and just, sort of... they want to make money -
0:32:10 > 0:32:11but we've got to have a go.
0:32:16 > 0:32:17In London and Nottingham,
0:32:17 > 0:32:22hybrid and electric buses have significantly reduced air pollution.
0:32:22 > 0:32:25I'm wondering if Development Director Martin Hancock
0:32:25 > 0:32:27can explain why they don't use them here.
0:32:27 > 0:32:29Electric is very interesting.
0:32:29 > 0:32:32At the moment, the technology doesn't really give us the range
0:32:32 > 0:32:33we need for one of our buses.
0:32:33 > 0:32:37Electric, I think, is about 150 miles per day without a charge.
0:32:37 > 0:32:41Typically, our vehicles are doing 200, 250 miles a day,
0:32:41 > 0:32:45so that's a real challenge in how we actually get electric operation
0:32:45 > 0:32:47into the West Midlands.
0:32:47 > 0:32:49Can you give me a sense of how many buses
0:32:49 > 0:32:51you actually have on the high street?
0:32:51 > 0:32:54The 50 alone is one of our most frequent services.
0:32:54 > 0:32:55It runs every four minutes or so.
0:32:55 > 0:32:58It carries 20,000 passengers a day.
0:32:58 > 0:32:59Wow.
0:32:59 > 0:33:01That's a sort of decent-sized stadium full of people
0:33:01 > 0:33:04- you're moving up and down the high street every day.- It is.
0:33:04 > 0:33:08Could National Express run fewer buses along the high street
0:33:08 > 0:33:09on our day of action?
0:33:09 > 0:33:12We really think actually maintaining the timetable
0:33:12 > 0:33:13and keeping the same frequency
0:33:13 > 0:33:16is the way to get more passengers onto the bus,
0:33:16 > 0:33:18so what we could do is offer a special fare for people
0:33:18 > 0:33:20to try the service.
0:33:21 > 0:33:22That's a much better idea.
0:33:23 > 0:33:27That's... Well, I guess that's why you run the bus company and I don't!
0:33:28 > 0:33:30This is a compromise for now.
0:33:30 > 0:33:33If fewer people drive, that could help get pollution down,
0:33:33 > 0:33:36but, long term, cleaner buses could really help here.
0:33:37 > 0:33:39Just a few days later,
0:33:39 > 0:33:41James and I are up at the crack of dawn
0:33:41 > 0:33:43to publicise the whole experiment
0:33:43 > 0:33:45on the BBC West Midlands Breakfast Show.
0:33:49 > 0:33:51So we've got four days to go.
0:33:51 > 0:33:55- Yeah.- This seems like a pretty good way of reaching as many people
0:33:55 > 0:33:57as we can. We want to shame them...
0:33:57 > 0:33:59- No, we want to inspire them! - We want to inspire them.
0:33:59 > 0:34:02We want to make them feel happy about getting out of their cars.
0:34:02 > 0:34:04And empower them with information.
0:34:04 > 0:34:07- Do you feel like people will listen? - I think they'll hear us.
0:34:07 > 0:34:10- We've got to persuade them to listen.- Right.
0:34:10 > 0:34:11Hi, there.
0:34:13 > 0:34:16It quickly becomes clear that presenter Alex Lester
0:34:16 > 0:34:18isn't going to give us an easy ride.
0:34:18 > 0:34:20Radio for the West Midlands.
0:34:22 > 0:34:27I'm working alongside a task force from Kings Heath in Birmingham.
0:34:27 > 0:34:29Kings Heath High Street is very polluted.
0:34:29 > 0:34:32It regularly exceeds what we think of as the upper limit
0:34:32 > 0:34:35- for air pollution. - Why did you choose Kings Heath?
0:34:35 > 0:34:38Because I know Kings Heath, and I've walked up and down Kings Heath.
0:34:38 > 0:34:40I've been at the Hare & Hounds in Kings Heath.
0:34:40 > 0:34:41I've had some fine times in Kings Heath.
0:34:41 > 0:34:43- It's a lovely place. - I never felt sort of ill
0:34:43 > 0:34:45as a result of being in Kings Heath High Street.
0:34:45 > 0:34:47Kings Heath is a very, very typical high street.
0:34:47 > 0:34:50You could go to any town in England, virtually, and find similar things -
0:34:50 > 0:34:53buses, cars stuck in traffic all along the high street,
0:34:53 > 0:34:55pouring out the pollution. What we want is people out of their cars
0:34:55 > 0:34:58because we know that has a huge effect on air quality.
0:34:58 > 0:34:59James, you're a business owner.
0:34:59 > 0:35:02Are you going to stand out there on Friday going, "Ah!
0:35:02 > 0:35:03"It's so much fresher in Kings Heath.
0:35:03 > 0:35:06"Now, where are my customers? Customers, customers, customers...
0:35:06 > 0:35:07"Hello, hello, hello..."
0:35:07 > 0:35:10- No-one there.- I actually think that we'll see a difference,
0:35:10 > 0:35:13a positive difference in the number of pedestrians
0:35:13 > 0:35:15and there's lots of evidence out there
0:35:15 > 0:35:18that pedestrians spend more money on the high street -
0:35:18 > 0:35:22and, actually, in stationary traffic or slow-moving traffic,
0:35:22 > 0:35:24pollution is worse when you're inside your car,
0:35:24 > 0:35:26so get out of your vehicle,
0:35:26 > 0:35:28get the bus, cycle, walk and, actually,
0:35:28 > 0:35:30it should be better for the businesses there.
0:35:32 > 0:35:34How do you think that went?
0:35:34 > 0:35:35- It goes fast, doesn't it?- Yeah.
0:35:35 > 0:35:38- I think we got most of the points across.- I think so.
0:35:38 > 0:35:41I didn't want him putting anyone off Kings Heath High Street.
0:35:41 > 0:35:43I feel like that's not...
0:35:43 > 0:35:47We want people to come, but not use their cars, so I'm hoping...
0:35:47 > 0:35:50We didn't mention the buses.
0:35:50 > 0:35:52- We didn't.- That's OK.
0:35:52 > 0:35:54You can deal with that. You can do some flyers.
0:35:54 > 0:35:55I'll do that, thanks.
0:36:02 > 0:36:06The radio show has given us a big audience across Birmingham,
0:36:06 > 0:36:10but there's one group of people I want to engage with personally -
0:36:10 > 0:36:13the children of St Dunstan's School on Drayton Road.
0:36:13 > 0:36:17Our scientists have put up monitors right outside the school gates
0:36:17 > 0:36:19to measure these kids' exposure to exhaust fumes.
0:36:20 > 0:36:22Just so you get an idea of the geography,
0:36:22 > 0:36:25the high street is right down there at the end of the road,
0:36:25 > 0:36:28and just before you get to it is James' Gorilla Cafe,
0:36:28 > 0:36:31and at school-run time in the morning and the afternoon
0:36:31 > 0:36:33this road is completely jam-packed,
0:36:33 > 0:36:36and it's a huge source of traffic problems.
0:36:36 > 0:36:38So what I'm hoping is that I can get the kids here
0:36:38 > 0:36:40to use their pester power
0:36:40 > 0:36:42to get their parents involved in our Clean Air Day.
0:36:46 > 0:36:50So, everybody, can you put your hands together and welcome Dr Xand?
0:36:53 > 0:36:55So, one of the things that we wanted to know about
0:36:55 > 0:36:57is what you think of air pollution.
0:36:57 > 0:36:59Do you know what part of the body this is?
0:36:59 > 0:37:00Lungs?
0:37:00 > 0:37:01You think it's lungs.
0:37:01 > 0:37:03You are exactly right.
0:37:03 > 0:37:04We did this experiment.
0:37:04 > 0:37:06It was quite disgusting, really.
0:37:06 > 0:37:09We basically had to do a lot of coughing and splitting into cups.
0:37:09 > 0:37:10We got cells out of them
0:37:10 > 0:37:12and we looked at the cells under the microscope
0:37:12 > 0:37:17and what you can see, there are black dots in all of these cells.
0:37:17 > 0:37:20This is one of the kids'. That huge black dot, there,
0:37:20 > 0:37:23that's a piece of soot from a diesel engine.
0:37:23 > 0:37:25So what we really want to do
0:37:25 > 0:37:28is change the pollution on Kings Heath High Street.
0:37:28 > 0:37:30Who thinks that's a good idea?
0:37:30 > 0:37:33- ALL:- Me!
0:37:33 > 0:37:36Now, who came to school by car this morning?
0:37:37 > 0:37:38Yeah, lots of people, right?
0:37:38 > 0:37:42And we know some of you have to come to school by car,
0:37:42 > 0:37:45but there might be a few of you who could walk,
0:37:45 > 0:37:47who might be able to take a scooter
0:37:47 > 0:37:50and see if, on Friday, you could come a different way to school
0:37:50 > 0:37:52and make a bit less pollution.
0:37:52 > 0:37:54We want you to go home, talk to your to your mum, your dad,
0:37:54 > 0:37:56your guardians, whoever looks after you,
0:37:56 > 0:37:59and try and get them to help make a difference.
0:37:59 > 0:38:00Do you think you can do it?
0:38:00 > 0:38:02- ALL:- Yes!
0:38:02 > 0:38:04Who's up for giving it a go?
0:38:04 > 0:38:07- Me!- Come on! Who's up...? It doesn't sound very enthusiastic!
0:38:07 > 0:38:10- Who's up for giving it a go?- ME!
0:38:11 > 0:38:14Well, that was very encouraging. The kids listened,
0:38:14 > 0:38:16or at least they looked like they were listening,
0:38:16 > 0:38:19but we only have a few days left till Friday,
0:38:19 > 0:38:22till the Clean Air Day, and things like this have to work
0:38:22 > 0:38:24if we're going to make a difference to the air pollution around here.
0:38:24 > 0:38:27So I'm just hoping those kids will get home
0:38:27 > 0:38:30and hassle their parents into making some changes.
0:38:34 > 0:38:38Cutting down cars on the school run could have a big impact
0:38:38 > 0:38:40on our experiment.
0:38:40 > 0:38:44Back on the high street though, it's stop-start driving we have to tackle
0:38:44 > 0:38:46and the traffic lights don't seem to be helping.
0:38:46 > 0:38:51At the moment, these traffic lights work on timed cycles.
0:38:51 > 0:38:55If the lights were synchronised and the parking bays were suspended,
0:38:55 > 0:38:57the traffic might run more smoothly,
0:38:57 > 0:39:00then I think we stand a fighting chance.
0:39:01 > 0:39:05To do any of that, we're going right to the top - to the council.
0:39:08 > 0:39:10We're meeting Councillor Lisa Trickett,
0:39:10 > 0:39:14who's in charge of making Birmingham a greener city.
0:39:14 > 0:39:16We've got a shopping list of demands.
0:39:16 > 0:39:20It's notoriously bureaucratic to change anything that affects traffic
0:39:20 > 0:39:22and we're working to a tight deadline,
0:39:22 > 0:39:25but Lisa has a reputation to live up to.
0:39:26 > 0:39:30If it's temporary, we aren't so bound by levels of consultation
0:39:30 > 0:39:36and we can argue that we're trialling this, so it is possible.
0:39:36 > 0:39:39And surely you're also a bureaucratic ninja, aren't you?
0:39:39 > 0:39:43I mean, can't you get your way through all this?
0:39:43 > 0:39:45I have the battle scars, yeah.
0:39:46 > 0:39:48We didn't get any promises, did we?
0:39:48 > 0:39:51- No.- No.- She is a councillor, after all.- We'll make it happen.
0:39:51 > 0:39:55I do actually have some faith, I do have some faith.
0:39:55 > 0:39:57It's the day before the big experiment
0:39:57 > 0:39:59and the bus company has come good.
0:39:59 > 0:40:02They've given us 200 free tickets.
0:40:02 > 0:40:05We want people to use buses tomorrow instead of driving,
0:40:05 > 0:40:08so Kate is dishing them out on the high street.
0:40:08 > 0:40:11We're doing a day of action for clean air
0:40:11 > 0:40:13and I'd like to give you one of these and a badge.
0:40:13 > 0:40:16- Oh, thank you very much. - Thank you very much. All right.
0:40:16 > 0:40:18- Thank you very much. - Have a nice day.- Thank you, and you.
0:40:18 > 0:40:20- Come tomorrow and use the bus. - Ah, good on you.
0:40:20 > 0:40:21- Yeah.- Thank you very much.
0:40:21 > 0:40:24- Would you like a free bus ticket to come by bus tomorrow?- No.
0:40:24 > 0:40:25No? OK, thank you.
0:40:25 > 0:40:28- OK, thank you very much.- Yeah. - Thank you.- Bye.- Bye!
0:40:32 > 0:40:36We haven't yet heard back about synchronising the traffic lights,
0:40:36 > 0:40:38but, in the nick of time, we discover that the council
0:40:38 > 0:40:40has delivered on the parking bays.
0:40:40 > 0:40:44As night falls, the suspension notices go up,
0:40:44 > 0:40:46though not everyone is happy.
0:40:46 > 0:40:48How do people feel about tomorrow? Stan?
0:40:48 > 0:40:52Ideally, if it was purpose-built in what we're doing, fantastic.
0:40:52 > 0:40:53I'm all for it.
0:40:53 > 0:40:55But as it is now...
0:40:56 > 0:40:59..I think, you know, you've got to consult the shopkeepers
0:40:59 > 0:41:04that are paying a lot of rents and a lot of rates before you do anything.
0:41:04 > 0:41:06For me, what I'm really excited about is
0:41:06 > 0:41:10that it starts to build a data bank, an information bank,
0:41:10 > 0:41:14for us to start to actually think, is there a better way,
0:41:14 > 0:41:16is there something that we can do for our kids
0:41:16 > 0:41:19and for our grandkids that is better? Or...
0:41:19 > 0:41:21..this is as good as it gets?
0:41:21 > 0:41:26We need to do things like this in order to understand
0:41:26 > 0:41:28- how we can make improvements.- Yeah.
0:41:28 > 0:41:30This evening, some of us, not all of us,
0:41:30 > 0:41:35are going to be going out and actually filling those parking bays
0:41:35 > 0:41:37with greenery.
0:41:44 > 0:41:48The team has managed to get hold of 60 feet of hedging,
0:41:48 > 0:41:50Portuguese laurel to be precise,
0:41:50 > 0:41:54and to try and make as big an impact on the pollution as possible,
0:41:54 > 0:41:56the bushes are nearly six-foot high.
0:41:56 > 0:41:59Moving this much shrubbery takes a lot of muscle.
0:42:01 > 0:42:03Oh, there we go!
0:42:06 > 0:42:08- Ah, it's Xander!- Hey, everybody.
0:42:08 > 0:42:11- What are you doing here?- Can I help? - Thank you for joining us!
0:42:11 > 0:42:13- Thank you for joining us. - No, I insist.
0:42:13 > 0:42:15- Come on, I'll help you. Right, on three.- This could be heavy.
0:42:15 > 0:42:17- One, two, three?- One, two, three.
0:42:21 > 0:42:23- Heavy!- We've done the whole parking bays all the way down.
0:42:23 > 0:42:25Oh! This is real work, eh?
0:42:25 > 0:42:27You've got it from here, Cat. I think...
0:42:27 > 0:42:30- Man, that's the last one. - Sara, you've got it.
0:42:30 > 0:42:33- Well done. Well done. - Is that it?- Yes.
0:42:33 > 0:42:36- Well, I'm glad I could help. - That was amazing.
0:42:36 > 0:42:38Glad I could be of assistance.
0:42:38 > 0:42:40- Right, then.- Has anyone asked about what you're up to?
0:42:40 > 0:42:43- Yes.- Yeah, loads of people.- Yeah? - We've had a mixed reception.
0:42:43 > 0:42:46We've also had cars honking at us going, "Yeah!"
0:42:46 > 0:42:49- CAR HONKS Really?- There you go!- Hooray!
0:42:49 > 0:42:53- Honk if you want more hedges. - Yeah.- Honk for hedges.
0:42:53 > 0:42:56- Honk for hedges!- Well, I'm very impressed.- There's our slogan!
0:42:56 > 0:42:58I'm very impressed, I have to say.
0:42:58 > 0:43:00I think we're also a bit mad, to be honest.
0:43:00 > 0:43:02- The cold has driven us all mad.- You do, you are looking all a bit manic,
0:43:02 > 0:43:05I have to say. You're looking slightly crazed.
0:43:05 > 0:43:08The hedge gang, late at night.
0:43:08 > 0:43:09How do you think it's going to go tomorrow?
0:43:09 > 0:43:11Do you think it's going to work?
0:43:12 > 0:43:15Even if it's one unit of improvement,
0:43:15 > 0:43:18I am positive that you will see it.
0:43:19 > 0:43:20Possibly.
0:43:20 > 0:43:23I think it's going to be really difficult to measure it in one day.
0:43:26 > 0:43:28These guys have worked wonders.
0:43:28 > 0:43:29They've got all these hedges in,
0:43:29 > 0:43:31they've got the parking bays suspended,
0:43:31 > 0:43:33they've launched Clean Air Day.
0:43:33 > 0:43:36A little help from me, I got a bit of free bus travel,
0:43:36 > 0:43:39so that should help. We do have a few other cards up our sleeves,
0:43:39 > 0:43:43but I have to say, with a high street like this...
0:43:44 > 0:43:46..I don't know if it's going to be enough.
0:43:55 > 0:44:00Finally, after weeks of planning and preparation, the big day is here
0:44:00 > 0:44:03and it's another early morning date with local radio for me.
0:44:03 > 0:44:05- Good morning.- Good morning.
0:44:05 > 0:44:08This is my last chance to persuade car drivers,
0:44:08 > 0:44:11especially parents about to start the school run,
0:44:11 > 0:44:13to try something different today.
0:44:13 > 0:44:15The trouble is, it's bitterly cold
0:44:15 > 0:44:17and I'm worried that today, of all days,
0:44:17 > 0:44:20people will prefer their cars to walking.
0:44:23 > 0:44:26Some of the pupils from St Dunstan's School
0:44:26 > 0:44:28have already made a clever alteration
0:44:28 > 0:44:30to the way they get to class.
0:44:30 > 0:44:32This is the St Dunstan's walking bus.
0:44:34 > 0:44:36Are you doing all right?
0:44:36 > 0:44:40Good. This is making me feel very happy, this walk to school.
0:44:40 > 0:44:42It's a good way to start the day.
0:44:45 > 0:44:47How far do you have to come in the car before you get dropped off?
0:44:54 > 0:44:56Right, well, you've all done brilliantly.
0:44:56 > 0:44:58Are you excited about Clean Air Day?
0:44:58 > 0:45:00- ALL:- Yes!
0:45:02 > 0:45:04The pavement looks busier to me,
0:45:04 > 0:45:07but deputy head Mark McLoughlin is better placed to judge it.
0:45:07 > 0:45:10I'm on the gate, front of house, morning and afternoon.
0:45:10 > 0:45:12And does it look any different today?
0:45:12 > 0:45:13Oh, yeah, as I said,
0:45:13 > 0:45:18there's a sizeable reduction in the amount of cars, the queueing...
0:45:18 > 0:45:20Normally speaking, at this point where we're standing right now,
0:45:20 > 0:45:24there might be a queue of cars to the street 150 metres to our left.
0:45:25 > 0:45:28This road and the high street have both been rigged with sensors
0:45:28 > 0:45:30to measure pollution.
0:45:30 > 0:45:33In the pub down the road, the sensors are being monitored
0:45:33 > 0:45:36by Professor Roland Leigh from the University of Leicester
0:45:36 > 0:45:39and Dr Francis Pope from the University of Birmingham.
0:45:39 > 0:45:43It's these two who are going to have to tell us by the end of the day
0:45:43 > 0:45:47whether or not our people-power emissions-busting has worked.
0:45:54 > 0:45:56It weighs a tonne!
0:45:56 > 0:45:57At the top of the high street,
0:45:57 > 0:46:00James is busy trying to promote our big day
0:46:00 > 0:46:02by putting up an oversized banner.
0:46:06 > 0:46:09It looks like the wind is proving something of an obstacle.
0:46:10 > 0:46:12While James ties himself up in knots,
0:46:12 > 0:46:15Councillor Lisa Trickett has popped down to Kings Heath
0:46:15 > 0:46:17and she's got a surprise for me.
0:46:17 > 0:46:21She's actually managed to get the traffic light sequencing changed,
0:46:21 > 0:46:24although she's not the expert on how it works.
0:46:24 > 0:46:26I'm not the person to talk to.
0:46:26 > 0:46:28I suggest we go and get Kevin in his bunker
0:46:28 > 0:46:30- and have a conversation with him. - Who's Kevin in the bunker?
0:46:30 > 0:46:33He is sort of in charge of traffic and highways.
0:46:33 > 0:46:35Hi, can I speak to Kevin?
0:46:35 > 0:46:39- PHONE:- Yeah, who's speaking, please? - Lisa. Councillor Lisa Trickett.
0:46:39 > 0:46:40Hold on.
0:46:43 > 0:46:44Has the penny dropped?
0:46:46 > 0:46:48PHONE RINGS
0:46:48 > 0:46:51- Hello?- Hi, is that Kevin? - It is, yes.
0:46:51 > 0:46:53Xand wanted to know a few things
0:46:53 > 0:46:56that were a bit too technical for my liking.
0:46:56 > 0:47:00Kevin, are you, with regard to traffic lights on Kings Heath,
0:47:00 > 0:47:02you're kind of God, is that right?
0:47:02 > 0:47:04KEVIN CHUCKLES
0:47:04 > 0:47:06What we have got is this control centre.
0:47:06 > 0:47:08We've got sight through the CCTV cameras
0:47:08 > 0:47:10of what's happening to the traffic.
0:47:10 > 0:47:14Birmingham's Traffic Control Centre is about to try an experiment here
0:47:14 > 0:47:17for the first time - synching up the lights
0:47:17 > 0:47:19to keep traffic flowing smoothly.
0:47:19 > 0:47:22They call it the green wave.
0:47:23 > 0:47:27If you hit a green light, you can move at a continuous speed
0:47:27 > 0:47:29along the high street and, therefore,
0:47:29 > 0:47:31not put out too much pollution, is that the idea?
0:47:31 > 0:47:34The principle of green waves is exactly that, yep.
0:47:34 > 0:47:36That's really good. Well, that is amazing.
0:47:36 > 0:47:39- The gods, the gods of traffic. - The gods, yeah.
0:47:39 > 0:47:40- Amazing.- Such power!
0:47:40 > 0:47:44Can you literally, like, change the traffic lights behind us?
0:47:44 > 0:47:47Yeah, we can change the traffic signals to green right now
0:47:47 > 0:47:50with a click of my fingers to Gary.
0:47:55 > 0:47:56It's gone green! There you go.
0:47:57 > 0:48:00If someone pushes the button,
0:48:00 > 0:48:02a pedestrian pushes the button to cross,
0:48:02 > 0:48:04- does that mess up the phasing? - No, it won't.
0:48:04 > 0:48:07There will, obviously, be time for pedestrians and cyclists to cross,
0:48:07 > 0:48:12but that will be fixed in with the green wave timings.
0:48:12 > 0:48:14Kevin, that's brilliant. Thank you very much indeed.
0:48:16 > 0:48:19The only problem with making the traffic flow better
0:48:19 > 0:48:23is that drivers using sat navs might be re-routed this way
0:48:23 > 0:48:25because the road is clearer.
0:48:25 > 0:48:29But I wonder if I can harness sat nav technology myself.
0:48:29 > 0:48:31One of the things I'm going to try and do to prevent people
0:48:31 > 0:48:33driving their cars along the high street,
0:48:33 > 0:48:37which is a little bit naughty, but I guess I don't feel too bad about it,
0:48:37 > 0:48:40is I'm using one of the traffic apps, one of the navigation apps,
0:48:40 > 0:48:44to flag up that the traffic is worse than it actually is.
0:48:44 > 0:48:46I'm going to say that it's a standstill.
0:48:46 > 0:48:50I'm going to add a comment that this is a nightmare day for traffic here
0:48:50 > 0:48:53and then other users will see that and, hopefully,
0:48:53 > 0:48:56the app will route them somewhere else.
0:48:56 > 0:48:59Of course, this could lead to congestion elsewhere
0:48:59 > 0:49:01as people try to get around my blockage.
0:49:02 > 0:49:04I don't think I should do it every day,
0:49:04 > 0:49:05but I'm hoping, today, that will...
0:49:05 > 0:49:09that will make the point that less traffic will reduce the pollution.
0:49:09 > 0:49:11Fingers crossed.
0:49:12 > 0:49:14Despite everything we've put in place,
0:49:14 > 0:49:18the traffic does still appear to be backed up in places,
0:49:18 > 0:49:21so are we actually making a difference?
0:49:21 > 0:49:26So, this pub is the nerve centre of our monitoring operation
0:49:26 > 0:49:28and, in here, the two profs, Roland and Francis,
0:49:28 > 0:49:30are crunching the numbers,
0:49:30 > 0:49:32so I'm going to find out how we're getting along.
0:49:32 > 0:49:34Is it working?
0:49:34 > 0:49:37- How are you doing?- Hey! Very well. - Very nice to see you.
0:49:37 > 0:49:40- Are you doing all right?- Yeah. - So, how is it going?
0:49:40 > 0:49:43A bit early to tell. We've got some data coming in, but, yeah,
0:49:43 > 0:49:45hard to say exactly what's happened yet.
0:49:45 > 0:49:47We haven't got the data from today ourselves yet.
0:49:47 > 0:49:50We've got yesterday's data up until this morning.
0:49:50 > 0:49:53- OK.- So...- You're not giving anything away.- No.- Not yet, no.- OK.
0:49:53 > 0:49:56All right, all right, all right, keep me in suspense.
0:49:56 > 0:49:58While I've got them here, I want some more details
0:49:58 > 0:50:02on how we can protect ourselves from pollution.
0:50:02 > 0:50:06I mean, we've seen some data that says that it can be worse
0:50:06 > 0:50:08inside a car than on the street.
0:50:09 > 0:50:11Is there anything you can do about that?
0:50:11 > 0:50:13Can you put a filter on your car or anything?
0:50:13 > 0:50:15Is there a trick to that?
0:50:15 > 0:50:17A car will filter its air to an extent
0:50:17 > 0:50:19and that works rather better for particulate matter
0:50:19 > 0:50:22than it does for NOx, particularly the larger particles,
0:50:22 > 0:50:26so if you do just turn to internal circulation when you think
0:50:26 > 0:50:27it might be polluted outside,
0:50:27 > 0:50:30you will help to an extent with the larger particles.
0:50:30 > 0:50:33- Really? That little button that no-one ever presses?- Mm-hm.
0:50:33 > 0:50:34The circle arrow?
0:50:34 > 0:50:37If you're sat behind a bus and you can see the plume,
0:50:37 > 0:50:39if you just switch to internal circulation,
0:50:39 > 0:50:42you will at least avoid pulling in that immediate pollution.
0:50:44 > 0:50:48Francis and Roland are comparing all their Kings Heath data
0:50:48 > 0:50:51to the general level of pollution in the Birmingham area,
0:50:51 > 0:50:55so the experiment will only have worked if Kings Heath has gone down
0:50:55 > 0:50:58compared to the rest of the city.
0:50:58 > 0:51:00With no results in yet,
0:51:00 > 0:51:03I want to know if the traffic has reduced on the high street.
0:51:04 > 0:51:06Tom has an army of volunteers out counting cars,
0:51:06 > 0:51:09including Charlotte and her son Tom.
0:51:09 > 0:51:11- How are you doing? - All right, thank you.
0:51:11 > 0:51:13- You seem quite busy. - It's a busy high street!
0:51:13 > 0:51:15- Yeah.- Car.
0:51:15 > 0:51:18They're very concentrated on doing this traffic survey
0:51:18 > 0:51:20and counting the cars as they come by.
0:51:20 > 0:51:22Have you got all the ones that have just come?
0:51:22 > 0:51:25- Yep.- How's it going?- Good. - Yeah?- Yeah, we've got a lot of cars.
0:51:25 > 0:51:27How many...? You haven't added them up so far.
0:51:27 > 0:51:29- You're doing the check marks.- Yeah.
0:51:29 > 0:51:31- 10, 15...- Car.- OK. Ah! Sorry, sorry, sorry.
0:51:31 > 0:51:33Car, HGV.
0:51:33 > 0:51:35- This is quite nerve-racking, actually.- Yeah.
0:51:35 > 0:51:38- Is it stressful keeping an eye on it all?- Yeah.
0:51:38 > 0:51:39Car, car, van.
0:51:39 > 0:51:42- Van.- Yes.- Van.
0:51:42 > 0:51:43Car.
0:51:43 > 0:51:44Bus.
0:51:49 > 0:51:52Worryingly, when they tot up the numbers,
0:51:52 > 0:51:55the total volume of traffic hasn't gone down at all.
0:51:55 > 0:51:59Despite that, over in Drayton Road, James is having a street party.
0:51:59 > 0:52:03He knows that more pedestrians means more footfall,
0:52:03 > 0:52:04so he's trying to pull in customers
0:52:04 > 0:52:07who might normally have been in cars.
0:52:08 > 0:52:11But have the celebrations been premature?
0:52:11 > 0:52:15As the afternoon rush hour dies away, it's time to find out.
0:52:17 > 0:52:21What you have been trying to do is something really extraordinary
0:52:21 > 0:52:24and you are a community of people who've come together
0:52:24 > 0:52:26around this issue, so I am absolutely blown away.
0:52:26 > 0:52:30My heart is pounding and I am genuinely quite nervous,
0:52:30 > 0:52:33so we cannot wait any longer for this information.
0:52:33 > 0:52:35Roland, your monitors were on the high street.
0:52:35 > 0:52:39- Can you talk us through it?- OK, so, the high street is challenging.
0:52:39 > 0:52:41You've got buses, you've got HGVs.
0:52:41 > 0:52:45A lot of places are just exceeding by one or two micrograms.
0:52:45 > 0:52:48It might be 42, 43, so even a 5% change
0:52:48 > 0:52:52could bring a lot of places into legal compliance.
0:52:52 > 0:52:56What you have in your high street today is a reduction of NO2...
0:52:58 > 0:53:01- ..of 10% from everything you've done...- Wow! Really?
0:53:01 > 0:53:03- ..which is absolutely huge. - APPLAUSE
0:53:03 > 0:53:06Well done, everyone. Phenomenal.
0:53:06 > 0:53:08That is amazing!
0:53:09 > 0:53:12We thought the traffic was flowing a bit more smoothly today
0:53:12 > 0:53:14than it was previously.
0:53:14 > 0:53:16How much difference do you think that might make?
0:53:16 > 0:53:18In my opinion, that's the biggest factor.
0:53:18 > 0:53:21That's the biggest change down the high street today, is keeping
0:53:21 > 0:53:25the vehicles moving, reducing the stop-start as much as you can.
0:53:25 > 0:53:27It really reduces the amount of fuel burnt
0:53:27 > 0:53:29and the amount of emissions produced.
0:53:29 > 0:53:32Our parking bay suspensions, hedges, bus vouchers
0:53:32 > 0:53:35and traffic light changes seem to have paid off.
0:53:35 > 0:53:38Around St Dunstan's School, though, we had just one plan -
0:53:38 > 0:53:41get people out of their cars.
0:53:41 > 0:53:43So did that single strategy work?
0:53:43 > 0:53:47You did a great job around the school today.
0:53:47 > 0:53:49A lot of parents and a lot of people changed their behaviour
0:53:49 > 0:53:51quite significantly.
0:53:51 > 0:53:54That's a road where you had a lot of control over what went on.
0:53:54 > 0:53:56Can we have the numbers?
0:53:56 > 0:54:01For NO2, you managed to change the concentrations...
0:54:01 > 0:54:03- ..by 20%. There was a 20% reduction...- Wow!
0:54:03 > 0:54:06- That's amazing!- ..in NO2 around the school. Well done.
0:54:08 > 0:54:10That is amazing!
0:54:10 > 0:54:14- So, so, NOx is a big deal for children's health.- Yeah.
0:54:14 > 0:54:17In terms of particles getting into their brains, lung development,
0:54:17 > 0:54:19it's the particulate matter that really counts.
0:54:19 > 0:54:21- Yeah, I think that's true.- OK.
0:54:21 > 0:54:24So, we went through the numbers, we crunched the numbers
0:54:24 > 0:54:25and I can say...
0:54:27 > 0:54:31..that you've managed to reduce it by 30% during drop-off and pick-up.
0:54:31 > 0:54:33Wow. That is really good!
0:54:36 > 0:54:40- That's massive, right? - Yeah. That's huge.
0:54:40 > 0:54:43And that's a real school with real children
0:54:43 > 0:54:47breathing in real pollution. That is amazing.
0:54:47 > 0:54:49I mean, this is your road, James.
0:54:49 > 0:54:51- It's OUR road.- Yeah. - It's our community's road.
0:54:51 > 0:54:54So I'm really excited that the community action has managed
0:54:54 > 0:54:57to make an impact on their wellbeing. Really good.
0:54:57 > 0:55:00If you're trying to persuade a parent to leave their car at home,
0:55:00 > 0:55:03I mean, that's a stick to beat people with, isn't it?
0:55:03 > 0:55:07You know, if you're cutting down particulate matter by 30%...
0:55:07 > 0:55:09I mean, you see these numbers all the time.
0:55:09 > 0:55:11- 30% reduction...- Yeah, absolutely.
0:55:11 > 0:55:13I mean, there's no safe limit so anything you can reduce,
0:55:13 > 0:55:161% would really help. 30% is massive.
0:55:16 > 0:55:18I think the important thing to encourage change
0:55:18 > 0:55:21is to have that data cos that makes people want to keep it up,
0:55:21 > 0:55:23not just for a special day.
0:55:23 > 0:55:26That's... I'm feeling, like, whoa!
0:55:26 > 0:55:28Whoa! OK, OK, good stuff.
0:55:28 > 0:55:30Can I just say that I have...
0:55:31 > 0:55:34..been quietly pessimistic?
0:55:34 > 0:55:38And I was pretty much 100% certain
0:55:38 > 0:55:41that you would've made no real difference at all.
0:55:41 > 0:55:44There are so many people that were pro
0:55:44 > 0:55:48and so excited that we were getting up and we were doing something.
0:55:48 > 0:55:52We had so many new customers come in today.
0:55:52 > 0:55:55So many people that, even though they lived in Kings Heath,
0:55:55 > 0:55:59had not heard about us before and out of curiosity they came down.
0:55:59 > 0:56:02I've already had two businesses where you put the hedge in
0:56:02 > 0:56:07phone me and say, "What's happening? We pay a lot of rent here
0:56:07 > 0:56:09"and our customers can't get in to pick things up."
0:56:09 > 0:56:11- Oh, no, really?- Really. Two businesses.
0:56:11 > 0:56:14- I thought you were going to say they phoned and were really happy.- No.
0:56:14 > 0:56:17Did you get any phone calls from anyone who was happy?
0:56:17 > 0:56:19- No.- Really?- Honest.
0:56:19 > 0:56:21I've only seem to get the groans.
0:56:23 > 0:56:25I almost have a sort of lump in my throat.
0:56:25 > 0:56:27I really think you have done an extraordinary thing
0:56:27 > 0:56:30for the health of your community that maybe will take a while
0:56:30 > 0:56:33to sink in and I think it is extraordinary what you've done.
0:56:34 > 0:56:37This was just one day in one place,
0:56:37 > 0:56:41but what this experiment has shown is that when local people,
0:56:41 > 0:56:44the council and businesses come together
0:56:44 > 0:56:48it IS possible to make Britain's polluted air cleaner.
0:56:48 > 0:56:52I feel absolutely flipping great!
0:56:52 > 0:56:55I think the results are absolutely staggering, actually,
0:56:55 > 0:56:57especially the school results.
0:56:57 > 0:57:00We're going to be benefiting from this, but other people are as well.
0:57:00 > 0:57:03So, yeah, definitely worth it. Definitely worth all the cold feet!
0:57:03 > 0:57:05We've talked about this sort of thing a lot,
0:57:05 > 0:57:08but we've never actually followed through and done it
0:57:08 > 0:57:10and it happened today and that's what I really like.
0:57:10 > 0:57:12Thank you for showing us the power of communities.
0:57:12 > 0:57:15What you're doing is good for people's health,
0:57:15 > 0:57:19but I still think we've still got to look after the businesses
0:57:19 > 0:57:20in Kings Heath.
0:57:20 > 0:57:24I think that what we've been able to start to do is arm people
0:57:24 > 0:57:28with information about an unseen danger and I'm really,
0:57:28 > 0:57:30really proud of Kings Heath and proud of the people
0:57:30 > 0:57:33and proud of what they've done.
0:57:33 > 0:57:38MUSIC: Air by Talking Heads
0:58:00 > 0:58:03# Some people say not to worry about the air
0:58:03 > 0:58:06# Some people never had experience with
0:58:06 > 0:58:09# Air
0:58:10 > 0:58:13# Air
0:58:15 > 0:58:17# Air
0:58:18 > 0:58:22# Air... #
0:58:22 > 0:58:25Subtitles by Red Bee Media