Happy Healthy Neighbourhoods
Ben Woollard
A healthy happy neighbourhood is one where the air is good to breathe, children can play, schools are safe and communities are well connected. Unfortunately, many areas of Sheffield do not live up to this standard. Because of the depth and breadth of the causes and effects of environmental problems, campaign groups can struggle to be heard.
If only there was a single call to action, presenting simple changes we can all make in our daily lives to help make our areas into happy healthy neighbourhoods. We would like to work with community groups across Sheffield to help paint a clear vision of a happier, healthier future, and to mark out the steps we can all follow to get there.
To invite people from across Sheffield to be part of something constructive: building happy healthy neighbourhoods, together.
James Wilson - a committed Christian and member of St Philip’s church - launched a campaign for cleaner air in our city after discovering he had lung cancer, having never smoked a cigarette in his life.
He regularly took part in local park runs, and when he noticed his running times getting worse, he went to the doctor, who diagnosed him with lung cancer. When investigating the potential causes, he discovered that Sheffield’s carcinogenic air may have led to his cancer.
He learned that unlawfully dangerous levels of nitrogen dioxide, carbon dioxide and fine particulate matter in Sheffield’s air is damaging our health. Air pollution affects every organ in the body in a plethora of ways; it increases rates of diabetes, cancer and asthma for all age groups and is particularly harmful to children.
Following his diagnosis and awakening to the issue of air quality James threw himself into campaigning. His tireless dedication, even with his life-limiting illness, inspired and educated many people.
He died in 2021, and while his passing is a great loss for his wife, children and Sheffield, he continues to be an inspiration for us to improve our air, our green spaces and ultimately our neighbourhoods.
James was not the first to suffer from an illness rooted in poor air quality. But what if his life and legacy could inspire us to turn the tide? The community-led development of happy healthy neighbourhoods could help.
There are simple things we can do to adapt our local area and our lifestyle choices so that all of us can enjoy our neighbourhoods more. “The happy healthy neighbourhood campaign is a great way to keep up the momentum of James’ work to reduce air pollution in Sheffield and extend his legacy in improving the health of our families, friends and neighbours”, explained Happy Healthy Neighbourhood campaign team member Jono West.
There are many routes we could take to our happy healthy neighbourhoods. What is important to us is that we make the journey an empowering one. That is why the James Wilson ‘Happy Healthy Neighbourhood’ campaign embraces a variety of methods.
It focuses on a common ground we can all agree on. Surely everyone wants to live in a happy healthy neighbourhood? A place where children are less likely to get knocked down on their way to school, and neighbours feel more comfortable crossing the street to say hello? Is this a message that the many different climate campaign and action groups can work together on? To empower the people of their local communities to work together for a better area?
If communities want to create a better neighbourhood perhaps then they will be more willing to accept some disruption to their current routines. Let’s invite the communities of Sheffield to be part of a solution that may come as a natural by-product of seeking cleaner air in their own areas.
A grassroots campaign will help join up some of the things already taking place in the city.
Some great work is already underway, such as the use of green screens in city schools to physically block pollutants from busy roads, calling for an emissions charge on vehicles entering the inner ring road of the city, subsidising electric vehicles, the signs encouraging people to turn off their car engines while waiting, altering the city’s traffic flow to divert traffic away from populated neighbourhoods and push it onto main roads.
All of these measures help us to reclaim our streets.
Low-traffic neighbourhoods are just as they sound: they stop our streets being dominated by traffic and allow them to be used as social spaces. The goal is to create traffic-free hubs connected around the city.
Free from through-traffic, our streets can then be converted to be more people-friendly and less car-friendly by building safe spaces to cycle, making the pavement wider, building seating and growing plants. Furthermore these traffic cells can be linked up by safe crossings and quiet streets to create a welcoming network around the city.
The implementation of low traffic neighbourhoods would not just help our physical and mental health, it also has the potential to rejuvenate our local economies. A Walkley forum survey found that 74% of visits to independent businesses on South Road were already either done on foot or on a bicycle.
A low-traffic neighbourhood would aim to increase footfall on local highstreets, making the communities happier and more prosperous.
In 2017, monitors placed around Sheffield as part of the East End Quality of Life initiative found dangerously high levels of nitrogen all over the city; in various locations measuring levels above 40 micrograms per cubic metre, equivalent to smoking a cigarette a day.
These levels breach the UK’s legal limit and are poisoning Sheffield’s residents. Unfortunately the city council is hesitant to begin implementing low-traffic neighbourhoods: they are cautious of community backlash and unsure of the support they will have.
To begin, let’s define a happy healthy neighbourhood together.
Next, we need to invite communities to sign up to be involved in reshaping their neighbourhood and be empowered by the process.
Next we need to invite their ideas for their local area and realise their vision for a happy healthy neighbourhood.
It is understandable to feel burdened by ecological issues, but we should be reminded to bear one another’s burdens (Galatians 6:2) and work together for a healthier city. A host of leaders around Sheffield are already working together to do so, could you come and join us? If you feel excited about creating happy, healthy neighbourhoods across Sheffield and you would like to get involved, email me: ben@togetherforsheffield.co.uk
If you feel excited about creating happy, healthy neighbourhoods across Sheffield and you would like to get involved, email me: ben@togetherforsheffield.co.uk