The project forms part of a wider UKRI investment into research tackling environmental challenges, including threats to air, water and food systems. Led by sociologist Professor Sophie Woodward, Air Spaces: Getting the Measure of Air will explore the social, scientific and environmental dimensions of air quality, focusing on communities in Manchester where pollution levels are significantly above WHO guidelines. The project was selected by UKRI as a featured award within its latest Cross Research Council Responsive Mode scheme which spotlights breakthrough interdisciplinary ideas. 

Working closely with civic partners, the project brings together Ardwick Climate Action, Love Old Trafford, Manchester City Council, Transport for Greater Manchester and Trafford Council. These partnerships will ensure the research is grounded in local priorities and informed by lived experience, supporting more effective and inclusive solutions.

By combining scientific data with community insight, the team aims to better understand how factors such as transport, housing and urban development shape air quality and health outcomes. This will help inform local and national policy, contributing to fairer and more sustainable environments.

Sophie Woodward, Professor of Sociology, said; “This project is about recognising that people understand and experience air in multiple ways, not just through scientific measurements. By working with communities, we hope to support new ways of responding collectively to air pollution that reflect people’s lived realities.“