Welcome to Season Seven of the Air Health Our Health podcast- it is hard to believe that we are coming up on our 7th year together.
As many of you know, the mission of this podcast is to help people understand the connection between the air we breathe and our health. Often what is in the air we breathe is determined by decisions that we make as a community, whether at the federal level or as cities, counties, school districts, workplaces and as individuals.
I also want this podcast to be relevant and easy to search for questions and potential solutions. I want to continue to bring you targeted episodes with something new to offer. To that end this season may be slightly different than prior seasons. I have generally released the podcast on the first Monday of every month with a summer break. This year I may not have an episode for you every month both to balance personal and professional obligations and also because I want to make sure that each episode is unique and relevant and brings you something new.
I have also started hosting for the American Thoracic Society and their Breathe Easy podcast. Sometimes those podcast episodes are more technical and targeted, but often they are broadly applicable and relevant to the Air Health Our Health audience, in which case I share them with you.
You can always check the feed the first Monday of every month to see if there is a new episode. I will also announce new episodes on the social media accounts. As I record and release ATS Breathe Easy episodes, I will also link to those in the highlights on Instagram.
Today’s podcast episode was recorded at the national meeting of the American Thoracic Society, and I spoke with Dr James Scales, a senior research fellow at Queen Mary University in London as well as Dr Emilia Simeonova of Johns Hopkins University. We review how hyperlocal city policy can improve air pollution and health. I found the information from Stockholm particularly interesting – Stockholm is not thought to be a particularly polluted city and their intervention was geared entirely towards reducing traffic. However, even at what were thought to be low levels of air pollution, the impact on decreasing asthma attacks and improving respiratory health was dramatic.
In this episode we also cover what doesn’t work when you’re trying to decrease pollution in the city, including failed attempts at lower emission zones. It’s important to determine what works and what doesn’t. I appreciated the advice to keep it broad and keep it simple and make sure you are covering sources of pollution fairly widely.
Data is also important- you want to be sure you are not burdening communities outside a congestion pricing zone. For New York City, there was concern that traffic might be directed to other boroughs from Manhattan, but fortunately it does not look like that occurred. This will be something to monitor in an ongoing fashion.
It is also very important to ensure there are alternatives such as cleaner vehicles, good public transit, walking and biking opportunities and more. Often as traffic decreases, other options become more attractive such as cycling, walking, and more. A virtuous cycle can unfold with people breathing less polluted hair being more active and also having the improved mental health that comes from being outdoors in community and active.
What can you do-
– Personal choices matter- anything you can do to reduce pollution is helpful. And better is good! If you’re not ready to cycle through rain or take transit every day, try fair weather cycling or a day a week on transit. Are there days to work remotely? Any upcoming trips- try to use public transit or walk! It’s a great way to get to know a new place.
– Look into what your city or county can do to reduce pollution and traffic- nobody likes either of those things, so this can be a place where people come together. From park and rides, to improved transit, better bicycle infrastructure and more – getting out of individual car rides and into the community is good for health in a host of ways
– For more on the importance of vehicle fleets and health, listen to the Road to Clean Air episode and check out the multiple reports from the American Lung Association on health benefits of zero-emission transportation.
– Consider a donation to the American Lung Association, which is always working to help people breathe cleaner air
References
American Lung Association. “Electric Vehicle Reports.” Accessed Sept 2026.
Johns Hopkins University- Summary/interview Stockholm study
NYC.gov. “Air Quality Impacts of Congestion Relief Zone Tolling.” 8.14.2026.
