The University of Liverpool brought together more than 50 stakeholders from across the city for its second annual Air Quality Roundtable, which was held at Alder Hey Children's Hospital.
The transdisciplinary event involved local Council Cabinet members, air quality leaders from across the Liverpool City Council wards, industry representatives, charity organisations, academics, and medical professionals.
Led by Dr Jonny Higham, from the University of Liverpool's Department of Geography & Planning, the Air Quality roundtable aims to foster strong relationships between partners across different fields and support new research project applications.
The second roundtable event focused on the impact of significantly reducing air pollution levels in the city and, ultimately, improve child respiratory health.
The morning session featured several presentations by leading academics in air quality and child respiratory health.
Dr Jonny Higham discussed his current research project monitoring air quality across Liverpool, focusing on understanding particulate matter that can cause severe respiratory illnesses in children.
Professor Ian Sinha, from Alder Hey Children's Hospital, presented his work on the effects of social deprivation and poor air quality on children.
There were also presentations by Councillor Gill Wood, Deputy Cabinet member: Net Zero whilst Dr Rob Hughes, from the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, discussed the impact of deprivation on child respiratory health. Dr Vassilis Matthaios, from the University's Department of Public Health, spoke about his research on cabin pollutants in vehicles transporting children and Dr Sarah Mayell highlighted her work on air quality in schools.
The afternoon session followed a Question Time-style format, facilitated by University of Liverpool academics. The panel included air quality leaders from Liverpool City Council, industry leaders from ARUP and Aeternum alongside world-renowned indoor air quality academics from Loughborough University.
Dr Jonny Higham said: "These events are crucial for demonstrating our academic work across the sector and allows us to share our research findings with the broader community and unite in our efforts to deliver impactful research. The roundtable was extremely well received, and plans are already underway for a third event scheduled for July 2025."
Professor Ian Sinha added: "These events are vital for showcasing the positive impacts we can achieve when we work together. Our collaboration with the University of Liverpool has quantitatively demonstrated the significant impact of air quality on child respiratory health in the city. This is no longer hearsay; by working together, we have put real numbers on a real and pressing problem."
