Air Quality covers a very broad spectrum of interests and areas of professional expertise. The Air Quality Hub is explicitly focused on those aspects that are relevant to managing air quality on a local level, but even with this focus the scope is enormous. The strategies that can be employed to manage statutory levels of pollutants are many and various, from physical road layout amendments, traffic flow adjustments, legislation, enforcement and permitting, all the way through to public awareness campaigns and promotion of alternative travel options.
In addition to this core area, local authorities also have to respond to specific air quality nuisances such as dust or smoke, and have a role to play in the response to major air pollution incidents in collaboration with various national agencies.
Local air quality management does not typically include air quality issues that are not in the public realm such as domestic indoor air quality or within transport hubs such as train stations, and some sources of air pollution from energy generation or major industry fall outside the remit of the local authority. Nevertheless, air does not obey geographic or government agency boundaries, and these factors impinge on local air quality the same as any other. Local authorities maintain a view of them in the context of their overall air quality management strategy.
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