Clean Air Routes London
A free interactive map to help residents, workers and visitors travel around Greater London using walking and cycling routes with the best available air quality
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problem
Air pollution in Greater London varies massively by where you are in. But Londoners have no way to know their current exposure. Are they safe from high exposure on a particular road, or has the weather conditions brought higher levels of air pollution with it? Until you're experiencing air quality related health conditions theres no way on knowing the exposure or the consequences.
solution
Developed in partnership with Cambridge Environmental Research Consultants (CERC) and supported by HM Government Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA), Clean Air Routes is a mobile-first solution to help you walk and cycle and view your real-time exposure to air pollution.
Air pollution impacts everyone, whether you live on a main road in London, or a small town. This project was founded from the desire to create a tool for everyone to view their exposure as they travel around London.
Our initial user research found that residents wanted to be able to view the Council's air quality data in an easier to understand style, and how it actually impacts them on their everyday journeys.
Using Westminster City Council's design system as the foundation for the new tool, it was improved to meet the new tools needs and to fit the new brands colour palette.
Features added based on internal development and user feedback
Google Maps
Using Google Maps for the view, routes and directions means you can use a website and app you already know. After you've created your route you can also open it in Google Maps for you to still use.
Walkers or cyclists welcome
You can easily switch from walking to cycling mode, or back again, and the routes will re-calculate the air quality exposure each time.
Plan a route for now, or in the future
Clicking leave now allows you to pick a date and time to plan a route for up to 2 days in the future.
This uses the live data and historical data to predict the pollution levels.
Turn-by-turn directions
You can view turn-by-turn directions and where you are on the map in real-time.
Sharing and saving a route
Sharing the link, or saving it to your device, allows you to go back to it or share how to reach somewhere with friends, family and more. Each time the link is clicked it will re-check the air quality exposure using the live data.
Colour coded route options
Instead of information overloading users, we've used simple green, orange and red colours to show each routes air pollution levels. Users can view the full stats by expanding the menu at the bottom of the screen.
Mobile first design
Designed as a mobile web-app to support a wide range of devices, including those no longer receiving software updates. Users can also add to their devices Home Screen just like an app downloaded from the App Store.
" The WHO [World Health Organisation] has made it clear there is no safe level of air pollution. Clean Air Routes London is a practical, easy-to-use tool that helps local residents find alternative walking and cycling routes, significantly reducing their exposure to harmful pollutants. This is an important resource for protecting community health. " - Dr Gareth Thompson, Sustainability Clinical & Innovation Lead at Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust
year
2025
my focus
UX Design & UX Research
ux design tools
Figma
ux research tools
UserZoom
see also
