NEW ORGANISATION LAUNCHED TO TACKLE INJUSTICE OF LOW TRAFFIC NEIGHBOURHOODS

3 Feb, 2023

Social and Environmental Justice launches

A new not-for-profit organisation was launched on 27 January 2023 which will take the lead in campaigning for environmental justice in The United Kingdom.



SEJ (Social & Environmental Justice) includes a diverse range of people brought together by a shared concern that so-called Low Traffic Neighbourhoods (LTNs), introduced by some local councils, are both socially and environmentally unjust. The group is not aligned to any political party or social movement.

The film Divided by Ade Bademosi, which highlights the impacts of LTNs on poorer communities and communities of colour, was shown last night at the launch in North London.

SEJ director Katharina Herrmann said, “LTNs are traffic relocation schemes, not traffic reduction schemes. The harsh reality is LTNs move traffic to the very streets where congestion, air pollution and noise are already at their worst.”

Brixton resident Stella Sawyer and a Director of SEJ said “After over two years of ‘Covid’ LTNs, Councils have failed to explain properly how these schemes improve overall public health, decrease inequalities or tackle climate change when they reroute 1000s of commercial, industrial, and private vehicles a day onto residential/community roads (often where poorer people and people of colour tend live, work, shop, wait for buses, go to school etc.).”

Fellow director Clair Battaglino added, “We are determined to fight back. The health and well-being of already disadvantaged people and their children are being put at further risk so others can have slightly cleaner air. This is not a ‘green policy’ but a clear example of social, environmental, and racial injustice”.

SEJ recognises the need for traffic and pollution reduction but is concerned that the piecemeal approach taken by councils since 2020 is not only inequitable but has not been proven to be effective in reducing vehicle use across towns and cities. They question why £millions of public money is being handed over to ‘charities’, private consultants and building contractors that appear to be encouraging and/or profiting from silo working. London needs a well-planned, carefully implemented, citywide solution that takes into account the needs of small businesses, tradespeople, taxi drivers, people with mobility impairments, carers, etc. many of whom depend on vehicles for their livelihood or to get about.

Over the coming months SEJ plans to host events, commission research, and publish reports highlighting the problems with LTNs and putting forward solutions to problems that LTNs clearly have not solved.