Poor air quality is thought to cause some 900 premature deaths each year in the city - but there aren't any easy answers.
Professor William Bloss blog in the Huffington Post poses the question 'What is the biggest pollution problem facing Birmingham?'
Poor air quality is thought to reduce average life expectancy by six months, and cause some 900 premature deaths each year in Birmingham, with significant direct and indirect economic and healthcare costs. Other impacts are less obvious. For example, will it be harder for companies to recruit or retain workers in more polluted locations, will visitors be less likely to come if the view is always hazy?
What should be done? The answers aren’t easy, and will require political courage and joined up thinking at city, region and national levels.