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Public opinion on clean air zones and liveable neighbourhoods can sometimes appear to be contradictory. If clean air zones acquire the reputation of being unpopular, this is likely to prevent the ‘quiet majority’ who support them from making their own voices heard.
Public opinion on clean air zones and liveable neighbourhoods can sometimes appear to be contradictory.
On the one hand, there are clear indicators of (moderate) public support:
However – and in common with the siting of energy technologies or new housing – support for policies at a general, abstract level can’t be automatically assumed to apply in specific local circumstances.
There are signs of coordinated opposition to liveable neighbourhoods, sometimes linked to groups promoting conspiracy theories. This can create a skewed sense of perspective, with loud/local opposition then mistakenly conflated with national public opinion.
But there are also genuine questions and concerns held by different constituencies in cities around the country – and although media opposition has tended to come from right-leaning outlets, these questions and concerns are held by voters across the political spectrum. How people travel in their local area is understandably something that many people have strong views about. Creating and supporting processes that ensure these concerns are listened to at the earliest possible stage remains the most effective way to develop policies that alter these behaviours.
Leading questions?
As well as the conflation of national and local opinion, some of the differences between polls on this topic stem from people being asked very different questions.
Some polls – including those which seem designed to amplify or exaggerate differences in public opinion – describe vague policies that will levy daily charges for regular road users (when, in fact, only a minority of vehicles incur charges in clean air zones). Others make it clear that only certain vehicles incur charges: opposition is much lower when the specifics of the policies are made clearer.
This isn’t just a methodological question about which wording most accurately captures public opinion. It matters because how we form our beliefs is so heavily influenced by our perceptions of what others believe.
If people believe – as MPs do – that the public is far less supportive of onshore wind than it really is, this can have far-reaching consequences. In the same vein, if clean air zones acquire the reputation of being unpopular, this is likely to prevent the ‘quiet majority’ who support them from making their own voices heard.
In a new guide focused on promoting necessary changes to urban transport policies – whether clean air zones or low traffic neighbourhoods – ACT Climate Labs draw on insights (including from Britain Talks Climate) to provide guidance on how to connect on transport without turning it into a culture war.
Polling for WalesOnline by Redfield & Wilton shows a sharp rise in the proportion of people opposed to the new ‘default’ 20mph speed limits introduced on certain roads in Wales (where ‘cars mix with pedestrians’).
Although introduced primarily for road-safety reasons, lower speed limits are one way in which air pollution from road traffic can be reduced, and 20mph limits are typically a feature of cleaner-air campaigns.
Support in Wales has dropped across the board, but especially among Conservative voters following intense opposition by the Conservative Party (including organising a petition against the new law)
This pattern is in contrast to the typical ‘Goodwin curve‘ of initial (pre-implementation) opposition softening into majority support once the new rules are in place.
The strength of opposition from Conservative politicians in Cardiff suggests – as with the opposition to clean air zones seen among Conservative MPs in Westminster – that the opposition is partly about creating a political dividing line.
But with a significant percentage of the Welsh public currently in opposition to the scheme, winning over the ‘Persuadables’ is more important than ever – something which ACT Climate Labs has issued recent guidance on around transport policies.
Whilst the change may not currently be popular, driver behaviour showed immediate signs of positive change, with average speeds dropping in the first week of the policy’s implementation.
