Hannah Melville-Rea
With parents from Australia and New Zealand, Hannah grew up in Osaka, Japan. She studied Political Science and Economics at New York University Abu Dhabi and developed an interest in climate policy. Following graduation, she remained in the UAE to pursue independent research on the socio-political impacts of climate disasters, focusing on drought in Australia. Hannah aspires to work at the intersection between research and policy to aid our transition towards a low-carbon economy and climate resilient future.
Hannah worked with Data-Driven EnviroLab to explore additional environmental indicators to add to the Urban Environment and Social Inclusion Index.
Community Engagement Initiative
Hannah launched a survey in the United Arab Emirates (AUE) asking migrants and citizens how they prefer to receive information about air pollution. From the 263 survey responses, she created tailored infographics and videos that were shared with the UAE government to aid their communication efforts. Read the report: UAE Air Quality Information Campaign.
Report
Air pollution kills 4.2 million people per year, yet, most people are under-informed about its risks and impacts. At the same time, disparities exist in air pollution exposure, monitoring, and communication. Primary research – interviews with sixteen air quality experts and a survey conducted in the United Arab Emirates – explores these challenges. Clear gaps exist in communicating air quality public health information to those who are most exposed. The language of communication must be more accessible and highlight practical ways to avoid exposure to air pollution. Meanwhile, governments should invest more into tailored information campaigns for populations most vulnerable to air pollution and proactively pursue pollution mitigation efforts.
Keywords
Environment, air pollution, air quality, UAE, social inclusion, communication, monitoring, survey research, environmental justice, cities
Webpage
In addition to the final report, Hannah created a webpage on Data-Driven Lab’s website exploring the distribution of urban residents’ exposure to air pollution and ways to make air quality information more accessible and inclusive.
Video
Hannah also produced a video about the impacts of air pollution on everyday citizens and measures we can all take to mitigate these impacts.