Beyond maps – decrypting environmental health inequalities through the Environment and Health Atlas

Abstract

Currently on its fourth year, the European Environment and Health Atlas is a public-facing communication tool building on EEA data and other vetted sources. It presents disaggregated spatial data, often at fine grain, on air pollution (particulate matter, nitrogen dioxide, ozone and selected industrial pollutants), noise, water, urban green spaces and climate-aggravated exposures. It also serves as a gateway to EEA information and assessments and is a key deliverable under the Zero Pollution Action Plan. In the last year, the Atlas has increased its contents on environmental inequalities, with viewers at 1 x 1 km on air pollution levels in relation with demographic and socioeconomic variables, as well as relative coverage of air quality monitoring, and maps linking noise levels in cities and demographics. These analyses and viewers can help identify hotspots, inform policy and advocacy, and bring evidence into environmental justice discussions at various levels of governance.