We are Choked Up
Breathing clean air shouldn't depend on where you live.
But Right now it does…
That's why Choked Up exists.
We're a youth-led campaign fighting for the right of Black, Brown, low-income, and young communities to breathe clean, safe air where we live, study, and work.
The Clean Air Law isn't protecting us. That's why we're taking a stand for it.
Why Clean air can’t wait
Air pollution is the UK's most urgent environmental health crisis.
It contributes to asthma, heart disease, strokes, cancer, pregnancy complications and shortened life expectancy.
The real kicker? It affects Black and Brown communities, children, and low-income families the most because they’re exposed to the highest levels of pollution simply because of where they live, study and work.
That isn't an accident.
It's the result of poor planning decisions, toxic transport systems, and discriminatory policies that put the dirtiest roads and industrial sites next to the most marginalised neighbourhoods. Toxic air is invisible, but its impacts are clear. It cuts lives short, damages children's lungs, and deepens inequalities that already shape daily life.
No one should have to risk their health just by breathing the air around them.
Why is toxic air so bad?
Air pollution consists of tiny, harmful particles and gases released mainly by vehicles, construction, burning fuels, and industry.
Because these pollutants are often invisible, people are forced to breathe toxic air without realising the danger they're exposed to. The effects of breathing polluted air accumulate over time. They can cause severe damage, especially for children, the elderly, and people with existing health conditions.
Intersectional Injustice!
Those who have contributed the least to the climate and pollution crisis bear the heaviest burden and are often the most ignored. This has to change. Black, Brown and working-class communities in the UK are far more likely to:
Live near major roads, motorways and industrial sites
Experience pre-existing health inequalities
Attend schools in high-pollution "hotspots"
Have limited access to green spaces and clean environments
This injustice is intersectional. Race, class, age, and postcode lotteries combine to determine who is most exposed and who is most protected.That isn't just ‘bad luck’. It is discrimination on a mass scale.
Alongside residents, activists, health professionals and partner organisations, we are building a people-powered movement demanding clean air for all. From grassroots action to city-wide mobilisation, we will continue to raise our voices until the systems harming us are dismantled.
What we’re doing?
Direct Action
We take our campaigning to the streets. From the Mayor for Clean Air campaign, to putting hacked road signs across London's most polluted and ethnically diverse neighbourhoods. Our campaign and media work aims to raise awareness, shift narratives, and force clean air onto the public agenda.
Community organising
Our campaign began within local communities. We work with residents, grassroots groups, regional organisations and young people to educate, share lived experiences, and empower the communities most affected by toxic air to lead the fight for change.
Policy influence
We're putting clean air on the policy agenda, working directly with the Mayor's office and the national government to demand clean air legislation that protects the communities hit hardest by pollution.
Check out our instagram to see more of what we are up to!
