"The Lungs of the City": A Historical Walking Tour of Manchester's Air

Think beyond the human with Dr. Charlotte Coull and Dr. Erica Mukherjee!

Attendance is free for children under 12.

The Air Tour

How can we talk about an invisible element? How has Manchester's attitude to its air changed over time? And how does the city breathe along with us? Join us to 'take the air' and explore the how wind, pollution, and plants have shaped Manchester over time.

We'll meet in front of the Statue of Queen Victoria in Piccadilly Gardens and we'll walk approximately 1 mile over two hours to Mayfield Park, stopping to take in the sights, sounds and smells as we go.

On the way we'll chat about smog, miasma, birds, planes, and the city parks that brought country air to the urban population in the industrial era. We'll talk about what happens when air becomes breath in the human body and how these process have shaped the lives and health of Manchester's people since the 18th century.

And, after all this, what happens if we see the human body as a porus entity?

Who we are

Elemental Tours lead historical walking tours that focus on Manchester's environmental history. Created by two historians, Dr. Charlotte Coull and Dr. Erica Mukherjee (but run by Charlotte who lives in Manchester), the tours encourage people to think beyond the human and engage with the city's material environment.

Each of our walking tours focuses on a different element: water, earth, air, and fire. We draw attention to how these elements have shaped the city and the humans that live in it, including how humans have tried, and sometimes failed, to control the urban environment. We talk flooding, quarrying, silt, diseases, smoke, industry, architecture, and much more as we weave through the city streets. We connect the natural world with the urban environment and discuss how these two ideas are not as dissimilar as they might first seem.

Host or Publisher Elemental Tours