Environmental Sensors

A sensor is a device that detects and measures specific environmental conditions (like air pollution, temperature, humidity, or noise) and converts those measurements into digital data. Unlike cameras or audio recorders, environmental sensors deployed by the City measure only physical or environmental variables, not personal or identifiable information.

Boston is exploring and deploying a range of environmental sensors as part of pilot projects, community research, and day-to-day operations including:

• Air quality sensors: measuring particles like PM1, PM2.5, PM10, temperature, and humidity to understand pollution patterns.
• Heat sensors: detecting urban heat variation to address heat vulnerability and inform climate resilience planning.
• Noise sensors: measuring decibel levels in key corridors to support livability and community health efforts.
• Indoor environment sensors: The City piloted kits tested for indoor air quality, noise and other factors in partnership with residents.
• Infrastructure-embedded sensors: like solar-powered, streetlight-mounted air quality monitors used along reconstruction corridors.

Sensor data becomes more powerful when combined with community stories and local context, closing the loop between measurement and meaningful action. Environmental sensor data helps Boston:

• Monitor real environmental conditions to understand micro-scale variation in air quality, noise, and heat that traditional monitors may miss.
• Inform planning and climate resilience supporting targeted strategies for healthier, safer, and more resilient neighborhoods.
• Engage residents and communities partnering with neighbors to identify local hazards, select sensor locations, and co-design solutions.
• Guide public health and infrastructure decisions for example, evaluating air quality near construction corridors to inform mitigation and policy.
• Advance open data and trust making data accessible so residents, researchers, and planners can analyze outcomes together. 

Privacy is a foundational value for Boston’s sensor work. The City has a preference for environmental sensors that do not collect personal or identifiable information, such as names, video, or audio recordings. Instead, they gather environmental data relevant to community-identified concerns. Boston’s Digital Trust initiatives emphasize ethical, transparent, and right-sized data collection that builds resident trust and protects individual privacy.

• Partnering with the Dudley Street Neighborhood Initiative, Project R.I.G.H.T., INC, and Northeastern University to measure inequities in environmental hazards. This initiative supports collective engagement with sensor data through community workshops. 
• Sensor Type(s): QuantAQ Modulair-PM, Anemometer
• Data Collected: Air Quality, Noise, Temperature, Humidity, Wind
• Relevant Data and Research: Common SENSES Initiative

• Evaluating Air quality impacts of specific City projects, often to measure road reconstruction.
• Sensor Type(s): Clarity Node-S
• Data Collected: Air Quality 
• Relevant Data and Research: 
  • Clean Air in Boston initiative
  • Outdoor Air Quality Dashboard

• Partnering with the Boston Foundation and A Better City to evaluate cooling interventions in select locations and monitor heat indexes in both cool and hot spots across the City.
• Sensor Type(s): Kestrel 5400, Outdoor HOBO sensor
• Data Collected: Temperature, Humidity, Wind
• Relevant Data and Research
  • 2025 Research Plan
  • August 2025 Report

• Capture data further inland within the City to better understand areas of inundation flooding that may not necessarily be influenced by coastal waters.
• Sensor Type(s): Hohonu Radar, Ultrasonic
• Data Collected: Water Depth

• Measure indoor air quality at all Boston Public Schools in order to improve classroom set-ups and note additional work to be done to reach optimal air quality and ventilation.
• Sensor Type(s): SGS Smart Sensor
• Data Collected: Air Quality
• Relevant Data and Research: BPS Air Quality Initiative