5 Takeaways from Boston's first Air Quality Summit

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The inaugural Boston Area Air Quality Summit convened a powerful coalition of community leaders, researchers, and policymakers to tackle air pollution and health inequities. Here’s a look at five actionable steps that emerged from the day’s discussions:

1. Harmonize hyper-local data to drive local Policy

Air quality doesn't just change by zip code; it changes by street corner. To create effective policy, we need data that reflects our lived experiences.

The smaller the spatial scale at which we look to air quality, the more we discover. “There are changes block to block,” said Northeastern University’s Dr. Amy Mueller. “Local data moves local policy,” agreed Boston University’s Dr. Patricia Fabian.

Praising Boston for its Community Clean Air Grant Program that helps community-led organizations install air monitors, Mueller said: “Funding that supports these programs is incredibly important” to get data at the scale and reliability needed to pursue policy decisions that promote the health of communities.

At the same time, Mueller lamented how researchers often use different instruments and data formats that can’t easily be combined into larger models or fed into the Commonwealth of Massachusetts’ MassAir air-quality dashboard. MassDEP’s Sean Dunn highlighted that while integrating community-led data into this official state database is a core goal for the Commonwealth, these technical data hurdles remain a critical barrier to achieving data harmony.

As Mueller summarized: “Figuring out how we work better together is an important target as we begin to standardize our regional air quality work.”

2. Follow community knowledge about where air quality problems need solving.

Residents are often the first to know where the problems lie. During our Lightning Talks session, presenters shared projects where lived experience leads the way.

Participants learned how the Fairmount Indigo CDC Collaborative (FICC) and Air Partners are using backpack-based sensors to collect transit-related pollution data during their daily commutes along the Fairmount Corridor.

In East Boston, the Neighborhood of Affordable Housing (NOAH) is teaching neighbors how to build and maintain DIY indoor air purifiers to protect indoor air quality in their homes.

“Communities are full of experts who know where it always smells,” said Dr. Patrick Herron of the Mystic River Watershed Association (MyRWA), which is leading an EPA-funded multisite air quality study in East Boston, Charlestown, Malden, and Everett guided by a community advisory board. “There are so many pollutants that are hyperlocal. We never would have arrived in the right place without the community,’’ he added.

Participants also highlighted the educational potential of local air quality data. By exploring local data relative to their own lives, students of all ages can gain the scientific awareness and civic tools to improve public health outcomes in their own backyards.

3. Emphasize what air quality means for people's health and quality of life.

“Center people, not pollutants,” summarized Dr. Fabian. Poor air quality affects everything from respiratory wellness and cardiovascular health to cognition, memory, fertility, and the premature onset of dementia.

Summit participants noted that every homeowner and business in Massachusetts served by a water district or utility receives a yearly report on their water quality—why not publish a similar report on local air quality, with clear information about the actions people can take to improve their environments and protect themselves during air pollution events?

Ultimately, prioritizing public health yields human dividends: “Investing in air quality will enable people to thrive,’’ noted MyRWA’s Herron.

4. Focus as much (or more) on indoor air quality as outdoor.

Dr. Fabian emphasized the massive discrepancy that although Americans spend 90 percent of their time indoors, researchers spend “90 percent of their time talking about outdoor air quality, not indoor.”

Indoor air pollution — compounded by outdoor pollution intrusion, indoor sources like gas stoves, and chemical off-gassing from furniture, paint, and cleaners— disproportionately impacts elderly, disabled, and young residents who spend the most time at home.

Boston is uniquely positioned to lead in breaking this pattern: public housing and school electrification projects have already yielded measurable improvements in air quality and health that can be better documented and publicized, speakers noted. Additionally, Katherine Walsh of Boston Public Schools presented on how BPS is leading the nation in ongoing air quality monitoring and mitigation, with sensors and purifiers in all classrooms.

5. Integrate conversations about air quality and decarbonization.

The Summit occurred just two weeks after the City’s release of Boston’s 2030 Climate Action Plan, which lays out ambitious goals for switching buildings to non-fossil fuel energy sources, promoting more transit, biking, and electric vehicles, and other measures aimed at reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

Notably, all of these efforts also produce better air quality, explained Northeast States for Coordinated Air Use Management’s Michelle Manion, “That’s an economic benefit that isn’t traditionally measured by economists."

As Dr. Fabian put it: “Decarbonization is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to have a positive impact on the environment and people’s health.” As we continue to decarbonize our buildings especially, it’s critical to keep indoor air quality at the forefront of the discussion by investing in monitoring and mitigation.

Help Shape Boston’s Air Quality Roadmap

The conclusion of the Summit is just the beginning of our collective work. Here’s how you can stay involved and turn these takeaways into local realities:

Apply for funding: If you represent a nonprofit leading air quality work in Boston, consider applying for the City's Community Clean Air Grant Program. This annual fund supports local initiatives that reduce, mitigate, monitor, or educate the public on air pollution, especially in the communities most impacted by environmental burdens. Applications for the 2026 cycle are due on June 30.
Stay in the know: Boston's Air Pollution Control Commission (APCC) reviews, permits, and regulates activities that relate to air quality. Visit APCC's website to learn more about their work.