The collective realization about our acceptance of polluted air has been one of the most spectacular realities unveiled by the new coronavirus pandemic (COVID-19). As personal vehicle miles fell dramatically, skies in the world’s largest cities turned a shade of blue that astonished many residents. While skies cleared, researchers discovered that exposure to poor air quality could increase susceptibility to the coronavirus.

As parts of the world return to a resemblance of pre-lockdown status, there is discussion about not letting this improvement in air quality slip quietly into the history books. With urbanites around the world expressing a strong and renewed interest in improving air quality, cities might find themselves in need of better air quality data on which to base new policy decisions.

Luckily, the past five years have seen tremendous leaps forward in air quality sensing for smart cities. When gathering air quality data, smart cities should consider the following recommendations:

  1. Increase data resolution To improve air quality, cities must first achieve greater data resolution. Historically, air quality for an entire city has been measured at one or two geographic points for regulation compliance. However, concentrations of pollutants can change significantly over just a few city blocks, so measurements must be collected from many strategically chosen locations.
  2. Understand air quality sensors' ROI Once a city has settled on a measurement technology, they must face the quintessential question for any municipal project: how do we pay for this? This question is a bit more difficult to answer for air quality monitoring than, say, smart street lighting.
  3. Find innovative data uses Once an air quality sensor network is in place, cities can use the data for much more than determining whether the air is good or bad on a given day.

Read the full article about air quality by Grant Samms at Smart Cities Dive.