Community Air Quality Monitoring Guide

27 May

Air is Kin

We invited David Smith, a seasoned community advocate and an ambassador of Air is Kin with experience in local air quality monitoring, to share some insights and his own case study on air quality monitoring as a community member.

This document is a starting resource for communities who are concerned about air pollution and are considering air quality monitoring as a goal towards justice. It is not our place to tell you if you should focus on air quality monitoring, but we can help inform your decision on if it is right for your community and how to approach monitoring and analysis realistically.

To download a pdf copy of this please use this link or read via the slideshow viewer on this page.

The AIK Health Diary Symptoms Weekly Tracker is for people who prefer more structured and direct questionnaires to answer. These questions have been reviewed by community advocates, academics, and healthcare professionals to make sure that they are relevant for comfortably recording the lived experience associated with air pollution exposure.

Air is Kin Health Diary Info Guide

The AIK Health Diary Info Guide provides the purpose, use cases, and methodology for starting your own health diary that captures your air pollution related health symptoms. We recommend sharing this document and discussing it with others who share your concerns about documenting their health or may want to assist you.

Colonization, U.S. Property Law, and the Right to Pollute

This Essay explores the relationship between colonization, U.S. property law, and the right to pollute. It argues that the foundation of U.S. property law is rooted in colonization, used as a tool to genocide Native Peoples of Turtle Island and colonize Indigenous Land.

Vital Signs Exhibition: Context & Learnings

Here we share some context and learnings from exhibiting work from Air is Kin in the Vital Signs exhibition at the Science Gallery London from 2024-25.

A Case for Health Reparations

We present pathways, philosophies, and strategies for community-led healing to safeguard against air pollution.

A Declaration for Air

On 11th October 2023, 14 people, ranging from the fields of medicine, policy, law, abolition, science, data science, economics, and art gathered to declare our right to access AIR.

Who are AIR?

In current conversations about air pollution, we have grown accustomed to perceiving Air as simply the absence of pollutants. However, Air is vastly more than this. We asked Dr Jake Robinson , who is a microbial ecologist to provide an understanding of Air that is more robust, spiritual, and scientific.

A Need For an Abolitionist Strategy

How governments arrive at air pollution policies and contamination allowances are dependent on science, governmental policies, and narratives that are culturally acceptable. It is also important to consider that currently policies and laws that protect polluters are all done without community consent. Therefore, in order for us to access air that is nourishing and clean, we have to employ an abolitionist strategy.

Meet the Team

Air is Kin is a project led by a wide range of practitioners from leading university research centres, primary healthcare trusts, and grassroots campaign groups.

Air is Kin Academy

This Academy is a self-directed learning tool built as a “Miro World”. Across a number of modules and lessons you are able to be part of a connected and educated community can help move your advocacy forward at a more gentle pace. This includes its history, the science behind air pollution, how air pollution affects our bodies and minds. We have also added lessons to nourish and inspire your journey.

Drop in Sessions

These sessions are an opportunity to ask questions about the programme, ask for advice if you are facing a pollution event, or ask questions about a specific challenge you are facing.

About the Project

This is a live, working summary document of the Air is Kin Project. We are prototyping a method for working not only with communities, but also with the wider public. Science is often done behind closed doors and with little to no public knowledge or input. Whilst it is not realistic to include every single member of the public, we hope that through this document, we can keep a clear line of communication with the general public.

Josh Artus

Community Air Quality Monitoring Guide

Air is Kin

Further Reading

Air is Kin Methodology Lab Book