Just breathe…
Have you ever wondered how the air you breathe affects your health, especially in a busy and complex city like New York? This study aims to uncover the hidden stories of environmental justice1 and the relationships between the city’s physical characteristics and active living2 in our neighborhoods by using a new approach called “participatory data anecdotes.” By equipping volunteers (hopefully you!) with wearable health sensors and portable air quality monitors, we can gather real-time data on their heart and respiratory rate, activity tracking, location data, and pollution exposure as they move through the city. By combining personal health data with location tracking, we can create a detailed map of air quality exposure across the city, offering insights that stationary sensors, like the ones the government uses, can’t provide.
This innovative method will provide a new perspective on where we live and people’s experiences may influence air pollution exposure and health outcomes. This is why we need your help! Whether it’s a child playing in a new park near the Cross-Bronx Expressway or a cyclist navigating the congested roads of Midtown, this study ultimately seeks to understand the real-world impacts of our urban environment. For this pilot, however, we’re focused on Upper Manhattan and The Bronx. Join us in this exciting study to help shape policies and create healthier communities for everyone.
About The Pilot Study
This project will monitor participants across various neighborhoods using wearable smartwatches to measure biodata and body-worn air quality monitors to measure pollutants like PM10, PM2.5, CO, and NOx. While we ultimately hope to scale this project across the many neighborhoods of New York and to other cities facing complex issues of environmental justice, such as Detroit, Los Angeles, and beyond, we are starting with this pilot study in Upper Manhattan and The Bronx to test and refine our methods with a real-world group.
We hope to work with a group of health-conscious and technologically knowledgeable people for a weeklong pilot to ensure we’re getting the best possible data and to use this to paint a picture of how air quality varies by neighborhood and person. During the pilot, we’ll work with you to ensure that the data collection is working, that your participation in the study is not bothersome, and that the findings are also valuable for you. Additionally, we’ll compare this data with official air quality measurements and crowdsourced data to evaluate differences in monitoring methods.
Process
This study serves as the first test for this experiment. It will give us a picture of the lived experience of air quality in Upper Manhattan and The Bronx and test our research and analytical methods in using these technologies. We aim to start with 12-16 participants in this experiment phase and, based on these learnings, scale up to analyze a larger spatial footprint with more participants.
If you’re interested in participating in this pilot study, please complete the survey to join the study. This screening survey will help us select a representative group for this experiment.
Footnotes:
1 “Environmental justice,” defined by the US EPA, as just treatment and full involvement of all people so that everyone is “fully protected from disproportionate and adverse human health and environmental effects (including risks) and hazards, including those related to climate change, the cumulative impacts of environmental and other burdens, and the legacy of racism or other structural or systemic barriers; and has equitable access to a healthy, sustainable, and resilient environment in which to live, play, work, learn, grow, worship, and engage in cultural and subsistence practices.” We recognize that the definition differs slightly between different groups, organizations, and communities.
2 “Active living” integrates physical activity–including walking and biking–into everyday life outside of planned exercise or recreation, such as walking the bus or running errands. (Vanky et al., 2017)
Join the Study!
Fill out the survey to join the study, and help us learn more about the healthiness of the places you and your neighbors live, work and play.
Questions, Answered
Contact with questions
If you have any questions or would like to learn more by speaking with a research team member, feel free to contact us.
Columbia University Cities + Digital Engagements Lab
Anthony Vanky
a.p.vanky (at) columbia (dot) edu