Connecting through Air Quaility Monitoring

 Partners: Vancouver, Sarnia, Aamjiwnaang
First Nation Place: Vancouver Metropolitan Region, BC
Themes: Environment, Health, Social RESPONSIBILITY

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CONTEXT

Aamjiwnaang has the worst air in Canada. A lack of corporate or government accountability forced them to take the matter into their own hands, monitoring their air quality.

PROJECT

Clairity is a personal wearable and app that constantly monitors air quality, tracks air quality data from multiple sources and creates data that is shared within a community.

DESIGN ROLE

The design challenge was to create tools and access to data that would empower and connect individuals in the fight for the health of their community. Design ensured that the right messages were conveyed, and that tools and software were easy for everyone to use.

CLAIRITY

Air is inherently important to our health, but not everyone has access to to clean air. This is the case for many communities across Canada. Many have no means of monitoring their air, or the data may be inaccessible or difficult for them to interpret. The Clairity air quality monitoring system attempts to solve this problem. The system contains two parts: an app and a wearable air quality monitor. The wearable monitor tracks air quality and sends the data to a smartphone, which analyzes it and displays it in the app.

COMMUNITY

The coloured circle roughly approximates the where the treaty lands of the Aamjiwnaang are. Information gathered by Clairity is shared among residents of the treaty lands and Sarnia; this impacts and solidifies community through the momentum of shared action.