Clean Air Action: Applications of Citizen Science to Identify and Address Air Pollution Emission Sources

The paper examines how citizen science can be used to identify air pollution sources, noting that while low-cost monitors have increased the number of projects, public awareness of specific emission sources remains low. Based on a review of 33 case studies, the author develops a typology of initiatives and identifies six pathways for achieving outcomes, including identifying hyperlocal sources and strengthening enforcement. Success depends on trust, joint leadership between scientists and civil society, and clear data usage plans, while challenges include the complexity of pollution sources and the difficulty of definitively linking data to specific emitters.

• Despite the increase in citizen science projects for air pollution and health, there is still a lack of shared public understanding regarding the specific sources of emissions, which can hinder effective air quality actions.
• A review of 33 case studies shows that citizen science initiatives can increase public knowledge, discover new hyperlocal pollution sources, improve source-specific enforcement, link health impacts to specific emitters, and encourage better compliance from polluting companies.
• Effective outcomes in these initiatives are typically associated with building trust, joint leadership between scientists and civil society, and established methods for data application, though they are often challenged by the complexity of pollution sources and the difficulty of attributing emissions to specific sources.

APA

World Resources Institute (2021). Clean Air Action: Applications of Citizen Science to Identify and Address Air Pollution Emission Sources. https://www.wri.org/research/clean-air-action-citizen-science-pollution-emissions

Chicago

World Resources Institute. Clean Air Action: Applications of Citizen Science to Identify and Address Air Pollution Emission Sources. 2021. https://www.wri.org/research/clean-air-action-citizen-science-pollution-emissions.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=World Resources Institute |title=Clean Air Action: Applications of Citizen Science to Identify and Address Air Pollution Emission Sources |date=7 October 2021 |url=https://www.wri.org/research/clean-air-action-citizen-science-pollution-emissions |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{worldresourcesinstitute2021clean, author = {{World Resources Institute}}, title = {{Clean Air Action: Applications of Citizen Science to Identify and Address Air Pollution Emission Sources}}, institution = {World Resources Institute}, year = {2021}, month = oct, url = {https://www.wri.org/research/clean-air-action-citizen-science-pollution-emissions}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }