Description:

Air quality is an immensely important environmental issue all over the planet. Since the beginning of the industrial revolution, air pollutant emissions in the atmosphere have been increasing, causing air quality to worsen. Recently, sustained efforts to improve air quality have successfully decreased air pollutant emissions across the United States, however, many urban areas still struggle to comply with the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) air quality standards. Chicago is one such urban area that has been negatively contributing to ozone (O3) quality since 2012. Through a combination of modeling, satellite observations, and pollutant measurements, we observe neighborhood-scale variations in Chicago air pollutant concentrations.

Without targeted action plans, the effects of hazardous air quality within the city will be magnified by increasing temperatures in the future. High-resolution maps of pollutant hotspots allow us to create specific, actionable sustainability plans for the city of Chicago. With the proper information and a well-laid plan, we can alleviate the effects of pollution and climate change in the future.