What is the Healthy Air Network?
The Healthy Air Network is a coalition of organizations and community members dedicated to improving air quality, building climate resilience, and advancing environmental justice across Massachusetts.
Our mission is to empower communities with real-time air quality information, enabling them to pinpoint pollution sources and advocate for healthier air and more equitable environmental policies. We aim to improve public health outcomes and address environmental inequities throughout the state.
Our core partners include the Public Health Institute of Western Massachusetts, Yale School of Public Health, the Hitchcock Center for the Environment, and MAAP/HRIA.
Why is MAAP involved?
Everyone deserves the right to breathe clean air and live in a safe environment.
As one community members says: “Breathing clean air is a basic human right, essential for our health and quality of life.”
For others, firsthand experiences drive their involvement:
“I’m here because of my son, who has asthma—and now I have asthma too.”
“I’m here to amplify the community’s voice in decisions that affect our health.”
“Air is life. Without it, nothing else matters. We must prioritize the environment.”
“I want to use air quality data to drive better policy decisions.”
Three Massachusetts Groundwork Trusts Join the Healthy Air Network
In the summer of 2024, three Massachusetts-based environmental justice organizations—Groundwork Lawrence, Groundwork Somerville, and Groundwork Southcoast—joined the Healthy Air Network as funded partners. These groups will conduct local, outdoor air quality monitoring across Somerville, Lawrence, and New Bedford for the next two years.
With funding from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) through HRiA/MAAP, each group will receive $30,000, at least 10 outdoor air quality sensors, and full technical support from the Healthy Air Network. These sensors will connect to our website, allowing these communities to monitor and use local air quality data in real time.
This initiative also aligns with Groundwork USA’s Climate Safe Neighborhoods program, which brings together 13 Groundwork Trusts to explore the links between historical racial segregation in housing and today’s environmental challenges. Through this partnership, we aim to understand how past inequities continue to impact environmental health—and to advocate for policies that address these disparities.
We are excited to collaborate with these local organizations and look forward to sharing progress and lessons learned from their data-to-action work in the coming months.