istock Photo (air quality/fire/smoke)
Currently humans on the planet have very little information about the quality of the air that they breathe as they move through their daily lives. In 2019 the UN Secretary-General estimated that polluted air is responsible for an estimated 7 million deaths per year world-wide, building on earlier research showing vehicle emissions to be responsible for ~200,000 early deaths in the US alone (Caiazzo et al.1). We focus this document on making the case that cities should provide Clean Air as a service and that air quality data is an essential element of managing this essential resource.