Urban Innovation
News & features
In the news | Muckrock
Project Eclipse helps city of Chicago monitor air quality
Chicago’s air quality is among the worst in the U.S., and there are several local hotspots for particulate matter 2.5 — the tiny particles that come from diesel trucks and industry and enter people’s lungs and blood, causing significant health…
In the news | Harvard Business Review
Who Gets to Work in the Digital Economy?
Remote work has become commonplace since the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic. But the focus on daily remote work arrangements may miss a larger opportunity that the pandemic has unearthed: the possibility of a substantially increased labor pool for digital…
In the news | MuckRock / WBEZ Chicago
Chicagoans breathe the most polluted air of the year on Independence Day
The hours between 9 p.m. and midnight on July 4, 2021, ranked as the most intensely polluted hours the city experienced at any point over the past year, according to analysis of data on Chicago’s air quality. The new analysis…
In the news | INHabitat
Solar-power EcoPod mobile device is a pop-up on air quality
Some days, you step outside and you know that the air quality is lower or higher than the day before. But until the EcoPod, you haven’t been able to prove it. Now, you can monitor your air quality and get…
Awards | Green Good Design
Project Eclipse Chicago deployment recognized with a Green Good Design Award 2022
Project Eclipse recognized with a 2022 Green Good Design Award for their Eclipse Air Sensor Transit Shelters Chicago Deployment. In July 2021, the Project Eclipse team at Microsoft Urban Innovation Research began a partnership with JCDecaux Chicago, LLC and team…
In the news | Chicago Sun Times
The dangers in our air: Mapping Chicago’s air pollution hotspots
An analysis of readings from newly-installed air sensors across the city found portions of Little Village, Austin, Englewood, Auburn Gresham, Irving Park and Avondale have the highest levels of particulate matter pollution — a known cause of serious health problems.
In the news | WBEZ
What’s in the air?
Fine particulate matter is responsible for an estimated 5% of all premature deaths in Chicago. What is it and where does it come from? Each time we take a breath, the outside world finds its way into our body. One…
In the news | MuckRock
What we did to analyze Chicago’s air pollution hotspots
Chicago has several EPA regulatory stations, considered the gold standard of air quality testing; an array of cheaper sensor networks across the city and suburbs like PurpleAir and Microsoft’s pilot project; and new satellite imagery that can detect a host…
In the news | Innovation at Microsoft
Fusing Art & Science
This piece explores projects that intersect between Science and Art. The idea here is that Art is the bridge to our humanity and enables us to connect with the Science on a deeper, more emotional level.