The Community
We Are Air Aware is a growing community of residents, researchers, designers, engineers, artists, and environmental advocates working together to better understand the air we breathe.
Rather than asking communities simply to collect data, We Are Air Aware invites people to help shape every stage of the research process—from how the technology is designed, to what information it should provide, to how the results are shared with the public.
The project is built on the idea that communities are experts in their own lived experience. By combining that local knowledge with environmental sensing, we hope to create tools that are scientifically rigorous, meaningful to use, and genuinely useful in everyday life.
Community Co-Design
The first We Are Air Aware co-design workshop was held at York University in July 2026. Participants explored how wearable air-quality technology could fit naturally into everyday life while reflecting on what information would help people understand their personal exposure.
Rather than evaluating a finished product, participants became co-designers. Through discussions, sketching, clay prototyping, collaborative activities, and a neighbourhood walk, they helped imagine how AirWear should look, feel, and communicate invisible environmental information.
The ideas generated through these workshops will directly influence the next generation of AirWear devices before they are manufactured for community deployment.
Citizen Science Begins with Community
The wearable monitors used throughout the project are themselves being shaped by the people who will wear them.
Participants considered how AirWear should be worn, what would make it comfortable enough for everyday use, what information it should provide immediately, what data should remain private, and how individual measurements could become meaningful community knowledge.
These conversations ensure that the technology serves community needs rather than asking communities to adapt to the technology.
Join the Citizen Science Study
Beginning with the Bathurst Quay neighbourhood in fall 2026, community members will wear AirWear devices during everyday activities to help build a richer understanding of particulate air pollution across Toronto.
These privacy-conscious measurements will contribute to community maps, visualizations, public artworks, and conversations that make invisible pollution perceptible.
Community comes first throughout We Are Air Aware. Every workshop, prototype, and deployment is guided by the people whose experiences are shaping the future of this citizen science research.