Community air quality monitoring
We support planning, deployment, and maintenance of open air quality monitors where public data is missing, so local partners can build trusted evidence.
Open Air Foundation
Air Quality and Environmental Healthfor Everyone
The Open Air Foundation is a Swiss non-profit advancing air quality and environmental health through open technology, open data, and local capacity building. We help communities measure, understand, and reduce risks from air pollution, poor indoor environmental conditions, and airborne biological hazards.
Open source and open data
We build and steward open environmental health data systems, software, hardware, and firmware so communities, researchers, and institutions can use transparent, auditable, and reusable public-interest tools.
Local capacity building
We help partners interpret data, communicate risks, run awareness activities, and use evidence for health protection, advocacy, and public action.
Biosafety and airborne hazards
We support research, sensing pilots, environmental surveillance, and ventilation assessment for homes, schools, healthcare facilities, workplaces, and public spaces.
Community Air Quality in Practice: Lagos, NigeriaSee What We Do
One monitor helped make the case for cleaner technology.
In a Lagos fish-smoking community, local monitoring helped make invisible exposure visible. The data supported a clearer case for changing how smoke exposure was being managed.
The Lagos Environmental Protection Agency later installed smokeless eco-kilns, showing how local evidence can help connect community concern with practical intervention.
For us to be able to inform governments, we need data, and luckily we got the data from AirGradient, which we used in piloting the study.
Okwong Walter
Monitor provision and technical support
We help communities deploy and maintain open air quality monitors where little or no public data exists.
Local communication and advocacy capacity
We support partners with data interpretation, public communication, awareness activities, and advocacy so monitoring results can lead to local action.
Education and advocacy support
We support education, campaigns, and community activation that turn air quality evidence into protection, awareness, and public action.
Why This Matters
Air quality and airborne health risks are local. Too often, the data is missing.
Communities cannot protect health, improve indoor and outdoor environments, or advocate for cleaner air without trusted local evidence.
The gap
Local evidence is still missing where communities need it most.
- The communities most exposed to air pollution and airborne health risks are often the communities least able to measure them.
- Without local data, pollution, poor ventilation, mold risk, and airborne biological hazards remain invisible to residents, schools, health workers, and decision-makers.
- Public monitoring and open environmental health data make exposure visible and give communities a practical basis for education, protection, research, and advocacy.
The path forward
Monitoring does not just measure pollution. It helps communities move through a repeatable path from evidence to action.
- Open monitoring generates trusted local evidence.
- Communities and researchers share useful data responsibly.
- Communication creates awareness.
- Awareness drives positive change.
Airborne Environmental Health
Beyond Pollution: Airborne Environmental Health
Air quality is our starting point. The same open monitoring systems, local capacity, data infrastructure, and ventilation knowledge that help communities reduce air pollution can also strengthen protection against airborne biological hazards.
Indoor air, ventilation, humidity, thermal comfort, mold risk, and airborne pathogens all shape health in homes, schools, healthcare facilities, workplaces, and public spaces. The Open Air Foundation supports research, sensing pilots, environmental surveillance, and practical assessment methods that help communities reduce both chronic pollution exposure and emerging airborne health risks.
Air Quality Map
Explore public air quality monitor data.
The launch map shows all public AirGradient monitors, making real-time air quality data visible across many communities and regions.
Projects
Community Air Quality Projects We've Supported.
Our work with communities is focused on sustainable impact. After our projects, communities can maintain their monitoring networks and teach others how to do the same, expanding knowledge and skills in a cyclical way.
Visitor Paths
Choose the path that fits your role.
The Open Air Foundation supports community air quality projects, builds open source and open data infrastructure, and advances biosafety and airborne hazard resilience. We award support to local partners while seeking funding to scale public-interest impact.
What We Do & How to Support Us
Understand our air quality and environmental health mission, our four pillars, and why the model can scale.
Read the modelGet Funded
Learn what support can include for community air quality, indoor environmental health, biosafety, and public-interest data projects.
Get supportRelationship with AirGradient
Before the Open Air Foundation was established, AirGradient supported community air quality projects in a nonprofit capacity for six years. The foundation is now the dedicated Swiss non-profit home for this public-interest work, separate from AirGradient, while carrying forward the same open-source technology, community relationships, and values.
AirGradient has committed 5,000 air quality sensors to the Open Air Foundation at no cost. The foundation will also become the long-term guardian of AirGradient's open-source software, hardware, and firmware, helping ensure that the tools remain transparent, auditable, and useful for communities, researchers, and public-interest partners.
Help advance air quality and environmental health for everyone.
Support community air quality monitoring, open source and open data, biosafety and airborne hazard resilience, home and public-space assessment, and local capacity building.