Pillar III: Application Areas
Real world testing grounds for cleaner air
Aim & motivation
In Pillar III, we focus on understanding how air pollution affects people in real world settings. We do this in four application areas: the city, a rural area, an industrial environment, and the workplace. These areas each face major societal transitions that affect air quality and change people’s exposure to pollutants. Examples include the shift to clean energy, sustainable farming and circular production. In these areas, we lack knowledge about where pollutants come from, how they spread, and how large people’s exposures are. This makes it difficult for governments, companies and citizens to take effective action. Better understanding of exposure can lead to more informed decisions.
Activities & methods
We set up “Living Labs” in each application area to study exposure to air pollutants directly where people live and work. In these Living Labs, we work with local stakeholders to measure air quality in real time and on-site, and to analyse and interpret the results together. Stakeholders in the living labs also provide input for the development of measuring technologies based on their needs and experiences. We combine existing data with new measurements to trace pollutants back to their sources, test interventions and connect exposure to harm. We also explore how citizen generated data can become more reliable. Alongside the Living Labs, we run smaller experimental “sandboxes” where we pre test new technologies before applying them in the field.
Impact & role in ExpACT
Pillar III brings the project’s innovations into practice. By combining the measuring tools from Pillar I and engagement methods from Pillar II in real world environments, we generate data that helps stakeholders understand exposure patterns and evaluate mitigation measures. This increases the ability of citizens, workers, farmers, employers and local governments to monitor air quality together and make informed decisions. The insights and experiences from the living labs feed back into the development of technologies and engagement strategies in Pillars I and II. This ensures that ExpACT delivers solutions that work not only in theory but also in the places where clean air matters most.
