Dearborn Community Air Quality Pilot Becomes City-funded Program

In late 2025, JustAir’s work with the City of Dearborn’s Department of Public Health reached a new milestone when Dearborn’s City Council approved the department’s request to fund Dearborn’s air quality network for an additional term. 

The network had been funded since May 2023 by grants from MI Next Cities and CIV:LAB. Based on the value provided to residents and the City’s longer-term public health goals, the project has transitioned into a city-funded program. In August 2025, the City agreed to not only support but expand the pilot project for at least the next year. The expansion includes:

• An additional advanced monitor that measures particulate matter, ozone, nitrogen dioxide, and carbon monoxide, placed at a new site on the University of Michigan-Dearborn campus 
• Two upgraded devices at city parks to enhance particulate matter monitoring
• More permanent signage (in Arabic and English) coming soon to inform residents of the device uses and how to access their data 

These enhancements will better situate the City of Dearborn to conduct pre- and post- research to assess the efficacy of a range of public health interventions. 

In conjunction with the renewal, the City released its first ever public Dearborn Community Air Monitoring Report. 

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Since the project launched, DPH and JustAir together have:

• Collected data from 10 monitors placed across the city;
• Informed over 225 resident subscribers about their air via text alerts;
• Developed and piloted an AQI light to showcase real-time air quality at Levagood Park;
• Collected data via Dearborn’s customized admin dashboard for further analysis;
• Explored and reported on research questions related to the data collected to date.

Now that the grant-funded project has progressed into a municipally-funded program, there are 11 community air monitors which residents can subscribe to for real-time, publicly accessible air quality info and text alerts provided by JustAir. 

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In November, the partners co-presented their work in Dr. Natalie Sampson’s Introduction to Environmental Health class at University of Michigan - Dearborn. The new advanced monitor is stationed just outside of the campus Environmental Interpretive Center, providing additional opportunities for public learning about local air quality and interaction with monitor data.

“Collecting and sharing air quality data gives residents direct insight into the environment around them,” said Dearborn’s Department of Public Health Data Scientist Hayat Hachem. “By making this information easily accessible, we empower the community to turn data into practical insights for everyday life and make informed decisions about their health.”

Hachem joined JustAir’s November 21st virtual workshop on Communicating Air Quality Data to share insights from how the partnership has achieved public salience in data, including through translation, Dearborn’s innovative AQI indicator light, and social media posts elucidating air quality for the public. 

“Dearborn residents are the experts of their experiences,” said Dearborn’s Chief Public Health Officer & Director of Public Health Ali Abazeed. “This network has allowed us to validate that lived experience, understand disparities across our city, and focus future work on improving air quality for all.”

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For more information:

• City of Dearborn’s public air quality dashboard
• City of Dearborn’s Environmental Health page
• JustAir Case Study: Dearborn