# Breathe easier: Making air quality something the residents of Elizabeth, NJ act on Designer: Phaneendra Sivangula Interactive version: https://hellophaneendra.com/#/work/air Role: UX Researcher, Designer & Community Engagement Manager Timeline: Apr - Dec 2024 (36 weeks) Team: 1 designer, 2 developers Summary: BREATHE Elizabeth turns live air quality and heat data into simple, local guidance for residents, staff and researchers. Built with the community under a $1M NSF grant, and released in 36 weeks. Problem: Elizabeth faces serious air quality issues, and residents judged the air by smell and sight, with no easy way to see real data. Approach: Community-based research with residents, staff and nonprofits, then a workshop that turned findings into three products. Outcome: A live dashboard, sensor map and community boards, released to the residents of Elizabeth. --- PUBLIC HEALTH / RUTGERS HCI LAB ## Making air quality something the residents of Elizabeth, NJ act on BREATHE Elizabeth turns live air quality and heat data into simple, local guidance for residents, staff and researchers. Built with the community under a $1M NSF grant, and released in 36 weeks. ROLE UX Researcher, Designer & Community Engagement Manager TIMELINE Apr - Dec 2024 (36 weeks) TEAM 1 designer, 2 developers TOOLS Figma, Miro, NVivo, SurveyMonkey ~150K residents in Elizabeth, NJ can check their local air 3 products shaped in one community workshop 36 wks from first interviews to launch PROBLEM Elizabeth faces serious air quality issues, and residents judged the air by smell and sight, with no easy way to see real data. APPROACH Community-based research with residents, staff and nonprofits, then a workshop that turned findings into three products. OUTCOME A live dashboard, sensor map and community boards, released to the residents of Elizabeth. 01 The brief OVERVIEW ### Air you can't see, decisions you make every day Air pollution is the leading environmental threat to human health worldwide. In Elizabeth, New Jersey, it hits hardest in vulnerable, low-income neighborhoods. 8.1M premature deaths a year, worldwide 2.2 yrs of life expectancy lost $1M NSF grant behind the project Sensors across the city were already collecting data. The problem was that almost nobody could use it to decide whether to open a window, go for a walk or wear a mask. The goal: deliver real-time air quality data, health insights and behavioral recommendations, so residents can make safer choices on bad-air days. MY PART ### What did I do? I was the only designer, working with 2 developers, and the link between the research team and the community. - Planned and ran community-based research with residents, staff and nonprofits - Synthesized findings in NVivo and Miro - Co-ran the stakeholder workshop that defined what we'd build - Designed the design system, dashboard, map and community boards - Ran think-aloud usability tests and tracked design vs build quality 02 Research RESEARCH ### Research with the community, not about it With so many stakeholders and researchers involved, we chose Community-Based Participatory Research (CBPR), so every group had a voice in what we built. #01 #### Focus groups with staff Operational needs, pain points and day-to-day work with the sensors. #02 #### Interviews with nonprofits The challenges of groups already working with the community. #03 #### Photo-voice with residents Residents photographed what good and bad air looks like in their lives. FINDINGS ### People trusted their senses, not the data Each group struggled with air quality in a different way: #01 #### Residents Judged the air by smell and sight. No clear way to track it in real time, and little awareness of the health impact. #02 #### Operations staff Maintained equipment by hand, with no alerts for air quality or heat problems. #03 #### Nonprofits Little data sharing between city organizations, and a hard time motivating action. #### What good and bad air looks like Photo-voice showed residents link good air to green spaces and clear skies, and bad air to traffic, construction and garbage. If people read the air with their eyes and nose, the design had to translate numbers into something just as quick. 03 Strategy DEFINE ### Four questions to design for THE QUESTION How might we fit air quality data into residents' daily routines, so it changes what they do? - How might we give residents personalized health recommendations? - How might we make maintaining the system easier for operations staff? - How might we present air quality data so researchers and policymakers can act on it? IDEATION ### One workshop, three products We ran a collaborative workshop with stakeholders and researchers, and weighed every idea against the budget and resources we actually had. #01 #### A community app One place for residents' everyday needs, with air quality and health tips built into the routine. #02 #### A system for staff and researchers Monitor city-wide sensors, get alerts, and explore the data for reports and policy. #03 #### Community boards Screens in shared spaces: local air quality at a glance, with no effort at all. 04 Design INSPIRATION ### Borrowing from weather apps We studied weather apps, resident portals and community platforms. Weather apps stood out: they make complex, changing data feel simple. They also showed the gap: almost nothing tied air quality to the community it affects. ITERATIONS ### Version after version, June to August We started with a design system, so accessibility and branding stayed consistent across every product. Each version went back to stakeholders. We compared variations side by side, which made decisions faster than debating one design. TESTING ### Think aloud, then refine We looked at SUS, scenario-based testing and the NASA task load index, then chose think-aloud sessions and moderated interviews to hear how residents read air quality in the moment. We piloted the protocol with students first, and fixed it before testing with residents. DELIVERY ### Design vs development Design and build always drift apart. I kept a design delta document that tracked every difference, so we fixed the ones that mattered most first. 05 Outcome LAUNCH ### Live for the residents of Elizabeth BREATHE Elizabeth went live across three surfaces. Each surface goes one level deeper, from a glance on the street to the full sensor map. 01Glance at a community board Air quality, weather and quick tips, readable from across a room. 02Read the dashboard History, pollutants, weather and health advice for Elizabeth. 03Explore the sensor map Every sensor in the city, color-coded, for staff and researchers. The final designs. Use the arrows or swipe. Click a screen to see it full size. 01 / 03 Community boards, readable across a room TAKEAWAYS ### What I'd bring to the next one 1 #### Insights aren't enough. Actionable data only matters if it's delivered in a way that builds long-term habits. 2 #### Not every answer is an app. A screen in a community room reached people an app never would. 3 #### Let the community lead. Photo-voice showed us how people really read the air.