NYC Clean Schools Air Quality Monitoring

The overall objective of this research project is to identify the impact of traffic-related air pollution on educational outcomes for New York City students. In partnership with researchers and two other community-based organizations in the city, we have installed low-cost air quality monitors inside and outside of 20 high schools across the city, along with weather stations at each school. We also partnered with teachers and students at the schools to conduct weekly building surveys to assess indoor conditions and identify defensive behaviors (such as the use of air filters), which is the focus of this proposed action. These monitors and building surveys allow us to identify pollution at each school, understand how the ambient traffic-related pollution corresponds to indoor conditions, and eventually quantify the impact on resulting academic performance. This work will provide high-resolution, actionable data that NYCLU can use in its efforts to reduce transportation-related pollution near schools.

Community Partner:

Project Team:

Ms. Lanessa Owens-Chaplin

Racial Justice Center Director | Lanessa Owens-Chaplin received her J.D. and L.L.M. in Environmental Law and a Doctorate of Humane Letters from the State University of New York. With over 10 years of civil rights experience, she leads the Racial Justice Center, working to restore and uplift Black, Indigenous, and people of color through traditional and movement lawyering. Lanessa joined NYCLU in 2018, where she contributed to the education equity campaign and led the environmental racism campaign, including the I-81 Project. Her work focuses on racial justice, infrastructure equity, land use, reparations, education impacts, and Indigenous rights.

Ms. Caroline Cotter

Director of Development | Caroline Cotter received an M.A. in Biology, with a focus on Conservation, from Miami University. She joined the NYCLU in 2015 and served as Deputy Director of Development for six years. Previously she was Senior Development Officer at the International Women’s Health Coalition (IWHC), which promoted the sexual and reproductive rights and health of women and girls globally, and Program Coordinator at CREA, a feminist women’s human rights organization, based in New Delhi.

Dr. Marc N. Conte

Professor of Economics | Marc Conte received a Ph.D. in Environmental Science and Management (emphasis: Economics and Environmental Science (EES)) from the University of California, Santa Barbara. His primary research interests relate to the provision of environmental public goods. He uses research techniques from applied microeconomics and experimental economics to explore the outcomes of voluntary and governmental programs aimed at increasing the provision of environmental public goods. He has explored such programs in the context of carbon offsets, charitable giving to conservation organizations, green energy programs, and payments for ecosystem services.