Boston: City Announces Six Selectees of 2026 Community Clean Air Grant Program

BOSTON – Thursday, October 15, 2026 – Mayor Michelle Wu and the City of Boston's Environment Department today announced the selectees of the 2026 Community Clean Air Grant Program. A total of $1,028,871 will be distributed over the next two years to support six community-based projects designed to reduce air pollution and improve public health, with a focus on Boston's low income neighborhoods and communities of color.

"Whether at daycare, at school, at home or in a park, air quality is fundamental to quality of life for all our residents," said Mayor Michelle Wu. "These programs give local organizations the resources to put community-driven solutions into action, making all our spaces safer and healthier for everyone."

The six selectees are:

• Chinatown Community Land Trust, Inc. - $150,000 to evaluate the indoor air quality co-benefits of converting historic Chinatown row homes from gas to electric air-source heat pumps through continuous air quality monitoring in ten residences, bilingual resident workshops, and property owner engagement.
• Dudley Street Neighborhood Initiative, Inc. - $200,000 to use heat, noise, and air quality sensor data from the 75-sensor Common Senses network to partner with local businesses in Roxbury and Dorchester on interventions and help residents shape a climate-resilient Urban Village Plan incorporating clean air goals.
• Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health - $94,406 to use schoolyard monitoring, Boston Public Schools' air quality data, nature-based solutions, and community knowledge at two Boston K-8 schools to evaluate how heat and air quality impact outdoor student spaces and identify practical strategies to improve health during outdoor learning and play.  
• Mothers Out Front East Boston - $198,352 to utilize new technology to measure ultrafine and fine particles in twenty East Boston daycares and test how well different models of air filters reduce indoor pollution exposure for children and caregivers.
• Museum of Science - $199,974 to establish the "Clearing the Air @ MOS" Living Lab and public engagement campaign at the new Public Science Common, featuring immersive digital visualizations, video storytelling, and educational features highlighting City of Boston grantees and air quality solutions for millions of visitors.
• North American Indian Center of Boston - $184,536 to install air quality monitors and HEPA air purifiers in ten American Indian and Alaska Native households to reduce indoor air pollution, evaluate health impacts, and build a long-term community mitigation plan.

Since 2021, the Community Clean Air Grant Program has awarded $2,284,748 to 13 organizations. This round attracted 20 proposals, reviewed by a fifteen-member committee representing nine City departments. Applications were evaluated based on alignment with program goals, community and equity impacts, feasibility, organizational capacity, clarity of evaluation metrics, and demonstration of local expertise.

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"Tackling urban air pollution requires direct collaboration with the communities bearing the greatest environmental burdens," said Brian Swett, City of Boston's Chief Climate Officer. "These six community-led projects demonstrate how local investments can measure pollution, lower health risks, and collect essential data to improve our City's air quality for generations to come."

"Chinatown is Boston's hottest neighborhood and has some of the worst particulate air pollution in the state," said Lydia Lowe, Executive Director at the Chinatown Community Land Trust Inc. "We are thrilled to receive a Community Clean Air Grant, so that we can now measure the impact of electric heat pump conversion on indoor air quality and residents' quality of life."

"The Dudley Street Neighborhood Initiative, in partnership with Project RIGHT and the Boston Area Research Initiative at Northeastern University, is using a network of heat, noise, and air quality sensors as community infrastructure, pairing that data with residents' stories to bring solutions to Roxbury and Dorchester," said Mike Pollio, Deputy Director of Dudley Street Neighborhood Initiative. "With this funding, DSNI will partner with local businesses on air-centered improvements, and residents will use what is learned to shape a neighborhood development plan with clean air at its center."

"East Boston children face high pollution risks and are up to four times more likely to have asthma, making data on ultrafine particulates critical for their safety," said Sonja Tengblad, Founder of Mothers Out Front East Boston. "By partnering with Air Partners and using new QuantAQ technology, we will test different air filter models and provide our community more accurate air quality information and better protection."

"Clean air is an essential public good, but poor indoor air quality and wildfire smoke continue to endanger children's health and disrupt their learning," said David Sittenfeld, Director of the Center for the Environment at the Museum of Science. "Clearing the Air @ MOS" will address this crisis by raising awareness of the environmental causes of unhealthy air, highlighting community-led solutions, and inspiring equitable environmental action across the region."

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"Reclaiming air quality is a vital priority for New England's urban Indian community, especially after smoke from the recent Canadian wildfire demonstrated how environmental destruction directly impacts First Nations territories and Indigenous health in Boston," said Jean-Luc Pierite, President of the North American Indian Center of Boston. "We are grateful to partner with Air Partners and the City of Boston to advance this critical work."

"This funding will allow us to better understand the air quality and heat conditions children experience in the places where they play, learn, and gather outdoors," said Judith Rodriguez, Senior Research Associate, Harvard Chan School of Public Health. "By working directly with schools and community partners, we hope to translate environmental data into practical actions that support healthier, cooler, and more equitable school environments."

The program is supported by the Air Pollution Control Commission's Pollution Abatement Fund. The next round of Community Clean Air Grant applications will open in spring 2027. More information about the program can be found at Boston.gov/clean-air-grant/.

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