Rapids Air Quality was inspired by the unfortunate reality of health disparities caused by air pollution in overlooked neighborhoods. It is known that harmful air pollutants can increase hospital visits, sick days at work, and school absenteeism. More so, recent studies have shown that COVID-19’s death rate is higher in places with poor air quality. The ability to safely breathe the air in our communities is a basic human right. It’s imperative that we take action to improve the quality of life in our local communities through a localized data-driven approach.
We started Rapids Air Quality due to the fact that today's cities (and local neighborhoods) are not equipped with the proper tools and insights needed to effectively take action on air pollution issues. Air monitoring solutions today are sufficient for providing a general sense of a city’s air quality (at a macro level). However, to deploy local targeted solutions to improve air quality, communities require a source for more localized air quality data that brings greater visibility at a micro (community) level.
We officially launched at the beginning of this year. So far, we have secured an initial monitoring partnership with the City of Grand Rapids' Downtown Development Authority, for which we will deploy and manage air quality sensors and provide data reports.
What growth do you expect to see in the next few years?