City of Boston Hosts First-Ever “Air Quality Summit’’ to Take Steps Toward a Healthier City for All

On May 15, 2026, the City of Boston convened its first-ever Boston Area Air Quality Summit, bringing together more than 170 community leaders, researchers, and policymakers to share information and strengthen cross-sector partnerships to improve resident health and address environmental inequities.

Held at Northeastern University's Interdisciplinary Science and Engineering Complex, the daylong event included two panel discussions, breakout sessions, and a round of "lightning talks" where 10 local organizations shared updates and answered questions on their air quality work. Guided tours of MassDEP's ambient air quality monitoring site in Roxbury, Northeastern University's sustainability and air quality features, and Northeastern University's mobile air quality lab van explored how these local institutions monitor, mitigate, and reduce air pollution.

The Summit came on the heels of the City releasing an updated Climate Action Plan, which seeks to advance a range of solutions that will both cut greenhouse gas emissions and improve air quality through co-pollutant emission reductions.

"Clean air is a fundamental right. This Summit served as a critical step in identifying how we can reduce local air pollution through innovation and collaboration across Greater Boston," said Brian Swett, Chief Climate Officer. "By aligning our expertise across sectors, we are building a clean air roadmap that will deliver a healthier future for Boston."

At the Summit, the City announced that it became the newest signatory to the United Nations Global Pledge for Healthy Indoor Air, launched by the UN General Assembly in September 2025.The pledge affirms that clean and healthy indoor air should be considered a basic human right, essential to people's health and wellbeing. Boston Public Schools is actively upholding these values through its renowned indoor air quality monitoring program. Utilizing its existing framework of 4,000+ sensors across all 119 schools, BPS is currently leveraging a City of Boston Community Clean Air Grant to develop a comprehensive action plan aimed at reducing student and staff exposure to indoor air pollution. Developed in partnership with Boston University researchers, this system empowers BPS's 48,593 students and 11,720 staff to monitor temperature, humidity, airborne particulate matter, carbon dioxide, and carbon monoxide levels in every BPS classroom and take precautions to protect their health during pollution events.

Other City-led efforts to improve air quality and health include the Community Clean Air Grant Program, an annual initiative administered by the Air Pollution Control Commission. Funded primarily by revenue from parking freezes, this program empowers local nonprofits to spearhead community-driven monitoring, education, and pollution abatement work. In tandem with these grants, the City is actively deploying street-level sensor networks to track the impacts of roadway reconstructions along major transit corridors like Cummins Highway. The City is also leading a landmark pilot alongside the Boston Housing Authority, Codman Square NDC, and Boston University to transition Dorchester residents to healthy, clean induction cooking. Complementing these built-environment interventions, the City also directly accelerates outdoor cooling and ambient filtration by planting more than 2,000 new trees per year, prioritizing environmental justice neighborhoods. Boston's tree canopy has grown by more than 200 acres since 2019, providing shade and neighborhood beautification while reducing air pollution and heat.

"Air pollution does not respect neighborhood boundaries or city limits, which is why a coordinated regional strategy is absolutely essential," said Dr. Tori Hass-Mitchell, summit organizer and Air Quality Manager at the City of Boston. "This Summit was a pivotal step in pulling City and State programs out of their traditional silos, publicizing cutting-edge research, and forging the regional connections needed to scale this work while serving the day-to-day health needs of our residents."

Panel speakers and moderators at the summit included: Dr. Lindsey Butler, Executive Director of the Boston Green Ribbon Commission; Sean Dunn, Deputy Division Director of MassDEP's Air Assessment Branch; Dr. Patricia Fabian, Boston University Professor of Environmental Health and Associate Director at BU's Institute for Global Sustainability; Dr. Patrick Herron, Executive Director of the Mystic River Watershed Association; Dr. Monika Kopacz, Program Manager at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Atmospheric Chemistry, Carbon Cycle and Climate (AC4) program; Michelle Manion, Executive Director of Northeast States for Coordinated Air Use Management (NESCAUM); Dr. Amy Mueller, Associate Professor of Civil & Environmental Engineering and Marine & Environmental Sciences at Northeastern University; and Oliver Sellers-Garcia, the City's Environment Commissioner & Green New Deal Director.

"The Summit provided a clear-eyed look at our current progress and the long-term work ahead," said Oliver Sellers-Garcia, Environment Commissioner and Green New Deal Director at the City of Boston. "By working with our community partners, we can better create a path forward to reduce the inequities and health burdens caused by air pollution."

Throughout the day, participants collaboratively established the initial groundwork for Boston's 10-Year Air Quality Roadmap. The City will actively move these priorities forward by mapping the regional ecosystem of past and current monitoring efforts, standardizing science across cross-sector partnerships, and aligning local actions with shifting funding landscapes to secure long-term public health victories.

• Last updated: May 21, 2026