Clarity Air Monitors installed in Houston's Fifth Ward

On Tuesday, February 7, 2023, The Coalition for Community Organizations (COCO) in collaboration with the Bullard Center for Environmental and Climate Justice at Texas Southern University (TSU) and the Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) installed five low-cost air monitors that measure particulate matter (PM2.5) in the Fifth Ward community.

COCO works to share information and resources designed to address environmental justice, legacy pollution, disaster preparedness and recovery, and fair housing using their block captain program. To better understand air quality in Fifth Ward, low-cost air monitors were strategically placed around the community near residential homes and various sources of pollution.

The air monitors are owned and maintained by COCO and will be part of a larger community-air monitoring network in Harris County. COCO will be installing more air monitors this year with funding from the Environmental Protection Agency’s Community Air Monitoring Grant.

As a member of TSU’s HBCU-CBO Gulf Coast Equity Consortium and the National Black Environmental Justice Network (NBEJN), COCO is focused on collecting and disseminating environmental and climate justice data needed to truly advocate for good health and wellbeing in the Fifth Ward community.