Design Squad
Sustainable South Bronx Part 2
Clip | 5m 52sVideo has Closed Captions
Sustainable South Bronx Part 2
Judy and Adam build an air pollution monitoring device for Justin's neighborhood in South Bronx, NY.
Problems playing video? | Closed Captioning Feedback
Problems playing video? | Closed Captioning Feedback
Design Squad
Sustainable South Bronx Part 2
Clip | 5m 52sVideo has Closed Captions
Judy and Adam build an air pollution monitoring device for Justin's neighborhood in South Bronx, NY.
Problems playing video? | Closed Captioning Feedback
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HEY.
YOU MUST BE JUSTIN.
HELLO.
YEAH.
I'M ADAM.
-NICE TO MEET YOU.
-GOOD TO MEET YOU.
HEY, JUSTIN.
HEY, JUDY.
IT'S GOOD TO SEE YOU AGAIN.
SO WE MADE AN AIR QUALITY MONITOR FOR YOU.
SO WE PUT IT IN A BACKPACK SO YOU CAN WEAR IT AROUND, AND IT'S REAL EASY TO KIND OF TAKE ON OR OFF.
COMPLETELY PORTABLE.
SOMEBODY ELSE--YOUR SISTER COULD WEAR IT.
RIGHT HERE IS THE ACTUAL SENSOR.
SO THIS IS THE PART THAT'S STICKING OUT OF THE BACKPACK, AND IT'S MEASURING THE AIR, TESTING FOR OZONE.
AND WE HAVE A MODEM OVER HERE.
SO THE MODEM IS SENDING MESSAGES, SENDING THE DATA FROM THE SENSOR WIRELESSLY BACK TO THIS COMPUTER HERE.
THE MODEM ALSO HAS A GPS ANTENNA.
THAT'S WHAT THIS IS.
AND THE GPS IS TELLING US OUR POSITION ON EARTH.
SO TO BE ABLE TO TRACK WHERE I'M WALKING.
EXACTLY.
YEAH.
SO THIS IS A MAP OF HUNTS POINT, THE NEIGHBORHOOD.
WE'RE RIGHT UP HERE RIGHT NOW, BUT IT'S GONNA SHOW YOU-- WHEREVER YOU GO, IT'S GONNA SHOW YOU WHERE YOU ARE AND THEN WHAT THE AIR QUALITY READING IS WHEN YOU'RE THERE.
SHOULD WE TAKE A WALK?
SURE.
SHALL WE GO?
YOU KNOW IT.
LET'S DO IT.
ALL RIGHT.
COOL, GUYS.
I'LL SEE YOU IN A BIT.
JUDY: SEE YOU.
ALL RIGHT, SO JUSTIN AND JUDY JUST LEFT.
IF THIS ALL WORKS OUT, WHAT WE SHOULD SEE IS POINTS WOULD START APPEARING ON THE MAP, DOWN THERE.
AND THIS IS KIND OF THE BIG MOMENT WHERE WE SEE IF IT WORKS, SO I HOPE IT WORKS.
JUDY: SO THIS IS WHAT'S GOING ON.
IT'S NOWHERE NEAR EPA REGULATIONS, BUT THE IDEA IS TO GET A SENSE OF WHAT'S GOOD AND WHAT'S BAD, NOT NECESSARILY BE SUPER SCIENTIFIC ABOUT IT.
SO, YOU KNOW, AS WE'RE WALKING AROUND THE NEIGHBORHOOD, WE'LL SEE, LIKE, BETTER PARTS AND WORSE PARTS.
AH, LOOK AT THAT!
NOT TOO BAD.
ADAM: OK, SO THERE'S OUR FIRST READING FROM THEM.
SO THE AIR-- IF WE LOOK AT THE KEY, THAT'S KIND OF A LIGHT PINK COLOR, SO THAT'S SAYING THE AIR IS OK THERE.
IT'S NOT THE CLEANEST AIR WE CAN MEASURE.
THIS IS, LIKE, MODERATE.
THIS IS AWESOME.
THIS IS THE FIRST TIME THAT EVERYTHING IS WORKING TOGETHER.
[MUSIC ON SOUNDTRACK] JUDY: SO WHAT WAS THE LAST READING THAT YOU ACTUALLY SAW ON HERE?
JUSTIN: "HOLD YOUR BREATH."
SO HERE, THIS IS A PRETTY HEAVY TRUCK TRAFFIC ROUTE, SO WE'RE SEEING SOME HIGHER READINGS.
JUDY: SHALL WE WALK TOWARDS THE PARK AND SEE WHAT HAPPENS?
YEAH.
LET'S DO THAT.
ADAM: THE PARK, YOU KNOW, IS A CLEANER AREA, BUT IT IS RIGHT NEXT TO THIS FERTILIZER PLANT, AS WELL AS A SEWAGE PLANT, SO MAYBE LESS TRAFFIC THERE, BUT A LOT OF INDUSTRIAL POTENTIAL FOR CONTAMINATION.
"HOLD YOUR BREATH."
HUH.
ADAM: THAT READING, AGAIN, IS CONSISTENT WITH THE WHOLE STREET, SO MAYBE THEY'RE STILL KIND OF IN THE TRAFFIC AREA RIGHT THERE.
LET'S WALK THROUGH THE GRASS.
WE'LL KEEP AN EYE ON THIS AND SEE WHAT COMES UP.
LET'S SEE WHAT WE GET.
SO WHAT DO WE LEARN FROM THIS?
IF WE'RE SEEING-- YOU KNOW, IF WE'VE BEEN IN THE PARK FOR A FEW MINUTES NOW AND EACH READING IS SAYING "HOLD YOUR BREATH," WHAT DO YOU THINK IS HAPPENING?
WELL, EVERYTHING AROUND THIS PARK... IS RELEASING A LOT OF OZONE, AND THEY RELEASE THINGS, AND IT'S TERRIBLE.
HMM.
ACTUALLY, WHAT IS THAT SMELL?
WELL, THAT'S THE PELLET FACTORY OVER THERE.
THAT'S THE PELLET FACTORY SMELL?
YES.
WOW.
IT SMELLS LIKE BURNING HAIR.
ADAM: ACTUALLY, YEAH, SO THERE'S A COUPLE MORE.
THE READINGS REALLY ARE REALLY HIGH.
JUDY: SO THIS IS REALLY INTERESTING 'CAUSE I THINK MY EXPECTATIONS WERE THAT IT WOULD BE ACTUALLY PRETTY CLEAN HERE, SO WE WOULD SEE "BREATHE EASY" HERE.
BUT IT KIND OF MAKES SENSE, RIGHT?
THIS OPEN AIR IS CONSTANTLY BLOWING AROUND.
WE'RE SURROUNDED BY SO MUCH GOING ON HERE.
SO I REALLY THINK THE BACKPACK IS WORKING.
I'M JUST DISAPPOINTED THAT IT DIDN'T READ, LIKE, A HAPPY SIGNAL HERE.
JUSTIN: YEAH.
WHY DON'T WE TAKE A WALK DOWN THIS WAY?
I WONDER AS WE'RE WALKING AROUND SOME OF THE SMALLER STREETS IF THAT'LL TAKE A DIFFERENT READING.
ADAM: SO WE DESIGNED AN AIR QUALITY MONITOR.
WE'VE HAD A LOT OF ENGAGEMENT.
PEOPLE COMING BY HAVE BEEN REALLY CURIOUS ABOUT WHAT WE'RE DOING.
GOOD TO MEET YOU, MAN.
TAKE CARE, GUYS.
I THINK THIS IS A GOOD IDEA.
I'VE LIVED HERE MY WHOLE LIFE.
WITH THE AMOUNT OF TRUCKS THAT COME IN AND OUT OF THIS NEIGHBORHOOD, WE NEVER GET EDUCATED ON THE AMOUNT OF TRUCKS AND THE POLLUTION THAT'S REALLY IN OUR OWN BACKYARD.
I'M REALLY EXCITED THAT YOU GUYS ARE DOING THIS BECAUSE THE WORK THAT WE DO AT SUSTAINABLE SOUTH BRONX IS DIRECTLY TRYING TO FOCUS ON AIR QUALITY ISSUES.
DOES THIS SEEM LIKE THE SORT OF PROJECT THAT COULD BE USEFUL TO THE COMMUNITY DOWN THE LINE IN THE LONG TERM?
WE'VE TALKED ABOUT IT, WE SAY IT'S REAL, BUT NO ONE HAS HAD THE RIGHT LEVEL OF EVIDENCE.
WHAT YOU'RE DOING TODAY HELPS US PRESENT THE EVIDENCE THAT, HOPEFULLY, WILL LEAD TO CHANGE.
WE'RE MORE IN THIS RESIDENTIAL AREA NOW, AND WHAT ARE WE SEEING?
LOOK AT THIS!
"NOT TOO BAD."
"NOT TOO BAD."
THIS IS A MORE RESIDENTIAL AREA, SO "NOT TOO BAD," THAT'S ABOUT WHAT WE SHOULD PROBABLY BE SEEING.
SHOULD WE KEEP WALKING TOWARDS ADAM?
YEAH.
ADAM: THEY ARE LITERALLY HALF A BLOCK AWAY.
THEY SHOULD BE BACK ANY MINUTE.
SO LET'S KEEP AN EYE OUT FOR THEM.
JUDY: ADAM, WE'RE BACK.
HOW'D IT GO?
ADAM: YOU GUYS, IT WORKED.
YEAH?
IT TOTALLY WORKED.
NICE.
CHECK IT OUT.
IT'S AWESOME.
SO THIS IS YOUR ROUTE.
YOU GUYS KIND OF STARTED HERE.
YOU WENT DOWN HERE.
YOU GOT TO THE PARK.
IT GOT REALLY HIGH AT THE PARK.
THAT'S EXACTLY WHAT WE WERE SEEING ON HERE.
BUT, JUSTIN, WHAT DO YOU THINK OF THE DISPLAY?
I THINK THAT'S A PRETTY GOOD DISPLAY.
I MEAN, I COULD WALK AROUND.
THIS IS A PRETTY LIGHTWEIGHT THING TO CARRY AROUND, JUST WALK AROUND, GET READINGS.
AND THEN PEOPLE CAN SEE IT AND COMMENT ON HOW... LOOK, IT'S PRETTY GOOD RIGHT HERE, BUT IT'S NOT THAT GOOD RIGHT THERE.
AND OVER AT THE PARK, IT'S NOT--IT'S REALLY BAD.
I LOVE THE IDEA THAT WE COULD ACTUALLY TRACK, YOU KNOW, WHERE'S GOOD, WHERE'S BETTER, AND WHERE'S WORSE.
ARE YOU HAPPY?
YEAH, I'M EXCITED.
THIS WORKED BETTER THAN I THOUGHT IT WOULD.
NICE JOB.
ADAM: AWESOME.
GOOD STUFF, GUYS.
WELL DONE.
WELL DONE.
NICE WORK.
THAT'S AWESOME!
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