MSU Center for Community and Economic Development

Regional Economic Innovation

E-Update | December 2025

Enhancing Economic Growth through Air Quality Data Visualization and UX Design

In collaboration with JustAir, a Michigan-based startup focused on air quality analysis in Michigan, this 2025 Student Led Faculty Guided project focused on the designing and creation of tools to transform large-scale air quality data into visualizable results that can be utilized by a wide audience. Using air quality data collected from sensors throughout Detroit, Michigan, the team developed a reusable visualization toolkit designed to make environmental data easier to explore and understand. The data consisted of many different pollutants such as PM1, PM2.5, and PM10, but the primary focus was finding a way to uniquely convey air quality index (AQI) levels. After integrating data from multiple locations and sources, the team built interactive and filterable charts, maps, and analytical templates that reveal trends and particulars across time, locations, and pollutant types. Then, they used a variety of Python visualization libraries to create a modular style toolkit that utilized python scripts for development and Jupyter Notebooks for presentation. The purpose of the toolkit is to provide JustAir with potential means to visualize daily and long-term air-quality patterns to be presented to whatever audience they see fit. The project placed a heavy emphasis on reproducibility and robustness with hopes of allowing the tools to effectively support both public engagement and government reporting. In conclusion, the team's goal was to demonstrate that large-scale environmental monitoring data can be distilled into intuitive, adaptable visualizations that support informed decisions and policy efforts aimed at improving public health outcomes.

One Week Left to Submit: Call for Project Proposals

The deadline to submit a Co-Learning Plan, Innovation Fellowship, or Student-Led Faculty-Guided project is on Friday, December 19, 2025.

REI is seeking authors, researchers, and experts to contribute to the next annual cycle of work through Co-Learning Plans, Innovation Fellows, and Student-led Faculty-guided projects.

Co-Learning Plans

• In a Co-Learning Plan Project, innovative economic development tools, models, strategies, policies, and practices are researched, and the findings and recommendations serve as a key resource for economic development practitioners and policymakers in Michigan.

Innovation Fellowships (Co-Implementation Plans)

• This is where you as an expert can bring economic development concepts to life through real-world implementation.

Student-Led, Faculty-Guided Projects

• Teams of students, guided by experienced faculty, provide technical assistance that supports local and regional economic development. It’s a chance for students to translate theory into action, gain experiential learning, all while making a meaningful impact for Michigan communities.

REI and its partners have identified six priority themes for 2026 for innovation and exploration:

• https://reicenter.org/projects/25-26-project-overviews
• https://reicenter.org/projects/25-26-project-applications

Have an idea? Not sure where it fits? Contact Jenan Jondy (jondyjen@msu.edu) to help you refine your concept and determine the best project type. Please share these opportunities widely.