Belle Haven Neighborhood

Project Overview

Menlo Park City Councilwoman Cecilia Taylor wanted to understand air quality in her neighborhood of Belle Haven and help her constituents do the same. Cecilia Taylor reached out to the Bay Area Air Quality Management District, who then connected Councilwoman Taylor to the Bay Air Center. The Bay Air Center met with Councilwoman Taylor and a local organization, Climate Resilient Communities, to discuss these needs and a project. The Bay Air Center conducted an analysis of publicly available PM2.5 air quality data in the region, including PurpleAir, Clarity, and Bay Area Air Quality Management District data. The team examined air quality within the neighborhood and compared it to air quality immediately outside of the neighborhood and beyond in the rest of Menlo Park. The analysis showed that Belle Haven saw higher PM2.5 concentrations during the period analyzed, although the concentrations seen were still well below the Environmental Protection Agency’s health standards.