Air quality management in rapidly urbanizing contexts requires collaborative frameworks that balance technical solutions with inclusive governance. This study introduces the “quadaq” approach, a partnership model that identifies and engages air quality (AQ) actors across four levels: micro (citizens directly affected and targeted by initiatives), meso (entities whose activities directly or indirectly reduce air quality), macro (academia, NGOs, and AQ professionals), and mega (local councils, government, media, and funding agencies). The Erasmus+ program has facilitated various air management initiatives across Europe. Two of such projects, the CitiObs and AirForAll projects demonstrate different partnership frameworks different from the “quadaq” approach to air management. The AirForAll project support micro level AQ players to “act for improved air quality and climate sustainability in your local area and in the world.” expressed through the production of a non-technical knowledge toolkit accessible on the AirForAll digital platform, the platform affords micro level players the opportunity to collaborate with Macro level players for air management. This project doesn’t incorporate meso and mega level players directly and thus the collaboration may not endure. The CitiObs project, focuses on empowering micro level players to become “citizen observatories in distinct cities to create/enhance/or scale up inclusive and diverse citizen observations, fostering, in particular, an active role of citizens in the observation of the urban environment using low-cost sensor technologies and wearables, with a particular focus on air quality and related environmental measures.” Citizen Observatories are collaborative platforms for environmental monitoring, combining citizen participation and technology. CitiObs approach is akin to the conceptualized “quadaq” partnership framework as it hopes to engage “citizen science practitioners (public and institution-based), and policymakers at the city, regional, national and EU levels in co-design and co-creation activities, and embedding the results of those activities in a Knowledge Platform.” This approach involves the mega, micro and macro level AQ players. Engaging all AQ players is an ideal framework for enduring collaboration for air management.