Human health cannot be disentangled from our commensal relationships with dynamic microbiomes. Effective molecular maps of the environmental microbiome have the potential to spatially connect the impact of these microbiomes on human well-being and identify microbial reservoirs and transmission pathways. Yet, how individuals interact with outdoor environmental microbiomes through specific urban substrates (e.g., soil, glass, etc.) remains unclear. Currently, microbial maps are based on metagenomic methods to establish spatialized microbial metrics. They are often interpreted with minimal metadata and limited spatial and temporal resolution due to methodological constraints (sampling and sequencing analysis). To achieve a future microbial map that parallels what has been accomplished with urban temperature metrics, establishing a metric that links an individual’s outdoor exposure to diverse environmental microbiomes and urban characteristics is necessary. This research identifies the features essential for creating such an inferred urban microbial map.
