Air Pollution Control Strategies in New York City: A Case Study of the Role of Environmental Monitoring, Data Analysis, and Stakeholder Networks in Comprehensive Government Policy Development

Abstract

New York City’s air quality has improved over time as regulations have made Federal, State, and local air quality standards more stringent over the last two decades. Still, the City’s air quality fails to meet Federal standards for ozone and fine particles (PM2.5). There are known public health impacts associated with air pollution, especially among vulnerable populations such as children. The New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene projects that, every year, PM2.5 pollution in New York City causes more than 3,000 deaths, 2,000 hospital admissions for lung and heart conditions, and approximately 6,000 emergency department visits for asthma in children and adults. Locally, through PlaNYC 2030, the City of New York’s sustainability plan, policymakers have pursued several initiatives to reduce emissions from key local sources of air pollution such as transportation and heating fuels. This practicum describes the comprehensive effort to reduce emissions specifically from the combustion of heating fuels in New York City, which is responsible for approximately 14% of local PM2.5 emissions. Through the accounting and evaluation of this multi-year policy process—from the identification of the policy issue to the legitimation and implementation of the policy solutions—this analysis finds that environmental monitoring and data analysis and collective action and coalition building in the refinement and enactment of sweeping air pollution control strategies were critical to enable implementation and ultimately pollution abatement. Greater integration of monitoring and scientific data analysis to identify and prioritize policy solutions and early and consistent stakeholder group and agency engagement and coalition building were also found to be important to the development and implementation of effective environmental sustainability strategies.