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Air Pollution in Megacities

Program Description

Air pollution is a persistent and pervasive environmental problem that imposes significant health and economic costs on society. Air pollution problems also overlap with other complex urban and environmental issues that are of growing importance in urban regions throughout the world, such as traffic congestion and mobility, land use, and global warming.

Many efforts aimed at reducing the serious burden of air pollution are limited to understanding the physical and chemical processes of pollution, and overlook its social and economic causes. There is a need to develop new tools and approaches that can address these interrelated issues and common obstacles experienced in urban areas around the world. The Integrated Program on Urban, Regional and Global Air Pollution was initiated in 1999 at MIT to pursue these issues in a coordinated and interdisciplinary manner. Mexico City serves as the initial case study for the program's research and educational activities.

The Mexico City Case Study involves participation of a multidisciplinary group of researchers from more than a dozen Mexican institutions working in close collaboration with an interdisciplinary team of faculty, students, and research scientists at MIT and other institutions in the Boston area, other parts of the United States and Europe. Moreover, the Program involves active collaboration with Mexican government officials and decision makers.

Objective

The overall goal of the Program is to provide objective, balanced assessments of the causes and alternative cost-effective solutions to urban, regional and global air pollution problems through quality scientific, technological, social and economic analysis in the face of incomplete data and uncertainty.

• Use Mexico City as the initial case study;
• Develop an approach that applies globally;
• Build on strong base of ongoing research;
• Provide a communication forum and enhance the coordination of Mexican scientific efforts in air-pollution research and management.

Integrated Assessment Framework

One of the primary challenges in the development of a coordinated, robust and cost-effective air quality plan is addressing all the pertinent scientific, technological, political, institutional, economic and administrative aspects of the problem at hand. For this reason, the Mexico City Case Study Project has developed an integrated assessment approach to develop recommendations that facilitate the interaction between areas as varied as health, atmospheric science, economics, technology and policy. Throughout this process, the participation and input of the most important stakeholders has been a decisive factor. The following figure illustrates the framework for this integrated assessment.

Education and Capacity Building

Education and capacity building are an important component of the Program. The Program recognizes the importance of strengthening environmental awareness in education and research and is committed to educating students who will be involved in solving air pollution issues in the future. While some graduate students are directly involved in the research elements of the Program, the participation of many others in seminars and workshops fulfills these educational goals and strengthens the interdisciplinary nature of the Program.

In Mexico, there is a clear need to increase the number of professionals—in government, industry, academic institutions, and in NGOs—with a basic understanding of the different aspects of air pollution. These include the relationship between urban, regional and global pollution sources and control strategies, the economic and health impacts of air pollution and the social implications of different approaches to the problem.

Summer workshops for air quality management professionals provide opportunities for government agencies, industry, and individuals to develop a base of knowledge and skills necessary to deal with these inherently complex issues. A rich menu of new knowledge in atmospheric chemistry and modeling, urban planning, environmental health, etc., emerging from the program’s research activities will augment the training materials and methods, thus enriching existing curricula. The workshops will be supplemented by development of distance learning tools using computer and telecommunication technologies, taking advantage of the expertise and facilities available at MIT and its partner institutions. The outreach activities currently underway involve stakeholder education and participation to craft effective strategies and ensure public acceptance of pollution control policies.

Recent Activities

Now in its second phase, the Mexico City Case Study has brought together a very distinguished and diverse group of collaborators and advisors in the US and Mexico. Direct communication with policy makers and stakeholders in Mexico has been an important part of the process. The following is a summary of some recent activities:

• Workshops: The Program has held five joint US-Mexico workshops, attended by project investigators, students, and invited representatives from government agencies and industries. There will be additional workshops alternating between MIT and Mexico;

• Distinguished visiting faculty and scientists at MIT: Various Mexican researchers have visited MIT for as little as a week to as long as a year to work with MIT researchers;

• Air quality management workshop for professionals: In June 2000 and August 2002, the Program conducted 2-week workshops on air quality management for Mexican professionals, policy makers and representatives from NGOs, media and industry. The courses were taught by a combination of US and Mexican Project collaborators and other experts in air pollution and relevant policy areas and negotiations;

• Advising and interacting with decision makers: The Program researchers prepared a series of white papers for the Mexican Metropolitan Environmental Commission as part of its strategic planning for its new ten-year air quality management program. These reports provide an overview of the current situation and lessons learned from air quality programs to date, identifying some of the near-term actions. These include recommendations for research and institutional changes so that cost-effective programs can be efficiently developed and implemented. The white papers served as the scientific foundation for “PROAIRE 2002-2010” (Program to Improve Air Quality in the Metropolitan Area of the Valley of Mexico);

• Publication of book on Mexico City Air Quality: Results of the first phase of research in the Mexico City Case Study have now appeared in a book, “Air Quality in the Mexico Megacity: An Integrated Assessment” published by Kluwer Academic in February 2002;

• Field measurement campaign: One of the major activities of the second phase of this Program is to carry out field measurement campaigns to update and improve the MCMA emissions inventory, and to improve the current knowledge of the chemistry, dispersion and transport processes of the pollutants emitted to the MCMA atmosphere. An exploratory field measurement campaign was successfully carried out in February 2002, utilizing state-of-the-art instrumentation such as a single particle spectrometer, tunable diode lasers coupled to long-path absorption cells, a proton-transfer mass spectrometer, and a fine particle monitor that selectively samples soot particles. The field measurement campaign is a joint effort of the MIT Mexico City Program and the Metropolitan Environmental Commission (CAM) and involved the participation of many US and Mexican institutions and agencies. An intensive campaign has been scheduled for Spring 2003; and

• Stakeholder education and outreach: The Program investigators met periodically with groups of selected stakeholders to share key findings and recommendations, to contribute to consensus building toward future actions on air quality improvement, and to enhance environmental education and awareness.

Program Vision

The Mexico City Case Study involves long-term research. It is still in its initial stage and will continue advancing to provide a more thorough analysis of policies in the future, taking into account technological, political, social and economic feasibility.

The development and appropriate incorporation of scientific knowledge into the decision-making process constitute a valuable resource for strengthening the foundation for robust policy design, to avoid costly mistakes by learning about successful experiences and lessons in Mexico and other countries. However, effective strategies must accommodate political factors, including successful implementation of the regulations and relevant laws, the availability of financial and human resources and the negotiating capacity of the government. What is learned from this case study will lay the groundwork for developing comprehensive knowledge needed to support integrated assessments for improved environmental decision making in other megacities in the developing nations