Environmental Initiatives
New York City (NYC)
PlaNYC 2030
By the year 2030, it is estimated that more than 9 million people will live in NYC. The city also plans to add three quarters of a million new jobs and host millions of tourists. At first glance, one area of potential concern is related to overdevelopment. However, through careful city planning, NYC can preserve the unique character of its neighborhoods, generate billions of dollars to be reinvested in infastructure and continue welcoming newcomers.
New Yorkers have plenty of experience dealing with what happens when the infrastructure fails during power outages and train delays. NYC subway signaling technology was developed during World War II. The City's two water tunnels were finished by 1936. The City's energy grid was built in 1920s. As this infrastructure ages, it becomes less efficient and more polluting.
Although NYC's air and water is the cleanest since before the industrial age, its air quality still fails to meet federal standards and thousands of acres of land remain severely polluted. The City is also facing the mounting impact of global warming. With rising temperatures and sea levels, and with intensifying storms, the city has to strive to reduce its carbon footprint.
In order to address these serious issues, on Earth Day 2007, Mayor Bloomberg announced PlaNYC2030 - A list of 127 initiatives for the City to achieve sustainability by the year 2030. Prior to unveiling the plan, Mayor Bloomberg challenged New Yorkers to contribute ideas to meeting this goal. The resulted was the most comprehensive and ambitious plan in the City's modern history.
The plan is focused on five key dimensions of the NYC's environment - land, air, water, energy and transportation. The combined impact of PlaNYC2030 will be to ensure a higher quality of life for the generations of New Yorkers to come and to reduce our global warming emissions by 30 percent. The plan's key dimensions are summarized below.
Housing. Create homes for almost a million more New Yorkers, while making housing more affordable and sustainable.Open Space. Ensure that all New Yorkers live within a 10 minute walk of a park.Brownfields. Clean up all contaminated land in New York.
Water quality. Open 90 percent of our waterways for recreation by reducing water pollution and preserving our natural areas. Water supply network. Develop critical back -up systems for the aging water network to ensure long term reliability.
Congestion. Improve travel times by adding transit capacity for millions more residents. State of good repair. Reach a full "state of good repair" on NYC's roads, subways, and rails for the first time in history.
Provide cleaner, more reliable power for every New Yorker by upgrading our energy infrastructure.
Air Quality
Achieve the cleanest air of any big city in America.
Climate Change
Reduce global warming emissions by more than 30 percent.