 Urban Air Quality Management is about controlling and reducing air pollution and maintaining acceptable air quality. The Environmental Planning and Management (EPM) process, developed through the Sustainable Cities Programme, provides an environmental management process that cities can use to help them manage and improve air quality. The process ensures the formulation and implementation of realistic and effective strategies as well as action plans that will systematically address the short- and long-term causes of urban air pollution and help the city achieve a sustainable growth path. Based on the key stages of the EPM process i.e. information, expertise and stakeholder mobilisation; strategy formulation and action planning; and implementation and institutionalisation, cities can start improving their air quality, agreeing on how to control and reduce pollution.
Activities - Preparation of an Air Quality Profile – to identify priority urban air quality issues, such as emissions from vehicles, industries and waste disposal.
- Formulation of broad based working groups - through which priority issues are clarified, strategies formulated and actions elaborated.
- Implementation of action plans.
The whole process - from information gathering to implementation - is inclusive, and involves all the key stakeholders including polluters, affected population, policy makers, government officials and advocacy groups. Shenyang China: Mapping Air Pollution Shenyang, located in the north east of China and the first industrial area of modern China has a high concentration of heavy industry. During the preparation of the Environmental Profile by the Sustainable Shenyang Project, the collection and analysis of air quality information showed that it was highly polluted. Consequently, the city consultation identified poor air quality as a priority issue. An Air Quality Working Group comprised of key government departments, people’s congress, political consultative congress, enterprises, institutes and communities identified four key areas of intervention: industrial emissions; heating; city greening and vehicle emissions. The EMIS section of the Sustainable Shenyang Project prepared an air pollution map showing the spread and intensity of air pollution within Shenyang. Strategies to manage air pollution at source were agreed and implemented. These included: strengthening the monitoring and management of key industrial pollution sources; the implementation of an energy control policy; popularising cleaner fuel; as well as energy-saving and cost-reducing technologies. |
Download: SCP Source Book Series, Volume 6: Urban Air Quality Management, Handbook (Parts A and B) and Toolkit (Part C)
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