Cleaning the Air: A Comparative Study

Abstract

This chapter focuses on the progress that has been made in the management of air pollution in the Mexico City Metropolitan Area (MCMA) in recent decades. To highlight the serious problems, levels of improvement, and future requirements for sustainable air quality in the MCMA, the chapter compares air quality management in the metropolitan areas of Los Angeles (LA) and Mexico City. This approach offers special insights into the complexities of establishing effective regulatory regimes. First, LA and the MCMA are two of the largest, most populated, and most polluted urban centers in the world. The population in the MCMA increased from three million in 1950 to 18 million in 2000; LA County grew from 3.3 million to nearly 10 million in the same period. The South Coast Air Quality Management District, the smog control agency for all or portions of Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, and San Bernardino Counties, included 15 million people in 2000 (CARB, 2001).1 Second, LA and the MCMA share some striking similarities in their air pollution problems. These include comparable geographic and meteorological phenomena, the same pollutants, and similar atmospheric chemistry. Table 2.1 presents a comparison of some selected statistics between the two urban areas. There is a large difference in the GDP per capita, the population density, and the fraction of vehicles equipped with emission control devices.