The Refinishing Touch Blog

New York has always stood out as one of America’s largest and busiest cities. As such it’s also been a hub for forward thinking and innovation, not only on a business level, but also on a governmental one. In 2007, Mayor Michael Bloomberg announced long term plans to improve the environmental sustainability of New York City. This plan is dubbed PlaNYC2030 because it targets sustainability for the population growth estimated by 2030.

It’s ambitious - covering more than 100 strategies to improve key areas such as air quality, climate change and transportation. In these areas, Bloomberg – and hence NYC - has made great strides. Bloomberg has worked with the City Council to draft legislation that will help reduce smog emissions, especially around areas with a high number of school children. He has also set a goal to reduce global warming emissions by more than 30 percent throughout the duration of PlaNYC2030 by making existing buildings more energy efficient and investing millions in research and planning to find more economical ways of meetings the city’s energy needs. Additionally NYC Transit has been brought on board to implement new plans to add more than 200 miles of bike lanes and block cars from high foot-traffic areas of the city.

New York City is setting the bar high with all of these innovative strategies. With any luck the rest of the world’s largest, and even the smallest, cities will take notice and follow suit.