Fighting against Urban Air Pollution: Mexico City and its Participation in the Pan American Air Pollution Sampling Network (1967–1980)

Abstract

The article deals with the Mexican Capital, a city that has been struggling with massive urban air pollution since the 1930s. Within the framework of an environmental history, it considers air pollution from local and pan-American perspectives. The Pan American Air Pollution Sampling Network REDPANAIRE serves as a framework for the study. The REDPANAIRE was set up in the 1960s by the Pan American Health Organization as a development policy response to the challenges posed by urban air pollution. The article also examines local knowledge production and perspectives that played an important role in the emerging global governance discourse on urban air pollution that have been marginalized in previous research. The article argues that Mexico City’s participation in the REDPANAIRE was useful as it not only allowed local decisionmakers to gain insight into urban air pollution issues, but also enabled valuable development cooperation that helped the city in its fight against air pollution.