Half of all Americans breathe dirty, polluted air every day, according to the American Lung Association. Most of those pollutants don’t come from industrial activities, but from motor vehicle emissions. This polluted air “sears the lungs and can permanently damage the respiratory system, cause heart and lung disease, and harm the body’s defenses against infection and disease,” the American Lung Association warns. In the month of May, many organizations and government agencies support National Clean Air Month to raise awareness of how air quality affects public health. Together with Bike to Work Week, May 14 -18, now is the perfect opportunity for local governments to take a look at what their communities can do to create a more healthful environment.

Many cities and counties have special events planned for the month to engage their citizens in this issue. Hillsborough County, Fla., held a Clean Air Fair to promote alternative fuels and invited local students to participate in a photo contest highlighting the benefits of clean air. Coral Gables, Fla., is putting on a Clean Air Challenge this month to encourage people, through financial incentives, to carpool or bike to work. Leaving the car in the garage to bike or walk to work not only helps clean the air, but also reduces traffic and improves cardiovascular health. That's why communities across the country, from Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, and Oakland, Calif., to Bloomington, Ind., and Louisville, Ky., have organized events to celebrate Bike to Work Week and promote clean transportation.

A few blog posts from In the Know on ICMA’s Knowledge Network highlight resources to help local governments improve air quality. Designing cities to be easy to walk is one of the best ways to reduce vehicle emissions while also building a sense of community. For similar reasons, many cities have recently built or expanded light rail systems. Converting municipal fleet vehicles to compressed natural gas not only improves air quality, but also saves money. Finally, although their role is easy to overlook, a community’s trees perform crucial services by removing air pollutants; urban forests even have quantifiable financial benefits.

As your local government considers how it can improve the community’s air quality, take a look at the resources from the Knowledge Network’s topic pages on Air, Climate, Water; Environment; Public Health; Cycling; and Walking. There, you’ll find discussions, articles, and documents like these:

Questions

• Which cities are using alternative fuels in municipal fleets?
• How do you fund conversion of municipal vehicles to compressed natural gas?
• Then, how do you manage natural gas fueling stations?

Articles

• Plano, Tex., recognized for its Clean Air Action Day.
• Decatur, Ga., designated a Silver Walk Friendly Community.
• Howard, Wis., uses public trees to offset carbon footprint.

Documents

• Air Quality: What Is the Local Government Responsibility? (ICMA and other organizations)
• Integrating Air Quality and Transportation Planning: A Resource Compendium (National Association of Regional Councils and U.S. Department of Transportation)
• Healthy Communities, A Vision of Connectivity (an article from PM Magazine describing walking trails in Warwick Township, Pa.)
• Seeing Green with Trees: The Economic and Environmental Benefits of Urban Forests (ICMA Annual Conference materials).

Find more resources on the Knowledge Network.