Like many places in the world, air toxicity in the city of Cuenca is political. After the establishment of national and municipal regulations in the 90s to meet international standards for air pollution, the first monitoring of air pollution in Cuenca was undertaken determined a poor air quality. With initial good results, including the establishment of an air quality monitoring network and new policies that limited the use of “bad” fuel (cheap fuel that contaminates excessively), more stringent vehicle regulations, and a progressive reduction of old cars in the roads, the city was set to improve its air quality. However, many regulations were often overlooked, the monitoring network had (and continues to have) a series of deficiencies, and a rapidly growing car industry, resulting in rather poor air and noise quality in the city, particularly in neighborhoods like El Vado.
Several scientific studies indicate PM concentrations over permissible limits at various points in the city, directly contradicting results by the municipality’s monitoring network. A combination of low resources and a lack of political commitment have pushed issues of environmental health out of sight and into a minimalist course of action. This is one of the reasons we find it important to bring to light issues of environmental governance, especially around air and noise pollution.
The image indicates the overview of Cuenca city at the left top, pointing La Condamine with a red line. Also, a 1992 study draws the traffic flow before and after the bridge, pointing out the pedestrianization of La Condamine as a possible solution. Finally, we can observe a photograph of the tactic urbanism intervention during September 2019. These images exemplify our interest in documenting how air pollution moves not only across physical boundaries but also through history, through neighbor's bodies, their crafts, their family relationships, their economic existence, through political decisions, and technologies broadly understood.
Like many places in the world, air toxicity in the city of Cuenca is political. After the establishment of national and municipal regulations in the 90s to meet international standards for air pollution, the first monitoring of air pollution in Cuenca was undertaken determined a poor air quality. With initial good results, including the establishment of an air quality monitoring network and new policies that limited the use of “bad” fuel (cheap fuel that contaminates excessively), more stringent vehicle regulations, and a progressive reduction of old cars in the roads, the city was set to improve its air quality. However, many regulations were often overlooked, the monitoring network had (and continues to have) a series of deficiencies, and a rapidly growing car industry, resulting in rather poor air and noise quality in the city, particularly in neighborhoods like El Vado.
Several scientific studies indicate PM concentrations over permissible limits at various points in the city, directly contradicting results by the municipality’s monitoring network. A combination of low resources and a lack of political commitment have pushed issues of environmental health out of sight and into a minimalist course of action. This is one of the reasons we find it important to bring to light issues of environmental governance, especially around air and noise pollution.
The image indicates the overview of Cuenca city at the left top, pointing La Condamine with a red line. Also, a 1992 study draws the traffic flow before and after the bridge, pointing out the pedestrianization of La Condamine as a possible solution. Finally, we can observe a photograph of the tactic urbanism intervention during September 2019. These images exemplify our interest in documenting how air pollution moves not only across physical boundaries but also through history, through neighbor's bodies, their crafts, their family relationships, their economic existence, through political decisions, and technologies broadly understood.