This chapter compares the methodology of assessing and improving air quality in the Los Angeles and Mexico City metropolitan areas, highlighting pollutant and pollution-management trends in a decade-by-decade examination of the two cities’ air-cleaning experiences. An analysis of air pollution politics and of the results and consequences of efforts in both areas shows the shortcomings and successes of pollution-management programs from the 1970s to the 1990s. The authors conclude that marked improvement in Mexico City’s air quality in the last decade testifies to the power of determined and enlightened policy making.
