Urban air pollution is a growing problem in most cities in developing countries. However there is weak institutional capacity to address the issue in an integrated manner, because (for one reason) there is little in the way of an organized knowledge base or development/application of analytical tools that may help support decision making. Most available tools are complex and data-intensive (multi-purpose) and there is a need for a new generation of tools that can be used in these cities, which takes into account the availability of information and institutional challenges.
There is also a need to rapidly scale-up the use of analytical tools for not only the expanding megacities but also for the secondary cities that are developing significant air pollution problems. Modern information technology advances, their increasing presence, and networking offers a tremendous opportunity to establish such tools, to help city managers, regulators, academia, and citizen groups to develop a coordinated approach for integrated air quality management for a city.
UrbanEmissions.Info, has four objectives: (1) Promote the sharing of knowledge base on air pollution analysis (2) analysis based on science (3) advocacy and awareness raising on air quality management and (4) partnership building among local, national, and international stakeholders.