Can PlaNYC make New York City “greener and greater” for everyone?: sustainability planning and the promise of environmental justice

Many cities across the country are developing sustainability agendas and competing for the title of the “greenest city”. This research evaluates how one of the leading US citywide sustainability plans, New York's 2007 PlaNYC, deals with concerns about equity and environmental justice (EJ). By examining the politics around PlaNYC, the plan itself, and the subsequent land use decision-making, this paper explores the extent to which PlaNYC has changed the City's planning framework to promote EJ. EJ advocates give PlaNYC and the planning process surrounding it mixed reviews suggesting that there is more work to be done to counteract the power dynamics that shape inequitable and unjust urban land-use decisions.