Publications

Impact Fees in New York City? Legal Authority, Constraints, and Potential Options

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The Guarini Center is currently soliciting comments from the public on a new draft article that examines questions surrounding the legality of local impact fees in New York City. Comments, suggestions, or other feedback can be submitted to Adalene Minelli at am8898@nyu.edu. Broadly defined, impact fees are one-time charges imposed on new development as a …

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SIDS & Marine Plastic Pollution: A Look at How Small Island Developing States are Impacted by Plastic Pollution

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Plastic—one of the world’s most ubiquitous materials—currently poses one of the greatest threats to the environment, human health, and livelihoods. However, the impacts of plastic pollution are neither distributed nor experienced equally by all countries; while plastic pollution affects many countries across the globe, small island developing states (SIDS) have been disproportionately affected by this …

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Building Better Building Performance Standards

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As the climate crisis accelerates, policymakers are increasingly turning to novel forms of regulation to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. These include regulating the emissions of buildings, which account for over 30 percent of GHG emissions nationwide. A key issue in regulating buildings is whether to regulate building GHG emissions, or whether to regulate the …

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Toward Tradeable Building Performance Standards

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Long a mainstay of environmental policy, emissions trading programs have faced increasing criticism in recent years. Critics have assailed trading programs for failing to generate the scale of greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) reductions necessary to mitigate the climate crisis and have argued that trading exacerbates the burdens imposed on environmental justice communities. This essay offers …

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Valuing Density: An Evaluation of the Extent to which American, Australian, and Canadian Cities Account for the Climate Benefits of Density through Environmental Review

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This study looks at the extent to which major cities in the United States, Australia, and Canada assess the climate impacts of densification through the environmental review process. Research indicates that greater urban density is associated with lower household greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in high GDP countries. Yet there is reason to believe that cities …

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Carbon Trading for NYC’s Building Sector: Implementation Plan

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Between January 2020 and June 2021, the Guarini Center led a team of researchers to study whether New York City should adopt a carbon trading program for its buildings pursuant to its landmark climate law, Local Law 97 of 2019. The study, which was the first rigorous assessment of Local Law 97, brought together researchers …

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Towards Plant-Forward Diets: A Toolkit for Local Policy Makers

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Reducing the consumption of meat would help to improve public health and reduce harms to animals and the environment. Cities – and other forms of local government, such as counties – are well-placed to facilitate the transition toward plant-forward diets. Indeed, they are fertile grounds for progressive policies and some cities already have implemented innovative …

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Rapid Research and Assessment on COVID-19 and Climate in New York City

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In May 2020, the New York City (NYC) Mayor’s Office of Climate Resiliency (MOCR) began convening bi-weekly discussions, called the Rapid Research and Assessment (RRA) Series, between City staff and external experts in science, policy, design, engineering, communications, and planning. The goal was to rapidly develop authoritative, actionable information to help integrate resiliency into the …

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Climate Ambition and Sustainable Development for a New Decade: A Catalytic Framework

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This paper examines the Global Climate Action Agenda (GCAA) and discusses options to improve sub‐ and non‐state involvement in post‐2020 climate governance. A framework that stimulates sub‐ and non‐state action is a necessary complement to national governmental action, as the latter falls short of achieving low‐carbon and climate‐resilient development as envisaged in the Paris Agreement. …

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