Can mayor's push for 'car-free Tuesdays' tackle Tehran's air pollution?
Tehran's new mayor has joined an eco-friendly campaign aimed at cutting the megacity's air pollution and traffic congestion by encouraging residents to use public transportation. Some have criticized the move as a mere public relations gesture.
Pirouz Hanachi is the third mayor of Tehran elected by the City Council in a period of less than seven months. As part of his drive to establish a closer connection with the city's residents, Hanachi recently joined a campaign dubbed "car-free Tuesdays." The campaign, originally launched in December 2015, has never become widely popular, remaining an unfulfilled dream mostly pursued by environmental activists. While the Tehran Municipality and Iran's Department of Environment voiced support for the idea, they rarely took steps beyond words.
The campaign calls on Tehran residents to rely on public transportation to get to work on Tuesdays, with the aim of mitigating the city's pollution and combating its complicated traffic jams.
