This spring, a public health action plan was released that introduced recommendations for reducing air pollution in Detroit.
The plan was created by a community-academic research partnership, Community Action to Promote Healthy Environments, which includes the University of Michigan School of Public Health, Detroit Hispanic Development Corporation, Detroiters Working for Environmental Justice and Southwest Detroit Environmental Vision.
People living and working in Detroit are exposed to elevated levels of outdoor air pollutants. Each year, exposure to these pollutants causes approximately 690 deaths, 1,800 hospitalizations and emergency department visits, and hundreds of thousands of lost workdays and school absences, at an estimated cost of $6.9 billion (in 2010 dollars) in Detroit and surrounding communities.
