Congestion Alleviation and Public Policy for Sustainability

poster containing graphics of: green fields; NYC traffic; wild fires; with event information
Date & Time Mar 18 2025 4:30 PM - 6:00 PM
Location Robertson Hall
Bowl 002
Topics Climate Change, Environment, Energy Finance, Fiscal and Monetary Policy Health
Department SPIA in NJ Julis-Rabinowitz Center for Public Policy and Finance Center for Policy Research on Energy and the Environment (C-PREE)
Speaker(s)
Razia Iqbal
Juliette Michaelson
Karthik Sastry
Tom Wright
Audience Open to the Public

London's had it for almost 20 years. Singapore for nearly fifty. Rome and Stockholm are among other cities worldwide that use this measure to discourage single-use vehicles and raise revenue for public transportation. 

In January 2025, NYC became the first US city to implement congestion alleviation. The scheme, which charges drivers a premium to drive in business districts, wins praise from planners and climate scientists but pushback from politicians who say it imposes costs unfairly. 

This panel will feature some of the architects and advocates responsible for the new plan in conversation with faculty thinking about our climate future. Co-sponsored by the Julis-Rabinowitz Center for Public Policy and Finance (JRCPPF) and Center for Policy Research on Energy & the Environment (C-PREE).

Panelists: 

Juliette Michaelson, Acting Director, Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) Arts & Design

Karthik Sastry, Assistant Professor of Economics and Public Affairs

Karthik Sastry is an Assistant Professor of Economics and Public Affairs at Princeton University in the Department of Economics and the School of Public and International Affairs. His research focuses on the macroeconomic consequences of new technologies, environmental change, and bounded rationality. Karthik received his PhD in Economics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 2022 and was a Prize Fellow in Economics, History, and Politics at Harvard University from 2022-2023.

Tom Wright, CEO & President of Regional Plan Association (RPA), the nation’s oldest independent metropolitan research, planning and advocacy organization. RPA is an independent non-profit civic organization that develops and promotes ideas to improve the economic health, environmental resiliency, equity, and quality of life of the New York metropolitan area. RPA conducts research on the environment, land use, and good governance, and advises cities, communities, and public agencies.

Moderated by: Razia Iqbal, John L. Weinberg/Goldman Sachs & Co. Visiting Professor and Lecturer

Sponsorship of an event does not constitute institutional endorsement of external speakers or views presented.