Climate Week: Macaulay Honors Fall Datathon Showcase (Day Three)
Macaulay Honors College Presents: Reimagining New York City! September 24-26
This fall, Macaulay Honors College will be hosting the culminating event of its annual Datathon in collaboration with Marcy Labs. This competitive event has attracted more than 300 students from across CUNY to tackle the real-world challenge of how to understand air pollution using the tools of data science, data integrity, and data storytelling. In advance of this event, a shortlist of nine finalists will present their projects with the public at NYC PIT Pop Up during Climate Week 2026!
Overall it appears that congestion pricing has been a success for NYC, but that story is more complicated and nuanced. While there has been a 22% drop in air pollution, this is a peak hour measurement and not a daily one. There has not been a daily change, suggesting a shift in pollution — not an elimination. Taking a closer look across the boroughs, The South Bronx is reporting a rise in particulate matter polluting the air. It’s possible that this is due to diverting traffic looking to avoid the congestion relief zone.
The datathon participants will be presenting mapping models that begin to tell the overall traffic migration story and show how optimistic the impacts that congestion pricing has had on the city in terms of air quality truly is. These maps will factor in air quality, traffic and congestion pricing data.