New Haven's Environment

The City of New Haven has a commitment to protecting our natural environment. As an urban center, New Haven faces more than its fare share of environmental concerns. Through its innovative and collaborative sustainability efforts, the City is teaming up with neighborhood and environmental groups to convert environmental liabilities into sustainable assets.

Land

New Haven's history as the first planned community in the United States has left New Haven with a rich legacy of land stewardship. As the city grows as a regional economic center, New Haven is transforming the brownfields from its past into mixed-use transit-oriented developments that enhance New Haven as a livable, sustainable city.

Air Quality

New Haven faces significant air quality challenges due to its location and its status as a regional transportation hub. While much of the air pollution affecting New Haven is transported from other areas, the City has an aggressive cutting-edge program for improving air quality and cleaning up emission sources in New Haven. Based on data from the 2004 New Haven Air Toxics Inventory, the City's strategy focuses on improving energy efficiency, embracing renewable energy, encouraging alternative transportation, and aggressively targeting new and existing sources of pollutants within New Haven.

Read New Haven's Air Toxics Inventory

To learn more about the current state of New Haven's air quality and for forecasts, visit the Air Quality Index.

Water

New Haven's geography and history have been shaped by three rivers, the West, the Mill and the Quinnipiac, that all flow into Long Island Sound. New Haven's waterfront areas are subject to Coast Management policies. Water quality remains an urgent issue. On-going sewer separation projects will continue to improve water quality, while non-point sources of pollution will need to be continually addressed.