<span class="bigtext">If I Ran The City...</span>
You are in charge of the city.
But there's a problem. The air quality in your city is poor.
In this text game, you have to make decisions about how to tackle your pollution problem.
[[Next]]In UK cities, vehicles, and wood burning stoves are the main sources of air pollution.
Which would you like to tackle first?
a) [[Vehicle pollution]]
b) [[Wood burning stoves]]Road vehicles with petrol or diesel engines such as cars, lorries, vans and buses are a major source of air pollution. But some are worse than others. The most polluting vehicles tend to be older diesel-powered vehicles.
How do you want to tackle vehicle pollution?
a) [[Ban the most polluting vehicles]]
b) [[Charge the most polluting vehicles to drive in your city]]
c) [[Encourage people to walk, cycle and use public transport more]]Wood burning stoves produce lots of PM2.5 pollution inside and outside the home they are in. This is one of the most dangerous forms of air pollution.
How do you want to tackle wood burning stoves?
a) [[Ban wood burning stoves in your city]]
b) [[Charge people for having a wood burning stove]]
c) [[Run a campaign to let people know how bad wood burners are for their health]]The people are angry! They say they can't afford to buy new, cleaner vehicles. Some businesses that use vehicles will have to close down and people will lose their jobs.
a) [[Charge the most polluting vehicles to drive in your city]]
b) [[Help people and businesses buy new cleaner vehicles|Expensive]]
c) [[Do nothing. Air quality will improve because of the ban|Do nothing. They would have had to get new vehicles eventually anyway]]This idea is called a Clean Air Zone or CAZ for short. But some people are angry. They say they can't afford to pay the charge every day and they can't afford to buy new cleaner vehicles.
What are you going to do?
a) [[Help people and businesses buy cleaner vehicles]]
b) [[Do nothing. They would have had to get new vehicles eventually anyway]]That's a great idea. But some people don't feel safe cycling on the roads. Also, buses are quite expensive and don't always come on time.
What will you do to help?
a) [[Build more cycle paths and offer money to help people buy new bikes]]
b) [[Improve public transport - lots of shiny new buses and trams, with cheaper prices]]
Lots of the people in your city decide to start cycling to work! This improves you city's air quality a bit. But when it's cold and wet, they decide to drive.
What will you do?
a) [[Improve public transport and encourage people to use it|Improve public transport - lots of shiny new buses and trams, with cheaper prices]]
b) [[Ban the most polluting vehicles]]
c) [[Charge the most polluting vehicles to drive in your city]]This is a great idea! It will give people a good alternative to using their cars all the time, and will make a difference to your city's air quality. But it will be expensive!
When you run a city, you have to pay for things like schools, looking after older people and disabled people, looking after streets and parks, and rubbish collections. And there isn't enough money to do everything people want.
You have to decide whether improving air quality this way is worth the cost.
Thanks for playing If I Ran the City... !
Would you like to [[return to the start|Next]] and explore the other options?This could get expensive!
When you run a city, you have to pay for things like schools, looking after older people and disabled people, looking after streets and parks, and rubbish collections. And there isn't enough money to do everything people want.
You have to decide whether improving air quality this way is worth the cost.
Do you want to:
a) [[Stick with your decision|No, I've made enough air quality improvements for today]]
b) [[Charge the most polluting vehicles to drive in the city instead|Charge the most polluting vehicles to drive in your city]]
This could get expensive. But you do have the money from the CAZ charges to help. This idea will help to get the most polluting vehicles off the road and improve air quality in your city!
Thanks for playing If I Ran the City... !
Would you like to [[return to the start|Next]] and explore the other options?I have good news and bad news:
The good news is that you have made a big difference to the air quality in your city.
The bad news is that people are angry! Businesses would have had to replace their vehicles eventually anyway, but now prices will go up to cover the cost, and some businesses will close, resulting in job losses.
Thanks for playing If I Ran the City... !
Would you like to [[return to the start|Next]] and explore the other options?
People in your city will live healthy lives because of the improvements you made to their air quality. Well done!
Thanks for playing If I Ran the City... !
Would you like to [[return to the start|Next]] and explore the other options?People are angry! They spent alot of money having their wood burners fitted, and they give their houses a nice cozy feel.
What will you do?
a) [[Pay people to remove their wood burners]]
b)[[Run a campaign to let people know how bad wood burners are for their health]]
c) [[Do nothing. The ban will improve air quality and people's health]]This is a good idea! Lots of people don't realise how harmful wood burners are. This idea will help to improve the air quality in your city.
Thanks for playing If I Ran the City... !
Would you like to [[return to the start|Next]] and explore the other options?Some people are angry that they have to get rid of their wood burners. But there are other ways to heat a home and make it feel cozy. Your city will be a healthier place because of your decision.
Thanks for playing If I Ran the City... !
Would you like to [[return to the start|Next]] and explore the other options?This could get expensive!
When you run a city, you have to pay for things like schools, looking after older people and disabled people, looking after streets and parks, and rubbish collections. And there isn't enough money to do everything people want.
You have to decide whether improving air quality this way is worth the cost.
Do you want to:
a) [[Stick with your decision|No, I've made enough air quality improvements for today]]
b)[[Run a campaign to let people know how bad wood burners are for their health]]
c)[[Charge people for having a wood burning stove]]Well done! This will encourage people to get rid of their wood burners and will slowly improve air quality. The money from the charges can be used to improve air quality in other ways.
Thanks for playing If I Ran the City... !
Would you like to [[return to the start|Next]] and explore the other options?