The Driving Force Behind NYC's Greening Effort

Rohit Aggarwala, a Columbia-educated former business consultant, is helping to create and implement New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg's sustainability plan -- PlaNYC.

2 minute read

May 31, 2007, 7:00 AM PDT

By Christian Madera @http://www.twitter.com/cpmadera


"Consultants at McKinsey & Co. often joke that they can double their salaries and cut their hours in half when they leave the firm for another private sector job. When Rohit Aggarwala left McKinsey last summer to head a new New York City agency, the Office of Long-Term Planning and Sustainability, he failed on both counts.

Mr. Aggarwala, 35, is the slim, soft-spoken technocrat who has spent the last year crafting PlaNYC, Mayor Bloomberg's 127-point roadmap for New York City to prepare for an expected influx of 1 million new residents by 2030. The plan includes a new tax on traffic in Manhattan and an effort to plant 1 million new trees in the city.

Mr. Aggarwala has a professorial air that befits someone who has earned four degrees from Columbia University, including a doctorate in history and an MBA. He has handed out more than 3,000 business cards over the past year. A mass transit devotee, he does not own a car and rides the E train to work at City Hall every day from his home in Hell's Kitchen. While he theoretically enjoys cooking, he acknowledges that his refrigerator has stood empty over the past 12 months while he has devoted himself to PlaNYC.

"My most typical lunch has been nothing," Mr. Aggarwala said in an interview at his office on Broadway, across the street from City Hall. Dinner often came delivered to City Hall in pizza boxes or in cartons from Zen Palate, and it has been months, he said, since his Blackberry was turned off or placed out of his reach.

If Mayor Bloomberg and Deputy Mayor Daniel Doctoroff have been at the center of the effort to explain PlaNYC to the public and get it passed in Albany, Mr. Aggarwala has been a crucial player behind the scenes, gathering input and building early support for the plan from business and civic leaders, community groups, elected officials, academic experts, and thousands of New Yorkers across the city."

Tuesday, May 29, 2007 in The New York Sun

portrait of professional woman

I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching. Mary G., Urban Planner

I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching.

Mary G., Urban Planner

Get top-rated, practical training

Close-up of front of blue locomotive with Amtrak logo.

What the US Intercity Rail System Could Look Like

An FRA study shows how new Amtrak lines could connect tens of millions more Americans to rail travel.

January 30, 2025 - Fast Company

The Seat of Government

Good Planning Under Bad Leadership

Planners must sometimes work under bad leadership. Here are suggestions for responsive planning in challenging political environments.

February 3, 2025 - Todd Litman

Amtrak train with downtown Seattle in background.

Amtrak Cascades Line Breaks Ridership Record

The route linking Portland, Seattle, and Vancouver, BC served nearly one million riders in 2024.

February 2, 2025 - Daily Hive

View of wooded area and homes in Altadena, California with hills and downtown Los Angeles, California in the distance.

Half of Altadena’s Black Homes Lost or Damaged in Eaton Fire

The community has higher Black homeownership rates than most of Los Angeles, but now faces an uncertain future as residents struggle to rebuild.

February 9 - The Guardian

Low view of person with vision impairment cane walking through crosswalk.

Making Autonomous Vehicles Safer for Blind Pedestrians

A team of researchers is developing a dataset to fill a critical gap in self-driving cars’ learning models.

February 9 - University of Maryland

Row of vehicles parked and plugged in at EV charging station.

Federal EV Charging Program Suspended

The National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure program planned to fund the construction of hundreds of EV charging stations across the country.

February 9 - Wired

Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools

This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.

Planning for Universal Design

Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.