Cities that restrict private vehicles report measurable drops in respiratory illness, yet the same policies often penalize shift workers, caregivers, and small businesses that cannot rearrange their lives around transit schedules. Treating clean air as a fundamental right sounds principled until enforcement lands hardest on those with the fewest alternatives. The tension is not whether breathable air matters, but who should bear the inconvenience of producing it. Can a policy be both effective and fair when the burden falls unevenly?