A high-traffic road can divide a community in more ways than one. Researchers haven’t always been able to show what extent such roads can harm a community’s access, health, or quality of life. A new study outlined in the latest volume of the Journal of Transport and Health looked at one corridor to test tools to measure just that.
health
Google’s Street View cars are measuring and mapping air pollution
Last week, Google and the Environmental Defense Fund published the first in a series of maps with data on pollution levels collected using Google Street View vehicles. The initiative, a partnership between EDF, Google Earth Outreach, and San Francisco-based company Aclima, will make it possible to assess air pollution at a level of detail that was nearly impossible previously. The project team hopes the body of data created will help regulators and local and state officials develop a greater understanding of pollution levels on a neighborhood-by-neighborhood basis, making it possible to target investments and other interventions to the populations facing the greatest health risks.
Crashes fuel U.S. death-rate increase
A new report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, made headlines last week for showing a decrease in Americans’ life expectancy in 2015—a reversal of a decades-long positive trend. One element of the brief report is of special interest to transportation practitioners: The population-adjusted “unintentional injury” rate jumped by 7 percent, passing chronic lower respiratory diseases to rank No. 3 as a cause of death. Causes of unintentional injuries include crashes, as well as drug overdoses, falls and other less-common mishaps.
Motor vehicle dependence is making us sick: How transportation and urban planners are part of the solution
A recent study published in the medical journal The Lancet focuses on prevention strategies for the global epidemic of non-communicable diseases (NCDs) stemming from an unsustainable reliance on a transportation system reliant on fossil fuels. Such diseases include such as traffic violence, obesity, or respiratory and cardiovascular diseases. To address this crisis, the authors makes strong arguments that transportation and urban planners must coordinate across departments and accept their professional roles in determining how people travel.
U.S. scores poorly in relationship between transportation sustainability and human capital
A paper published by University of Connecticut Engineering and Geography faculty, titled Relationship between quality of life and transportation sustainability in the United States and selected European countries, offers a look at whether the burdens of transportation systems are resulting in gains for the nation as a whole. And the U.S. does not stack up well in the report.
Breathe easy: Sleep apnea and transportation safety
In a step towards establishing rules specific to obstructive sleep apnea—a condition that can cause daytime drowsiness and reduced reaction time—the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration and the Federal Rail Administration have issued an Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking to address the challenge of finding a balance between government’s interest in protecting public safety on highways and the industry’s workforce concerns about the ability of truckers to earn a living.
Canadian study links moving to walkable neighborhood with lower BMI in men
Research in the last ten years has linked walkability, improved pedestrian environments, mixed-use development, and even older housing stock—a proxy for neighborhoods built for walking as opposed to driving—with improved public health measures related to weight. A new longitudinal study from McGill University is the first to study changes in body mass index over a relatively long time period as a function of walkability.
A framework for incorporating health in transportation corridor planning
As part of an ongoing effort to raise the profile of the interaction of transportation infrastructure and health, FHWA recently released a new tool. The Health in Transportation Corridor Planning Framework can be found on FHWA’s Health in Transportation website. The tool offers a step-by-step and scalable framework for transportation professionals seeking to include health considerations into their corridor planning activities.
Montreal study finds vulnerable populations have more exposure to road noise
The World Health Organization considers road noise a health hazard, and various studies have found that road noise can have a detrimental effect on health and wellbeing. A study by researchers in Montreal investigated whether residents age 15 years and under and over 65, as well as low-income populations and visible minorities, were more likely to live in areas with high road noise.
USDOT releases health and transportation tool
How does the transportation system affect the health of your community? The health impacts of transportation decisions are more than crash rates and air quality, as shown by the Transportation and Health Tool from USDOT and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The tool’s web page allows easy comparisons between metropolitan areas and states and also provides resources to help improve these indicators.