Report details transportation policies to improve health

Current system causes problems

Steve Hawley, Jul 29, 09.

A new report by PolicyLink and Prevention Institute describes how better transportation policies can improve human health.

Our current transportation system, according to the report, increases pollution, contributes to climate change, reduces physical activity, decreases mental health by adding to stress and taking time away from friends and family, and causes tens of thousands of deaths and even more injuries every year in traffic accidents. Transportation also indirectly affects income, “an important determinant of health,” by allowing or denying communities access to jobs.

The report states that governments can reverse this trend by prioritizing public transit, investing in pedestrian and bicycle infrastructure, encouraging mixed-use transit-oriented development, and providing government agencies with more flexible dollars. It also says that transportation must provide low-income neighborhoods with access to healthy foods and good transportation alternatives, encouraging accessibility rather than just mobility.

Full report: The Transportation Prescription: Bold New Ideas for Healthy, Equitable Transportation Reform in America (pdf, 552 kb)