Abstract
The burden on health-related issues due to unplanned urban policies is higher despite the present knowledge of interventions and availability of current technologies. This burden could increase substantially, given the rapid growth in urban populations and the application of partial or misguided solutions to urban transport problems. Part of the reason is the failure to consider holistically the health, social and environment consequences and the related costs of individual travel choices and government policies in the field of traffic and mobility. Urban transport-related issues and its impact on health, environment, costs and benefits are discussed in this paper.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Andersen L B, Schnohr P, Schroll M, Hein H O 2000 All-cause mortality associated with physical activity during leisure time, work, Sports, and Cycling to Work. Arch Intern Med 160: 1621–1628
Avol E L et al 2001 Respiratory effects of relocating to areas of differing air pollution levels. American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine 164: 2067–2072
British Medical Association 1992 Cycling: towards health and safety (Ed.) M Hillman, (Oxford: Oxford University Press)
British Medical Association 1997 Road transport and health. London: BMA
Buringh E et al 2002 On health risks of ambient PM in the Netherlands. Executive summary. Bilthoven, National Institute for Public Health and the Environment (RIVM)
Clancy L et al 2002 Effects of air pollution control on deaths in Dublin, Ireland: an intervention study. Lancet 360: 1210–1214
Cohen A J, Anderson H R, Ostro B, Pandey K D, Krzyzanowski M, Künzli N, Gutschmidt K, Pope C A III, Romieu I, Samet J M, Smith K R 2004 Urban air pollution. Comparative quantification of health risks (Eds.) M Ezzati, A D Lopez, A Rodgers, C J L Murray (Geneva: WHO)
Dora C, Racioppi F 2003 Including health in transport policy agendas: the role of health impact assessment analysis and procedures in the European experience. Bulletin of the World Health Organization 81(6): 399–403
EEA 2002 National and central estimates for air emissions from road transport. Technical Report 34 (Copenhagen: European Environment Agency)
Ewing R, Schmid T, Killingsworth R, Zlot A, Raundebush S 2003 Relationship between urban sprawl and physical activity, obesity and morbidity. Am. J. Health Promotion 18(1): 47–57
Hedley A J et al 2002 Cardiorespiratory and all-cause mortality after restrictions on sulfur content of fuels in Hong Kong: an intervention study. Lancet 360: 1646–1652
Hoek G et al 2002 Association between mortality and indicators of traffic-related air pollution in the Netherlands: a cohort study. Lancet 360(9341): 1203–1209
Hou L, Ji B, Blair A, Dai Q, Gao Y, Chow W 2004 Commuting Physical Activity and Risk of Colon Cancer in Shanghai, China. American Journal of Epidemiology 160(9): 860–867
Huttenmoser M 1995 Children and their living surroundings: empirical investigations into the significance of living surroundings for the everyday life and development of children. Child Environ 12: 403–413
I-ce, Interface for cycling expertise & the association of Dutch municipalities VNG, 2000 The economic significance of cycling: a study to illustrate the costs and benefits of cycling policy. (The Hague, Habitat Platform Foundation,. accessed 30 October 2005 at: http://www.ice.info/download/publications/Ec_Significance_eng.pdf)
International Panel on Climate Change — IPCC 2001a. Climate Change 2001. Synthesis Report. (Cambridge: WMO/UNEP)
International Panel on Climate Change — IPCC 2001b Climate Change 2001. Mitigation: Contribution of Working group III to the Third Assessment Report. (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press)
Kenworthy J, Laube F 2002 Urban Transport patterns in a global sample of cities & their linkages to transport infrastructures, land use, economics & environment. World Transport Policy & Practice 8(3): 5–20
Krzyzanowski M, Kuna-Dibbert B, Schneider J 2005 Health effects of transport-related air pollution. (Copenhagen: World Health Organization Regional Office for Europe)
McMichael A J, Githeko A 2001 Human Health. Climate Change 2001: Impacts, Adaptation and Vulnerability. (McCathy J, et al Cambridge: Cambridge University Press)
McMichael et al 2004 Climate change. Comparative quantification of health risks: Global and Regional burden of disease due to selected major risk factors. ((Eds.) M Ezzati, A Lopez, A Rodgers, C Murray, Geneva: World Health Organization)
Mohan D, Tiwari G 2000 Mobility, Environment and Safety in Megacities: Dealing with a Complex Future. IATSS Research 24(19): 39–46
O’Neill M S et al 2003 Health, wealth and air pollution: advancing theory and methods. Env Health Perspectives 111: 1861–1870
Odense Municipality (Odense Kommune) 2004 Evaluering af Odense-Denmark’s Nationale Cykelby [Evaluation of Odense, Denmark’s national cycle city] (in Danish with English summary). Odense: Odense Municipality.
OECD Environment Outlook 2001 (Paris: Organization for economic cooperation and development)
O’Neill B, Mohan D 2002 Reducing motor vehicle crash deaths and injuries in newly motorising countries. BMJ 324: 1142–1145
Peden M et al 2004 The world report on road traffic injury prevention. (Geneva: WHO)
Peden M, McGee K, Sharma G 2002 The injury chart book: a graphical overview of the global burden of injuries. (Geneva: WHO)
Pope C A et al 2002 Lung cancer, cardiopulmonary mortality, and long-term exposure to fine particulate matter air pollution. JAMA 287: 1132–1141
Roemer WH, van Wijnen J H 2001 Daily mortality and air pollution along busy streets in Amsterdam, 1987–1998. Epidemiology 12(6): 649–653
Rutter H 2005 Personal communication.
Saelensminde K 2002 Walking and cycling track networks in Norwegian cities-Cost benefit analyses including health effects and external costs of road traffic. TOI report 567 (in Norwegian Oslo: Insititute of transport economics)
Sanderson E et al 2005 Human exposure to transport-related air pollution. Health effects of transportrelated air pollution. ((Eds.) M Krzyzanowski, B Kuna-Dibbert, J Schneider. Copenhagen: World Health Organization Regional Office for Europe)
Schwartz J et al 2002 The concentration-response relationship between PM 2.5 and daily deaths. Environmental Health Perspectives 110(10): 1025–1029
Tiwari G 2003 Transport and land-use policies in Delhi. Bulletin of the World Health Organization 81(6): 444–450
US Surgeon General Report 1996 Physical Activity and Health: A Report of the Surgeon General (Atlanta, Ga: Centres for Disease Control and Prevention)
WHO 2002 World Health Report 2002 — Reducing risks, promoting healthy life. Geneva: World Health Organization (http://www.who.int/whr/2002/, accessed March 2005)
WHO 2005a Prevention and control of non-communicable diseases: implementation of the global strategy. Document EB/20/22 (Geneva: World Health Organization)
WHO 2005b Preventing chronic diseases: A vital investment. (Geneva: World health Organization)
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Dora, C. Health burden of urban transport: The technical challenge. Sadhana 32, 285–292 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12046-007-0025-7
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12046-007-0025-7