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A10 Use of Health Impact Assessment to Promote Safe Built Environments for Active Transportation
S10
Oral Abstracts / Journal of Transport & Health 2 (2015) S5–S63
Results:
The number of people reporting walking for travel increased from 783,518 in 2009 to 862,021 in 2013: This gives an increase in average daily time spent walking per person from 47.5 min to 49.6 min per day. Taking this into account, 86.1 deaths per year are prevented by this change in walking. The current value of the average annual benefit averaged across 5 years of this level of walking is: 47.355 million €. The number of people reporting cycling for travel the day before increased from 40,430 in 2009 to 60,274 in 2013: The average daily time spent cycling per person was 51,8 min in 2009 and 49,8 min in 2013. Taking this into account, 8,2 deaths per year are prevented by this change in cycling. The current value of the average annual benefit averaged across 5 years of this level of cycling is: 4.492 million €.
Conclusions:
Changes in transport policies in Barcelona city, which promoted active transportation, produced a clear impact on health benefits related to
physical activity.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jth.2015.04.497
A10 Use of Health Impact Assessment to Promote Safe Built Environments for Active Transportation Keshia Pollack a a
Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, USA
Abstract Background:
Health impact assessment (HIA) is rapidly growing approach to decision-making that identifies potential health impacts of proposed projects, policies, plans, and programs. HIAs provide valuable recommendations about how to maximize health benefits and avoid or mitigate unintended negative consequences of decisions. Proposed transportation decisions that affect walking and bicycling often do not assess the unintended injury risks. This research examines the usefulness and characteristics of HIAs that have addressed injury risk as part of proposals promoting opportunities for active transportation in U.S. communities.
Methods:
HIAs were identified using the searchable Health Impact Project, a collaboration of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and The Pew Charitable Trusts, online database of self-reported HIAs. The database includes all HIAs conducted in the U.S. to date that have been reported to the Health Impact Project. A key word search identified HIAs as relevant to the “built environment” or “transportation” sectors. HIAs were excluded if active transportation was not central to the purpose of the proposal.
Results:
Twenty-one HIAs, conducted in both urban and rural jurisdictions, were completed between 2004 and 2013. Six of these HIAs addressed projects exploring walking and biking paths, greenways, and bicycle lanes; six addressed policies exploring complete streets, safe routes to school, and walking and biking; and nine addressed pedestrian and bicycling plans. HIAs used local and state data on to illustrate the potential injury risks, and also illustrated the effects on inequities. Evidence-based recommendations to address injury risk as part of these HIAs incorporated Crime Prevention through Environmental Design principles, traffic calming, and improving sidewalks near schools.
Conclusions:
Proposed active transportation decisions are generally favorable to health in their initial design, but they do not always consider injury risk. HIAs advance the field of injury prevention and control by illuminating the unintended injury and violence risks of proposals and proposing evidence-based injury strategies. Although the HIAs that were reviewed were conducted in the U.S. the findings provide important lessons for communities around the world.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jth.2015.04.498
A11 Towards an integrated evaluation of the effects on health from smoke or toxic gas dispersion in the evacuation of subway tunnels Zi Qian a, James Charlton a, Brian Agnew a, Emine Thompson b a b
NewRail, Newcastle University, UK Northumbria University
Abstract Background:
Understanding how subway tunnels perform during accidents or malicious attacks resulting in the release of smoke or hazardous toxins is key in establishing evacuation strategies that reduce the loss of life or effects on public health. During such emergency situation, the natural background air current caused by the air exchange between the station and outside, has an important influence on the dispersion of smoke and/or toxic agents. Over 60% of deaths in fires are caused either wholly or partially by inhalation of smoke or toxic gases. Thus evacuation strategies that provide routes which reduce the exposure time of individuals to a toxic environment could potentially reduce the loss of life or effects on an evacuee’s health. The strategy “go up and take the nearest exit to the surface” might not be the best response. To support this assessment an understanding of; the air flow driving the motion of smoke, its links with internal climatology and external weather conditions and the evacuation capabilities of subway tunnels, is needed.
Methods:
To support this exploration, 3D Computational Fluid Dynamic models have been developed, to validate field measurements and to gain an understanding of the internal airflow momentum and energy transfer capacity of subway stations in relation to external climatic factors and its effect on the dispersion of smoke and/or toxic agents. By integrating results with evacuation simulations, visual diagnostic and predictive tools which display; the background air flow within the subway, the dispersion of smoke and/or toxic substances, the resulting reduction of visibility and the evacuation of pedestrians, are in development to further our understanding in both subway climatology and integrated evacuation strategies.
Oral Abstracts / Journal of Transport & Health 2 (2015) S5–S63
Results:
The number of people reporting walking for travel increased from 783,518 in 2009 to 862,021 in 2013: This gives an increase in average daily time spent walking per person from 47.5 min to 49.6 min per day. Taking this into account, 86.1 deaths per year are prevented by this change in walking. The current value of the average annual benefit averaged across 5 years of this level of walking is: 47.355 million €. The number of people reporting cycling for travel the day before increased from 40,430 in 2009 to 60,274 in 2013: The average daily time spent cycling per person was 51,8 min in 2009 and 49,8 min in 2013. Taking this into account, 8,2 deaths per year are prevented by this change in cycling. The current value of the average annual benefit averaged across 5 years of this level of cycling is: 4.492 million €.
Conclusions:
Changes in transport policies in Barcelona city, which promoted active transportation, produced a clear impact on health benefits related to
physical activity.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jth.2015.04.497
A10 Use of Health Impact Assessment to Promote Safe Built Environments for Active Transportation Keshia Pollack a a
Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, USA
Abstract Background:
Health impact assessment (HIA) is rapidly growing approach to decision-making that identifies potential health impacts of proposed projects, policies, plans, and programs. HIAs provide valuable recommendations about how to maximize health benefits and avoid or mitigate unintended negative consequences of decisions. Proposed transportation decisions that affect walking and bicycling often do not assess the unintended injury risks. This research examines the usefulness and characteristics of HIAs that have addressed injury risk as part of proposals promoting opportunities for active transportation in U.S. communities.
Methods:
HIAs were identified using the searchable Health Impact Project, a collaboration of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and The Pew Charitable Trusts, online database of self-reported HIAs. The database includes all HIAs conducted in the U.S. to date that have been reported to the Health Impact Project. A key word search identified HIAs as relevant to the “built environment” or “transportation” sectors. HIAs were excluded if active transportation was not central to the purpose of the proposal.
Results:
Twenty-one HIAs, conducted in both urban and rural jurisdictions, were completed between 2004 and 2013. Six of these HIAs addressed projects exploring walking and biking paths, greenways, and bicycle lanes; six addressed policies exploring complete streets, safe routes to school, and walking and biking; and nine addressed pedestrian and bicycling plans. HIAs used local and state data on to illustrate the potential injury risks, and also illustrated the effects on inequities. Evidence-based recommendations to address injury risk as part of these HIAs incorporated Crime Prevention through Environmental Design principles, traffic calming, and improving sidewalks near schools.
Conclusions:
Proposed active transportation decisions are generally favorable to health in their initial design, but they do not always consider injury risk. HIAs advance the field of injury prevention and control by illuminating the unintended injury and violence risks of proposals and proposing evidence-based injury strategies. Although the HIAs that were reviewed were conducted in the U.S. the findings provide important lessons for communities around the world.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jth.2015.04.498
A11 Towards an integrated evaluation of the effects on health from smoke or toxic gas dispersion in the evacuation of subway tunnels Zi Qian a, James Charlton a, Brian Agnew a, Emine Thompson b a b
NewRail, Newcastle University, UK Northumbria University
Abstract Background:
Understanding how subway tunnels perform during accidents or malicious attacks resulting in the release of smoke or hazardous toxins is key in establishing evacuation strategies that reduce the loss of life or effects on public health. During such emergency situation, the natural background air current caused by the air exchange between the station and outside, has an important influence on the dispersion of smoke and/or toxic agents. Over 60% of deaths in fires are caused either wholly or partially by inhalation of smoke or toxic gases. Thus evacuation strategies that provide routes which reduce the exposure time of individuals to a toxic environment could potentially reduce the loss of life or effects on an evacuee’s health. The strategy “go up and take the nearest exit to the surface” might not be the best response. To support this assessment an understanding of; the air flow driving the motion of smoke, its links with internal climatology and external weather conditions and the evacuation capabilities of subway tunnels, is needed.
Methods:
To support this exploration, 3D Computational Fluid Dynamic models have been developed, to validate field measurements and to gain an understanding of the internal airflow momentum and energy transfer capacity of subway stations in relation to external climatic factors and its effect on the dispersion of smoke and/or toxic agents. By integrating results with evacuation simulations, visual diagnostic and predictive tools which display; the background air flow within the subway, the dispersion of smoke and/or toxic substances, the resulting reduction of visibility and the evacuation of pedestrians, are in development to further our understanding in both subway climatology and integrated evacuation strategies.