HOW DOES TRANSPORTATION IMPACT HEALTH OUTCOMES?

The connection between transportation and health

“Transportation systems, particularly in concentrated urban areas, directly influence air quality. Poor air quality has a negative impact on health and susceptibility to disease at all stages of life, from the prenatal experience during which expectant mothers breathe in excess pollution, to increased risks for cancer and heart problems in adults who live with high concentrations of air pollutants. Transportation systems, traffic congestion and vehicle emissions are powerful determinants of health and health

equity. As such, they must be addressed through public health interventions and policy and regulatory changes.

Lack of affordable and accessible health care is also a strong determinant of poor health outcomes. Both affordability and accessibility hinge on transportation. If you can’t get to a doctor because you don’t have a car or taxi fare, then it hardly matters if the doctor is in.

Communities can do two things to improve public transportation options and, in turn, improve health outcomes for all. From the top down, communities can develop transportation networks that really do work for everyone, including the most vulnerable families and children. From the ground up, people themselves can advocate for walking

paths, bike lanes, accessible bus routes and safe streets.”

– Dr. Gail C. Christopher

Vice President — Program Strategy, W.K. Kellogg Foundation

1. Transportation networks as a public health necessity

2. Communities take action to improve transportation for all

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Transportation networks as a public health necessity

A report on healthy transportation from the American Public Health Association (APHA), explores the complex connections between transportation and health. The report calls for public health professionals to become actively engaged in transportation issues as advocates for policies that take into account public health and safety.

“A healthy community is one that promotes healthy people by ensuring access to safe and nutritious foods; safe places to walk, run or bike; clean air and water; adequate and accessible health care systems; and other healthy enablers. One of these healthy enablers is our transportation system.”

– GEORGES C. BENJAMIN, executive director American Public Health Association

HOW DOES TRANSPORTATION IMPACT HEALTH OUTCOMES?

QUESTION

Communities take action to improve transportation for all

Through Food & Fitness collaboratives across the country, the W.K. Kellogg Foundation works alongside communities to address their most pressing food and physical activity challenges with homegrown solutions.

� The Northeast Iowa Food & Fitness Initiative has held a community competition to design bike racks, which were built by the local high school, and has ensured that crosswalks were built near schools with federal Safe Routes to School funding.

� The Detroit Food & Fitness Collaborative is working toward a complete streets ordinance for the city, which would ensure that all streets in the city are designed and constructed with all users – pedestrians, cyclists, transit users and drivers – in mind.

HOW DOES TRANSPORTATION IMPACT HEALTH OUTCOMES?

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