Published In

Transport Policy

Document Type

Post-Print

Publication Date

7-1-2017

Subjects

Transportation -- Planning -- United States, Transportation -- Planning -- Health aspects, Urban transportation policy -- Environmental aspects

Abstract

Transportation influences health primarily and most directly through traffic safety, air quality, physical activity, and accessibility. Despite the importance of all four components, only safety and air quality are typically considered during institutionalized transportation planning processes. This paper assesses how health impacts are considered in transportation planning by focusing on the long-range transportation plans that US metropolitan planning organizations develop. We analyzed the content of current plans from 25 large regions, reviewing how policy guidance statements and supporting performance measures addressed health. Goals and objectives exhibited an incomplete perspective of transportation's effects on health, focusing on safety, accessibility, and air quality, neglecting physical activity. Regional policies reflected national goals and planning requirements, which are rarely framed from a health perspective. Performance measures generally followed policy guidance, although measures of health and physical activity were lacking. Increased attention to the development of health-related performance measures and the data and analysis tools to support them is needed. By assessing the state of the practice and discussing potential approaches, this review informs a stronger and more comprehensive consideration of health within the institutionalized structure of US metropolitan transportation planning.

Description

© 2017. This manuscript version is made available under the CC-BY-NC-ND 4.0 license http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/

NOTICE: this is the author’s version of a work that was accepted for publication in Transport Policy. Changes resulting from the publishing process, such as peer review, editing, corrections, structural formatting, and other quality control mechanisms may not be reflected in this document. Changes may have been made to this work since it was submitted for publication. A definitive version was subsequently published in Transport Policy, 57, (July 2017). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tranpol.2017.02.003

DOI

10.1016/j.tranpol.2017.02.003

Persistent Identifier

http://archives.pdx.edu/ds/psu/21094

Download

Share

COinS