The focus of this chapter is the impacts of urban transport on health: physical, mental, well-being, and livability. Specifically, and besides the traditionally obvious and well-studied subjects of transport-induced crash injuries and pollution health impacts, the chapter presents the modern day non-contagious ailments such as stress, cardiovascular diseases, physical inactivity, and obesity and highlights their links and interactions with urban transport systems. These health impacts are mostly significant in the long term. They are subtle, slow, and pervasive. They have traditionally not been addressed or even identified as transport related; only recently and just qualitatively, these impacts came to the fore of the interrelated subjects of urban form, transport, and modern day health problems. The chapter will identify the needs for research to both further the understanding of the dynamics between transport and urban form on one hand and the identified health impacts on the other. The chapter will also address the question of how to objectively measure and quantify these health impacts with a particular view to evaluating the benefits that can be realized through low carbon mobility solutions.

Chapter Contents:

• Abstract
• Keywords
• 8.1 Introduction
• 8.1.1 Context
• 8.1.2 Why health impacts of transport now?
• 8.1.3 This chapter
• 8.2 History and background of urban form, transportation, and public health
• 8.3 Low carbon mobility options and health
• 8.4 Transport health impacts
• 8.4.1 Transport crashes and injuries
• 8.4.2 Air pollution
• 8.4.3 Psychological health impacts due to noise and other stress sources
• 8.4.4 Active transport
• 8.4.5 Community health, mental health, and social well-being
• 8.4.6 Soil and water pollution and transport
• 8.5 Assessing transport health impacts
• 8.6 Summary and conclusions
• References
• Glossary
• Further Reading

Inspec keywords: road traffic; transportation; diseases

Other keywords: obesity; cardiovascular diseases; physical inactivity; physical health; noncontagious ailments; person livability; public health impacts; transport-induced crash injuries; person well-being; pollution health impacts; mental health; stress; urban transport systems

Subjects: Environmental issues; Transportation industry; Health and safety aspects