Citation

McAndrews C, Pollack KM, Berrigan D, Dannenberg AL, Christopher EJ. Am. J. Public Health 2017; 107(8): 1278-1282.

Affiliation

Carolyn McAndrews is with the Department of Urban and Regional Planning, University of Colorado, Denver. Keshia M. Pollack is with the Department of Health Policy and Management, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD. David Berrigan is with the Behavioral Research Program, Division of Cancer Control and Population Sciences, National Cancer Institute, Bethesda, MD. Andrew L. Dannenberg is with the Department of Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences and the Department of Urban Design and Planning, University of Washington, Seattle. Ed J. Christopher is an independent transportation planning consultant in Berwin, IL.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2017, American Public Health Association)

DOI

10.2105/AJPH.2017.303898

PMID

28640685

Abstract

Arterials are types of roads designed to carry high volumes of motorized traffic. They are an integral part of transportation systems worldwide and exposure to them is ubiquitous, especially in urban areas. Arterials provide access to diverse commercial and cultural resources, which can positively influence community health by supporting social cohesion as well as economic and cultural opportunities. They can negatively influence health via safety issues, noise, air pollution, and lack of economic development. The aims of public health and transportation partially overlap; efforts to improve arterials can meet goals of both professions. Two trends in arterial design show promise. First, transportation professionals increasingly define the performance of arterials via metrics accounting for pedestrians, cyclists, transit riders, and nearby residents in addition to motor vehicle users. Second, applying traffic engineering and design can generate safety, air quality, and livability benefits, but we need evidence to support these interventions. We describe the importance of arterials (including exposures, health behaviors, effects on equity, and resulting health outcomes) and make the case for public health collaborations with the transportation sector. (Am J Public Health. Published online ahead of print June 22, 2017: e1-e5. doi:10.2105/AJPH.2017.303898).

Language: en