Improving health through policies that promote active travel: a review of evidence to support integrated health impact assessment
University of British Columbia1, Imperial College London2, University of Basel3, University of Bristol4, University of Southern California5, Utrecht University6, Flemish Institute for Technological Research7, University of California, Berkeley8, University of Canterbury9, National University of Ireland, Galway10, West Virginia University11, University of Minnesota12, Mines ParisTech13, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill14, University of Chile15, San Diego State University16, Netherlands Organisation for Applied Scientific Research17, National Institute for Health and Welfare18
TL;DR: Evaluating impacts of active travel policies is highly complex; however, many associations can be quantified, and identifying health-maximizing policies and conditions requires integrated HIAs.
About: This article is published in Environment International.The article was published on 2011-05-01. It has received 517 citations till now. The article focuses on the topics: Health impact assessment & Environmental exposure.
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TL;DR: As an example of how the current "war on terrorism" could generate a durable civic renewal, Putnam points to the burst in civic practices that occurred during and after World War II, which he says "permanently marked" the generation that lived through it and had a "terrific effect on American public life over the last half-century."
Abstract: The present historical moment may seem a particularly inopportune time to review Bowling Alone, Robert Putnam's latest exploration of civic decline in America. After all, the outpouring of volunteerism, solidarity, patriotism, and self-sacrifice displayed by Americans in the wake of the September 11 terrorist attacks appears to fly in the face of Putnam's central argument: that \"social capital\" -defined as \"social networks and the norms of reciprocity and trustworthiness that arise from them\" (p. 19)'has declined to dangerously low levels in America over the last three decades. However, Putnam is not fazed in the least by the recent effusion of solidarity. Quite the contrary, he sees in it the potential to \"reverse what has been a 30to 40-year steady decline in most measures of connectedness or community.\"' As an example of how the current \"war on terrorism\" could generate a durable civic renewal, Putnam points to the burst in civic practices that occurred during and after World War II, which he says \"permanently marked\" the generation that lived through it and had a \"terrific effect on American public life over the last half-century.\" 3 If Americans can follow this example and channel their current civic
5,309 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors describe physical activity levels worldwide with data for adults (15 years or older) from 122 countries and for adolescents (13-15-years-old) from 105 countries.
4,373 citations
01 Jan 2012
TL;DR: A review of physical activity interventions, published between 2000 and 2011, and identifi ed eff ective, promising, or emerging interventions from around the world are recommended in this paper, where the informational approaches of community-wide and mass media campaigns, and short physical activity messages targeting key community sites are recommended.
Abstract: Promotion of physical activity is a priority for health agencies. We searched for reviews of physical activity interventions, published between 2000 and 2011, and identifi ed eff ective, promising, or emerging interventions from around the world. The informational approaches of community-wide and mass media campaigns, and short physical activity messages targeting key community sites are recommended. Behavioural and social approaches are eff ective, introducing social support for physical activity within communities and worksites, and school-based strategies that encompass physical education, classroom activities, after-school sports, and active transport. Recommended environmental and policy approaches include creation and improvement of access to places for physical activity with informational outreach activities, community-scale and street-scale urban design and land use, active transport policy and practices, and community-wide policies and planning. Thus, many approaches lead to acceptable increases in physical activity among people of various ages, and from diff erent social groups, countries, and communities.
834 citations
TL;DR: Recommendations include creation and improvement of access to places for physical activity with informational outreach activities, community-scale and street-scale urban design and land use, active transport policy and practices, and community-wide policies and planning.
833 citations
01 Oct 2012
TL;DR: The Global Energy Assessment (GEA) as mentioned in this paper brings together over 300 international researchers to provide an independent, scientifically based, integrated and policy-relevant analysis of current and emerging energy issues and options.
Abstract: The Global Energy Assessment (GEA) brings together over 300 international researchers to provide an independent, scientifically based, integrated and policy-relevant analysis of current and emerging energy issues and options. It has been peer-reviewed anonymously by an additional 200 international experts. The GEA assesses the major global challenges for sustainable development and their linkages to energy; the technologies and resources available for providing energy services; future energy systems that address the major challenges; and the policies and other measures that are needed to realize transformational change toward sustainable energy futures. The GEA goes beyond existing studies on energy issues by presenting a comprehensive and integrated analysis of energy chalenges, opportunities and strategies, for developing, industrialized and emerging economies. This volume is a invaluable resource for energy specialists and technologists in all sectors (academia, industry and government) as well as policymakers, development economists and practitioners in international organizations and national governments.
812 citations
References
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01 Jan 2000TL;DR: Putnam as mentioned in this paper showed that changes in work, family structure, age, suburban life, television, computers, women's roles and other factors are isolating Americans from each other in a trend whose reflection can clearly be seen in British society.
Abstract: BOWLING ALONE warns Americans that their stock of "social capital", the very fabric of their connections with each other, has been accelerating down. Putnam describes the resulting impoverishment of their lives and communities. Drawing on evidence that includes nearly half a million interviews conducted over a quarter of a century in America, Putnam shows how changes in work, family structure, age, suburban life, television, computers, women's roles and other factors are isolating Americans from each other in a trend whose reflection can clearly be seen in British society. We sign 30 percent fewer petitions than we did ten years ago. Membership in organisations- from the Boy Scouts to political parties and the Church is falling. Ties with friends and relatives are fraying: we're 35 percent less likely to visit our neighbours or have dinner with our families than we were thirty years ago. We watch sport alone instead of with our friends. A century ago, American citizens' means of connecting were at a low point after decades of urbanisation, industrialisation and immigration uprooted them from families and friends. That generation demonstrated a capacity for renewal by creating the organisations that pulled Americans together. Putnam shows how we can learn from them and reinvent common enterprises that will make us secure, productive, happy and hopeful.
24,532 citations
Book•
01 Jan 1961
TL;DR: The conditions for city diversity, the generators of diversity, and the need for mixed primary uses are discussed in this paper, with a focus on the use of small blocks for small blocks.
Abstract: 1 Introduction Part One: The Peculiar Nature of Cities 2 The uses of sidewalks: safety 3 The uses of sidewalks: contact 4 The uses of sidewalks: assimilating children 5 The uses of neighbourhood parks 6 The uses of city neighbourhoods. Part Two: The Conditions for City Diversity 7 The generators of diversity 8 The need for mixed primary uses 9 The need for small blocks 10 The need for aged buildings 11 The need for concentration 12 Some myths about diversity. Part Three: Forces of Decline and Regeneration 13 The self-destruction of diversity 14 The curse of border vacuums 15 Unslumming and slumming 16 Gradual money and cataclysmic money. Part Four: Different Tactics 17 Subsidizing dwellings 18 Erosion of cities or attrition of automobiles 19 Visual order: its limitations and possibilities 20 Salvaging projects 21 Governing and planning districts 22 The kind of problem a city is Index.
11,879 citations
"Improving health through policies t..." refers background in this paper
...One of the benefits of pedestrian-oriented urban planning such as mixing land uses, increasing density and providingwalking, cycling and transit facilities, is to offer neighborhood amenities that bring life to the streets by increasing pedestrian traffic and providing spaces for spontaneous social interactions (Appleyard, 1981; Jacobs, 1961)....
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...Further, architectural designs that provide “eyes on the street” (Jacobs, 1961) as a form of natural surveillance and natural space for social contact are shown to deter crime and reduce fear of crime (Mair and Mair, 2003), and promote physical functioning of elders (Brown et al., 2008)....
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...Further, architectural designs that provide “eyes on the street” (Jacobs, 1961) as a form of natural surveillance and natural space for social contact are shown to deter crime and reduce fear of crime (Mair and Mair, 2003), and promote physical functioning of elders (Brown et al....
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...…planning such as mixing land uses, increasing density and providingwalking, cycling and transit facilities, is to offer neighborhood amenities that bring life to the streets by increasing pedestrian traffic and providing spaces for spontaneous social interactions (Appleyard, 1981; Jacobs, 1961)....
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TL;DR: The purpose of the present report is to update and clarify the 1995 recommendations on the types and amounts of physical activity needed by healthy adults to improve and maintain health.
Abstract: Summary—In 1995 the American College of Sports Medicine and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention published national guidelines on Physical Activity and Public Health The Committee on Exercise and Cardiac Rehabilitation of the American Heart Association endorsed and supported these recommendations The purpose of the present report is to update and clarify the 1995 recommendations on the types and amounts of physical activity needed by healthy adults to improve and maintain health Development of this document was by an expert panel of scientists, including physicians, epidemiologists, exercise scientists, and public health specialists This panel reviewed advances in pertinent physiologic, epidemiologic, and clinical scientific data, including primary research articles and reviews published since the original recommendation was issued in 1995 Issues considered by the panel included new scientific evidence relating physical activity to health, physical activity recommendations by various organizations in the interim, and communications issues Key points related to updating the physical activity recommendation were outlined and writing groups were formed A draft manuscript was prepared and circulated for review to the expert panel as well as to outside experts Comments were integrated into the final recommendation Primary Recommendation—To promote and maintain health, all healthy adults aged 18 to 65 yr need moderate-intensity aerobic (endurance) physical activity for a minimum of 30 min on five days each week or vigorous-intensity aerobic physical activity for a minimum of 20 min on three days each week [I (A)] Combinations of moderate- and vigorous-intensity activity can be performed to meet this recommendation [IIa (B)] For example, a person can meet the recommendation by walking briskly for 30 min twice during the week and then jogging for 20 min on two other days Moderate-intensity aerobic activity, which is generally equivalent to a brisk walk and noticeably accelerates the heart rate, can be accumulated toward the 30-min minimum by performing bouts each lasting 10 or more minutes [I (B)] Vigorous-intensity activity is exemplified by jogging, and causes rapid breathing and a substantial increase in heart rate In addition, every adult should perform activities that maintain or increase muscular strength and endurance a minimum of two days each week [IIa (A)] Because of the dose-response relation between physical activity and health, persons who wish to further improve their personal fitness, reduce their risk for chronic diseases and disabilities or prevent unhealthy weight gain may benefit by exceeding the minimum recommended amounts of physical activity [I (A)] (Circulation 2007;116:1081-1093)
6,863 citations
"Improving health through policies t..." refers background in this paper
...…such as colon cancer, type 2 diabetes, depression, osteoporosis, hypertension, and weight status the shape of the dose-response relationship remains particularly unclear and may vary depending on the outcome and the population being evaluated (Haskell et al., 2007; Rankinen and Bouchard, 2002)....
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...For conditions such as colon cancer, type 2 diabetes, depression, osteoporosis, hypertension, and weight status the shape of the dose-response relationship remains particularly unclear and may vary depending on the outcome and the population being evaluated (Haskell et al., 2007; Rankinen and Bouchard, 2002)....
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...Health agencies generally recommend 30 min or more of moderate-intensity PA on most days of the week for good health (Haskell et al., 2007; US DHHS, 2008)....
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TL;DR: As an example of how the current "war on terrorism" could generate a durable civic renewal, Putnam points to the burst in civic practices that occurred during and after World War II, which he says "permanently marked" the generation that lived through it and had a "terrific effect on American public life over the last half-century."
Abstract: The present historical moment may seem a particularly inopportune time to review Bowling Alone, Robert Putnam's latest exploration of civic decline in America. After all, the outpouring of volunteerism, solidarity, patriotism, and self-sacrifice displayed by Americans in the wake of the September 11 terrorist attacks appears to fly in the face of Putnam's central argument: that \"social capital\" -defined as \"social networks and the norms of reciprocity and trustworthiness that arise from them\" (p. 19)'has declined to dangerously low levels in America over the last three decades. However, Putnam is not fazed in the least by the recent effusion of solidarity. Quite the contrary, he sees in it the potential to \"reverse what has been a 30to 40-year steady decline in most measures of connectedness or community.\"' As an example of how the current \"war on terrorism\" could generate a durable civic renewal, Putnam points to the burst in civic practices that occurred during and after World War II, which he says \"permanently marked\" the generation that lived through it and had a \"terrific effect on American public life over the last half-century.\" 3 If Americans can follow this example and channel their current civic
5,309 citations
"Improving health through policies t..." refers background in this paper
...On the other hand, time spent driving is a strong negative predictors of social capital (Besser et al., 2008; Putnam, 2000)....
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TL;DR: It is the opinion of the writing group that the overall evidence is consistent with a causal relationship between PM2.5 exposure and cardiovascular morbidity and mortality.
Abstract: In 2004, the first American Heart Association scientific statement on “Air Pollution and Cardiovascular Disease” concluded that exposure to particulate matter (PM) air pollution contributes to card...
5,227 citations
"Improving health through policies t..." refers background in this paper
...Other reports have concludedmore definitive causal relationships between ambient air pollution andmortality andmorbidity outcomes, but they have not examined the specific role of traffic pollution (e.g. Brook et al., 2010; Chen et al., 2008)....
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