research >>Transportation and Public Health: Review of Policy Areas and Mechanisms Where the Fields Intersect

Transportation and Health Connection Report

SafeTREC, in partnership with Partnership for Prevention, Booz Allen Hamilton, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has released a new report, Transportation and Health: Policy Interventions for Safer, Healthier People and Communities. It examines transportation policies in three critical areas: the environment and environmental health, community design and active transportation, and motor vehicle-related injuries and fatalities. Policymakers at all levels can use this report to inform decision-making regarding transportation.

From the CDC brief, "CDC Transportation Recommendations," posted May 2010:

The U.S. transportation system has been shaped by multiple policy inputs and concrete actions which have arisen from transportation and community planners, funding agencies and others at Federal, state and local levels. Today, the system is designed to move people and goods efficiently; however, there is a growing awareness across communities that transportation systems impact quality of life and health. Government and non-government agencies are seeking innovative policies and programs that protect and promote health while accomplishing the primary transportation objectives. The Opportunity Expanding the availability of, safety for, and access to a variety of transportation options and integrating health-enhancing choices into transportation policy has the potential to save lives by preventing chronic diseases, reducing and preventing motor-vehicle-related injury and deaths, improving environmental health, while stimulating economic development, and ensuring access for all people. With this goal in mind, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has identified transportation policies that can have profound positive impact on health.