Transportation and Health: A Conceptual Model and Literature Review
Transportation facilitates the movement of people and goods and is key to our everyday lives. Transportation affects health in several positive ways, including physical activity through active transportation modes, such as walking and biking, and access to opportunities for people to improve their health and well-being. Transportation, however, can also have detrimental impacts on health, through exposures such as air pollution, noise and crashes, and their disparate impacts on disadvantaged segments of society. These issues are especially relevant in urban areas but are also applicable beyond. These complex interactions merit a thorough analysis to comprehensively frame linkages between transportation and health, and to support analyses, policies, and strategies to improve public health.
Project Brief Highlights
- Transportation has both beneficial and detrimental impacts on health, through a range of distinct yet interrelated pathways.
- Several of these pathways have been studied in recent years — each with a differing level of evidence.
- In this research, we developed a comprehensive conceptual model of 14 pathways that link transportation to numerous health outcomes.
- This model paves the way for the conceptualization and quantification of the health impacts associated with transportation in a comprehensive manner.
Access the full project brief at this link: 14 Pathways to Health Project Brief
Transportation and Health Conceptual Model
