Sprawl and Health

Rajamani 2003 - "Assessing the Impact of Urban Form Measures in Nonwork Trip Mode Choice After Controlling for Demographic and Level-of Service Effects"

Jayanthi Rajamani, Chanra R.  Bhat, et al.
"Assessing the Impact of Urban Form Measures in Nonwork Trip Mode Choice After Controlling for Demographic and Level-of Service Effects"
Presented at the Transportation Research Board Annual Meeting (2003)
Session 747: Transportation and Urban Form
Wednesday, January 15, 2003, 7:30 PM - 9:30 PM, Hilton
On the Web

The abstract:
The relation between travel behavior and the local built environment has always been a contentious issue, despite several research efforts in the area. The current paper investigates the significance and explanatory power of a variety of urban form measures on nonwork activity travel mode choice. The data used for analysis is the 1995 Portland Metropolitan Activity Survey conducted by Portland Metro. The multinomial logit mode choice model results indicate that higher residential densities and mixed-uses promote walking behavior for nonwork activities.

 

Crane 1998 - "Does Neighborhood Design Influence Travel?: A Behavioral Analysis of Travel Diary and GIS Data"

Randall Crane and Richard Crepeau
"Does Neighborhood Design Influence Travel?: A Behavioral Analysis of Travel Diary and GIS Data"
Transportation Research Part D: Transport and Environment
3(4):225-238 (July 1998)
On the Web

 

From the abstract:
An analysis of household travel diary and GIS data for San Diego finds little role for land use in explaining travel behavior, and no evidence that the street network pattern affects either short or long non-work travel decisions. While results may vary in other areas, the empirical argument for using land use as an element of regional air quality or other environmental plans remains to be demonstrated.

(I didn't read the study intensively enough to comment, but see Cervero and Gorham (1995) for another study on Southern California.)

 

Cervero 2002 - "Built Environments and mode Choice: Toward a Normative Framework"

Robert Cervero
"Built Environments and mode Choice: Toward a Normative Framework"
Transportation Research Part D
7(4):265-284 (2002)
On the Web

From the abstract:
The analysis reveals intensities and mixtures of land use significantly influence decisions to drive-alone, share a ride, or patronize transit, while the influences of urban design tend to be more modest. Elasticities that summarize relationships are also presented...

Cervero 1995 - "Commuting in Transit Versus Automobile Neighborhoods"

Robert Cervero and Roger Gorham
"Commuting in Transit Versus Automobile Neighborhoods"
Journal of the American Planning Association
61(2):210-225 (Spring 1995)

From the abstract:
This article compares commuting characteristics of transit-oriented and auto-oriented suburban neighborhoods in the San Francisco Bay Area and in Southern California. Transit neighborhoods averaged higher densities and had more gridded street patterns compared to their nearby counterparts with auto-oriented physical designs. . . For both metropolitan areas, pedestrian modal shares and trip generation rates tended to be considerably higher in transit than in auto-oriented neighborhoods. Transit neighborhoods had decidedly higher rates of bus commuting only in the Bay Area. Islands of transit-oriented neighborhoods in a sea of freeway -oriented suburbs seem to have negligible effects on transit commuting.

Soot n/a - "Are Sprawl and Obesity Related? Evidence from the Chicago Area"

Siim Soot, Lise Dirks, et al
"Are Sprawl and Obesity Related? Evidence from the Chicago Area"
Unpublished: Metropolitan Transportation Support Initiative (METSI) working paper 06-01
Relevance: medium
On the Web

The authors estimate the effect of urban, socio-economic, and personal characteristics on BMI using height, weight, and ZIP code data from 7 million driver's licenses and state IDs in greater Chicago. Their regression finds that population density has a slight but significant effect, dwarfed by other variables. I have many questions about their methodology, but nonetheless don't think they overturn the bulk of sprawl and obesity research.

Dumbaugh 2005 - "Safe Streets, Livable Streets"

Dumbaugh, Eric
"Safe Streets, Livable Streets"
Journal of the American Planning Association
Summer 2001; vol.71, n.3; pp.283-300
On the Web
Relevance: low

While conventional wisdom recommends limiting roadside hazards, such as trees, and increasing lane and shoulder width will reduce the number and severity of crashes where the driver leaves the roadway, this author posits that trees and narrow lanes encourage drivers to drive more slowly and carefully, reducing the total number of crashes.

The author cites a few studies, including on in Washington on an urban/rural arterial (HWY 99?), where the presence of trees, sign supports, and other fixed objects is associated with fewer total crashes while wider lanes and shoulders are associated with more crashes. The author then conducts his own study comparing different sections of the same roadway, finding similar results.

I'd say that the numerical results in this study are a little squishy, the they and the theory are nonetheless very compelling.

Handy 2005 - "Correlation or Causality Between the Built Environment and Travel Behavior? Evidence from Northern California"

Handy, Susan; Cao, Xinyu; Mokhtarian, Patricia
"Correlation or Causality Between the Built Environment and Travel Behavior? Evidence from Northern California"
Transportation Research Part D
November 2005; v.10, n.6; pp.427-444
On the Web
Relevance: medium

Handy et al surveyed residents of traditional and suburban neighborhoods on their travel habits, travel attitudes, perceived neighborhood attributes, and socio-economic status. They found that while residents of traditional neighborhoods drove 18% fewer miles than suburban residents, the variation in this cross-section could be better explained by differences in attitudes and SES factors than in the built environment.

When the authors separated out those who had moved in the past year for a quasi-longitudinal study, differences in the built environment (mainly in accessibility) appeared significant. The built environment seemed to affect increased walking more than decreased driving.

I'm a bit wary of the quasi-longitudinal part of this study. Why would the built environment be significant there but not in the cross-sectional analysis?

Riediker 2004 - "Particulate Matter Exposure in Cars is Associated with Cardiovascular Effects in Healthy Young Men"

Riediker, Michael; Cascio, Wayne; et al.
"Particulate Matter Exposure in Cars is Associated with Cardiovascular Effects in Healthy Young Men"
American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine
April 15, 2004; v.168, n.8; pp.934-940
On the Web
Relevance: medium-low

Part of a larger research project measuring air quality in cars, the authors measured the effects of exposure to PM2.5 on the cardiovascular functions of nine young, healthy patrol officers in North Carolina. They concluded that in-vehicle PM2.5 negatively affected inflammation, coagulation, and cardiac rhythm in slight but significant amounts. However, they also measured PM2.5 concentrations to be lower in the vehicles than on the side of the road or at the ambient location.

This study suggests to me that even a small amount of PM2.5 from vehicles is bad.

Chang 2000 - "Hourly Personal Exposures to Fine Particles and Gaseous Pollutants--Results from Baltimore, Maryland"

Chang, Li-Te; Koutrakis, Petros; et al
"Hourly Personal Exposures to Fine Particles and Gaseous Pollutants--Results from Baltimore, Maryland"
Journal of the Air and Waste Management Association
July 2000; v.50, n.7; pp.1223-1235
On the Web
Relevance: medium

The authors measured personal VOC exposure in a variety of microenvironments that older adults generally encounter. PM 2.5 concentrations were highest in the food court, while walking and driving, and in a kitchen and TV room at home. Ozone levels were elevated while walking at noon and while driving. Carbon monoxide levels were elevated i the middle of the day and while driving.

Ambient concentrations of PM 2.5 seem to be fairly well with personal exposure (r>.6 for all but one case). Ambient concentrations of ozone were also highly correlated with personal exposure for outdoor and in-vehicle microenvironments, less so for indoor environments, and barely at all for homes. There seems to be little correlation between ambient BTEX levels and personal exposures in homes and cars (except for benzene in homes), which suggests to me that personal exposure in those places comes mostly from personal activities (cooking, cleaning, and driving).

Chan 1991 - "Commuter Exposure to VOCs in Boston, Massachusetts"

Chan, Chang-Chuan; Spengler, John D; et al.
"Commuter Exposure to VOCs in Boston, Massachusetts"
Journal of the Air and Waste Management Association
December 1991; v.41, n.12; pp.1594-1600
On the Web
Relevance: high

The authors measured VOC exposure for four commuting methods (car, subway, walking, biking) plus concentrations in homes, offices, and on the sidewalk in Boston. They found that concentrations were generally highest in cars and lowest in homes/offices. "For most VOCs, the concentrations in homes and offices were about three to five times lower than the VOC concentrations during commuting." Around 10-20% of daily VOC exposure for car and subway commuters occurred during the commute.

Driving on urban roads was correlated with higher VOC concentrations (1.5 times higher) than driving on interstates.  Using the heater also increased VOC levels. On the other hand, the age of the car or country of origin (US vs. imported) did not seem to make a difference.