.......Pollution Free Cities

Onstreet Parking- a Public or Private Good?

2012-02-24T06:59:00.000-05:00

A rethinking of what parking is in the first place (Reinventing Parking, Jan. 16, 2012)

Also discussed here: The case for the $6 parking meter (Ideas, Leon Neyfakh, Boston Globe, Jan. 15, 2012)

And here: Minimum parking requirements are like restroom requirements (Reinventing Parking, Aug. 23, 2010)

Today, we look at onstreet parking that could be traded as a private good while remaining available to the public in order to allow for municipalities to manage a scarce resource in an optimum manner- and that in turn provides for a cleaner, more sustainable city. Comparison with other examples of using the pricing of demand shows that this approach works well in most cases.

Key Quotes:

“In dense, urban areas like Boston, as many as 30 percent of cars on the street are cruising for parking at any given time”

“Shoup’s plan: make downtown street parking more expensive. Or.. make the most desirable spots cost what they’re really worth”

“Curbside parking isn’t a shared resource, like Boston Common, but rather a valuable piece of real estate, managed by the city, that should be priced according to what it’s worth”

“A city like Boston could adjust prices so that spots cost just enough to keep one or two free on every block….it would help the city as a whole by reducing pollution, preventing accidents caused by distracted drivers, and nudging more people to walk, bike, or take public transit”

“parking is not a public good, it is a private good which can have a market price”

“off-street parking? That's a whole different story. Most planning systems require parking with buildings in almost exactly the same way as they require toilets with every building”

"The Decline of the Public Good" (economistsview.typepad.com)
Better Ways to Handle Traffic and Parking (pollutionfree.wordpress.com)
Privitized, Dynamically Priced Parking- a good deal for cash strapped cities? (pollutionfree.wordpress.com)
Hefty parking fee recommended for on-street parking (thehindu.com)
SFgate.comCITY INSIDER / Parking meter plan to undergo reappraisal after outcry (sfgate.com)

Pollution "Glue" and Congestion Pricing in London

2012-02-22T06:34:00.002-05:00

Mayor Boris spreads 'pollution glue' across London (Jessica Shankleman, Business Green, Dec.23, 2011)

Also discussed here: (Rav Casley Gera, Clean Technica, Dec. 28,2011)

And here: Low Emission Zone (LEZ)

Today, we review a new approach being trialed in London to reducing pollution hotspots by applying a chemical to the road which attracts particulate matter and allows that to be washed away by rain. The other action being taken to improve air quality on central London on the eve of the 2012 summer Olympic Games is an expansion and continuation of the Low Emission Zone which is being extended to larger vans and minibuses this month (January 2012).

Key Quotes:

“Transport for London (TfL) announced today that it is rolling out a £200,000 trial of dust suppressants at 15 locations in five London boroughs under a new initiative with the Environment Agency…The new scheme expands on trials carried out on two locations in Central London last year..studies showed repeated applications could reduce particulates by around 10 per cent at pollution hotspots over 24-hour periods.”.

“Calcium magnesium acetate has the effect of attracting fine dust particles in the air and binding them to the road, where they can be picked up by car tires or washed away by rain”

“Suppressants may achieve compliance in localised areas near monitoring stations and avoid further action from the European Commission, but they address the symptoms and not the causes of the problem,”

“The technique was developed in Scandinavia to tackle dust from road break-up when cars with snow chains damaged road surfaces”

“the trial is part of an accelerated programme funded by a £5m Department for Transport Clean Air Fund, which is intended to help the UK meet legal limits for PM10 pollution”

"Pollution Glue" on London Roads Could Improve Air Quality (treehugger.com)
London Using Glue to Clean Up Air (environmenteng.wordpress.com)
London 'glues' pollution to roads (bbc.co.uk)
Air pollution and congestion charges in London, England (pollutionfree.wordpress.com)
Mayor announces innovative bus technology set to deliver cleaner air across London (tfl.gov.uk)
Letters: Museum must drop West Bank link (independent.co.uk)
London Olympics: politics, pollution and plague (guardian.co.uk)

What is the Basis for Transit Policy in the USA?

2012-02-20T06:21:00.000-05:00

Policy and Planning as Public Choice Mass Transit in the United States (300 page pdf, David Lewis and Fred Laurence Williams, United States Department of Transportation, 1999)

Today’s focus is a comprehensive policy report from the Department of Transportation of the USA which builds the case for subsidizing transit by looking at its benefit/cost ratio (5:1), transit’s value (along with congestion pricing) as the main solution to congestion and the affordability of transit in the rider’s budget. The analysis of congestion by itself contains many useful observations and conclusions. Although written more than a decade ago, the trends and proportions appear valid today.

Key Quotes:

“A methodical exploration of why the American public so persistently supports transit is long overdue“

“.. the public realizes five dollars in cash savings for each tax dollar invested in transit services. These are the costs of owning, operating and accommodating automobiles that several million Americans avoid with the help of transit services“

“In urban America, public transit serves three market niches :

transit serves a basic mobility function for children, elderly people, people with disabilities who are unable to drive, people who cannot afford their own cars, and motorists whose car is in the shop.
rapid transit enables ..commuters to bypass severely congested freeways and thus save travel time for themselves and motorists alike.
transit facilitates a pedestrian friendly streetscape in which walking, elevators and bicycling are more common than driving”

“The fraction of all households owning 2 or more vehicles rose from 29 percent in 1969 to 53 percent in 1988”

“A major long run cause of congestion is the increasing spatial separation of work and residences. Workers tend to live further away from Central Business Districts (CBD) and places of work, seeking private, quite and spacious single detached homes”

“If optimum congestion tolls were charged, the motorist might well choose to use mass transit, to join an auto pool, to make the trip at a less congested time, or to use a less congested but perhaps more circuitous route”

“...a subsidy paid to public transport with a downward sloping cost curve, would lower the costs of travel on both”.In the reverse, a policy that increases roadway capacity luring away transit patrons, increases the costs of transit with increasing per passenger costs of the road system.”

How to Cure Congestion: more roads, more public transit, or congestion pricing? (pollutionfree.wordpress.com)
Does Canada's Largest City Want Congestion Charges? (pollutionfree.wordpress.com)
Lessons Learned from Stockholm's Congestion Charges (pollutionfree.wordpress.com)
Danish Plans for Road Pricing and Congestion Charging (pollutionfree.wordpress.com)
Why are City Politicians Nervous when Congestion Charging Comes Up? (pollutionfree.wordpress.com)
New poll shows support for congestion fees (thestar.com)
Sixty Two Percent of Americans Prioritize Spending on Roads Over Public Transit (reason.com)
Gondolas can fill in public transit gaps, expert tells Calgary planners (calgaryherald.com)
Living Without a Car in Bogotá: Day 12 (thecityfix.com)
An Animated Argument For Congestion Pricing (dc.streetsblog.org)
The Importance of Transit-Related Manufacturing (timesunion.com)

Intensification, Traffic Congestion and Air Pollution

2012-02-17T06:55:00.002-05:00

Public Health and Downtown Traffic (Marcus Bowman , Spacing Toronto, Jul. 21, 2011)

Also discussed here: Ottawa's clogged roads near capacity (Open File Ottawa, Nov. 18, 2010)

And here: Queue Interactions in Synchro 6 (12 page Word doc, Synchro 6)
Today, we focus on some articles that describe how congested cities, such as Toronto and Ottawa, are becoming as the density of the urban population increases and leads to traffic flows that exceed road capacity, queuing at intersections and unnecessary idling and emissions. One ‘solution” is to widen roads to increase capacity but "widening roads to fight congestion is like loosening your belt to fight obesity".

Key Quotes:

“ Environment Canada estimates that passenger vehicles account for approximately 51% of VOC emissions and 21% of NO_xemissions in Canada”

“Each new car that hits the road makes the entire system slightly worse for everyone by contributing to greater traffic jams and more pollution. Investing in more traffic capacity will only perpetuate this exponentially growing cycle”

“the well documented phenomenon of induced demand. More road capacity leads to more cars and provides no overall gain in reducing congestion…a 1% increase in road capacity will lead to a 1% increase in the amount of traffic.”

“increases in downtown density must be accompanied by a shift away from automobile capacity or public health will suffer. More density in downtown must be accompanied by a shift towards alternative means of transit”

New research indicates motorcycle commuting reduces traffic congestion and emissions (gizmag.com)
Better Ways to Handle Traffic and Parking (pollutionfree.wordpress.com)
GOOD create human infographic to attack traffic congestion (lostateminor.com)
Research Recap, February 13: Modal Shift, Road Pricing, Strokes from Air Pollution (thecityfix.com)
Does Canada's Largest City Want Congestion Charges? (pollutionfree.wordpress.com)
AAA: Cost of Crashes Exceeds Cost of Congestion (news.onlineautoinsurance.com)
Navigating Australian Traffic Congestion Just Got Easier (prweb.com)
Tolls, Congestion and HOT Lanes in Canadian Cities (pollutionfree.wordpress.com)
City hall take note: You can't fight suburbia (news.nationalpost.com)
Air pollution and congestion charges in London, England (pollutionfree.wordpress.com)
Danish Plans for Road Pricing and Congestion Charging (pollutionfree.wordpress.com)
Free Parking and Planning Sustainable Cities (pollutionfree.wordpress.com)
New Student Drop Off Sign Designed to Protect Students and Minimize Congestion (prweb.com)
How to Cure Congestion: more roads, more public transit, or congestion pricing? (pollutionfree.wordpress.com)
Exposure of Schoolchildren to Traffic-Related Air Pollution (pollutionfree.wordpress.com)

The Environmental Impact of Parking Spaces and Structures

2012-02-15T06:34:00.002-05:00

Parking Infrastructure and the Environment (Mikhail Chester, Arpad Horvath, and Samer Madanat, ACCESS, Fall 2011)

Also discussed here: Paved, but Still Alive (Michael Kimmelman, New York Times, Jan. 6, 2012)

The article reviewed today looks at the overall economic and environmental life-cycle costs, both direct and indirect, for the provision of parking facilities and associated costs associated with travel to the parking spaces and the road infrastructure. The overall cost for the USA is between $4 and 20 Billion, depending on which of 4 scenarios are assumed for the number of spaces per vehicle. The environment impacts in terms of greenhouse gas emissions or health hazardous pollutants (SO2, PM10) are also significant as shown in the figure below.

“Figure 1 shows total emissions caused directly and indirectly by automobiles if all the LCA emissions from parking are attributed to automobiles.”

Key Quotes:

“vehicles spend most of their lives parked. Because abundant free parking encourages solo driving and thus discourages walking, biking, and the use of public transit, it greatly contributes to urban congestion”

“Past LCAs[life-cycle assessments]..have focused on evaluating the resources directly used for travel and have not considered the extensive parking infrastructure, including the costs of its construction, operation, maintenance, and raw material extraction and processing”

“Evaluating life-cycle effects, including health care and environmental damage costs, we determine that emissions from parking infrastructure cost the US between $4 and $20 billion annually, or between $6 and $23 per space per year”

“There are roughly 240 million passenger vehicles and 10 million on-road freight vehicles in the US. All passenger vehicles require a home base and commuting vehicles also require a work space. In addition, using data from a nationwide inventory, we reach a figure of 105 million metered spaces”

Scenarios:

"A includes the number of parking spaces at commercial sites.. 722 million spaces
B, we evaluate roadway design guidelines and distances of urban and rural roadways to determine nationwide on-street parking…810 million spaces.
C is based on observed ratios of four spaces per vehicle for cities and 2.2 spaces per vehicle for rural areas…844 million spaces.
D is based on an unverified estimate of 8 spaces per vehicle that is often mentioned in planning literature…2 billion spaces”

The Art of Parking, Tokyo Style (japangasm.wordpress.com)
Do we really spend a whole year of our lives parking? (blogs.confused.com)
Privitized, Dynamically Priced Parking- a good deal for cash strapped cities? (pollutionfree.wordpress.com)
Make money from your parking space (confused.com)
San Francisco Wins Award For Expensive Parking, Fewer Spaces (sfist.com)
Sensor Networks Could End Parking Rage (technologyreview.com)
Parking sensors to take pain out of finding a space (newscientist.com)
Taxi spaces would double if new Oklahoma City rules pass (newsok.com)
Times Architecture Critic Calls For Eliminating NYC Parking Minimums (streetsblog.org)
Taking Parking Lots Seriously (nytimes.com)

Better Ways to Handle Traffic and Parking

2012-02-13T07:34:00.001-05:00

Image via WikipediaTraffic, Parking, and Our Green Future: Segment 1 (Parking)(28 min video, Donald Shoup, Yale University, Feb. 17, 2010)

Traffic, Parking, and Our Green Future: Segment 2 (Traffic)(33 min video, Tom Vanderbilt, Yale University, Feb. 17, 2010)

Traffic, Parking, and Our Green Future: Segment 3 (Questions)(27 min video, Professor Doug Rae, Feb. 17, 2010)

Two eminent authors: Donald Shoup (“High Cost of Free Parking”) and Tom Vanderbilt (“Traffic”) provide well illustrated and informative insights into better ways to deal with traffic congestion, pricing parking with performance metering, road signage, idling, etc to move toward more sustainable cities that are kinder to the environment and more beneficial to the economy.

Free Parking and Planning Sustainable Cities (pollutionfree.wordpress.com)
How Much Should Parking Cost? (andrewsullivan.thedailybeast.com)
How Much Should Parking Cost? (pinkbananaworld.com)
Paying for Parking (marginalrevolution.com)
Parking sensors to take pain out of finding a space (newscientist.com)
The evolution of parking in Manhattan (marginalrevolution.com)
The Cost of Parking Regulation (seattletransitblog.com)
On the irrationality of parking (cutandplante.wordpress.com)

Really Narrow Streets and Sustainable Cities

2012-02-10T07:10:00.000-05:00

Image via WikipediaThinking Small: The Narrow Streets "Movement" (Old Urbanist, Mar. 29,2011)

Also discussed here: In praise of Really Narrow Streets (StreetsBlog, Jan. 4, 2012)

And here: Recipe for Florence (New World Economics, Jun. 17, 2007)

And here: (Narrow Streets Los Angeles, Dec. 3, 2011)

Today we look at some articles about cities with really narrow streets, most of which were designed B.C. (before the car). These cities, mostly European, are widely praised for their attractiveness not only in their visual appeal, but also in terms of making much better use of space for homes and in terms of a cleaner and healthier environment. Can those in modern card-addicted cities learn and adapt?

Key Quotes:

“Really Narrow Streets and buildings packed together. What fun! It's like a party with lots of people”

“they are rather disjointed and unorganized. That makes things much more interesting than the grid pattern which became popular in the 19th century. This "unorganized" pattern doesn't really create any problems, unless you are trying to drive”

“the Really Narrow Street…These streets were usually created before cars were invented, and they have no place for cars. Some are too narrow for any car. Most are wide enough for one car to pass, but not much wider”

On Narrow Streets (thegreatermarin.wordpress.com)
Maine to create car-free town with 'really narrow streets' (grist.org)
Kickstarting a "Narrow Streets" Community in Rural Maine (streetsblog.net)
New Urbanists Release Principles for Sustainable Street Networks (dc.streetsblog.org)

GEO Medicine and Lifetime Exposure to Poor Air Quality

2012-02-08T17:15:00.000-05:00

Bill Davenhall: Your health depends on where you live (9 min video, TED, Oct. 2009)

Also shown here: Bill Davenhall: Your health depends on where you live (9 min You-Tube)

And discussed here: Heart Attack Rates (Acute Myocardial Infarction per 100,000 Medicare Enrollees) (ERSI, 2005)

The focus today is on a new branch of environmental health called GEO Medicine that looks at geography applied to environmental health and epidemiology, using various new tools including Geographical Information Systems (GIS) and tracking tools such as those found on smart phones. The speaker points out that while lifestyle and genetics are often included on one’s medical history file, rarely is there a record of where one lived and what was the environment . By extension to his own “place history”, he shows how this can help to identify in advance what diseases to expect in old age.

Key Quotes:

“what is really talk about what is the formula for life and good health - Genetics, lifestyle and environment”

“For every community in the United States,you could have your own personalized map of that.… our cell phones can now build a place history”

“ we must teach physicians about the value of geographical information. It's called geomedicine. There are about a half a dozen programs in the world right now”

“Genetics (genes that metabolize certain chemicals and drugs is important) Nutrition/diet is critical to help manage health problems, deficiencies & weakened conditions. Exercise is critical for circulation, brain, mood, spine and plain detoxification”

“The biggest factor mainstream medicine does not pay attention to is toxin exposure..where you've lived as far as outdoor air quality, where you work to consider inside air (copiers, smokers, perfumes, good ventilation) and chemicals, pollution around the work building (incl.. pesticides). Similar questions about home air, smoke, ventilation, paint/formaldehyde & proximity to industrial plants, toxic mold growth all play a role”

Geographic Medicine - Bill Davenhall Discusses How Environments Influence Our Health (TrendHunter.com) (trendhunter.com)
Health Impact of Exposure to Particulate Matter in Beijing, China (pollutionfree.wordpress.com)
Exposure of Schoolchildren to Traffic-Related Air Pollution (pollutionfree.wordpress.com)
Traffic Corridors, Air Pollution & Human Health (chase-canada.org)
Toxic Mold Information (nationalmoldresourcecenter.wordpress.com)
Toxic mold will kill your ass - and the answer to what the hell is Stachybotrys (charlottepestcontrol.me)
Investigate Your Indoor Air Quality (everydayhealth.com)
A Syndemic Approach to Healthy Sustainable Cities (pollutionfree.wordpress.com)

The Better Air Quality at Beijing Olympics- government controls or lucky weather conditions?

2012-02-06T06:34:00.002-05:00

Beijing 2008 (Photo credit: kennytyy)Emission controls versus meteorological conditions in determining aerosol concentrations in Beijing during the 2008 Olympic Games (15 page pdf, Y. Gao, X. Liu, C. Zhao, and M. Zhang^,Atmos. Chem. Phys., Dec. 28, 2011)

Also discussed here: Weather Deserves Medal for Clean Air During 2008 Olympics (Science Daily, Dec. 28, 2011)

And here: Impact of Changes in Transportation and Commuting Behaviors During the 1996 Summer Olympic Games in Atlanta on Air Quality and Childhood Asthma (9 page pdf, Michael S. Friedman, Kenneth E. Powell, Lori Hutwagner, LeRoy M. Graham,W. Gerald Teague, Journal American Medical Association, Feb. 21, 2001)

Credit for the surprisingly good air quality at the 2008 Beijing Olympics has been given to the Chinese government for various steps taken to reduce pollution sources, especially vehicle emissions, during and before the games- as they had been, with equally good health results, at the Atlanta, USA Games in 1996. A more detailed analysis of the added effect of meteorology, summarized in the article under review, shows that favourable winds and well-timed rainfall had at least as much to do with the results. The lesson to be learned from this, especially for those cities with unhealthy air, with or without Olympic fever, is that major reductions in pollution and improvements in health are possible with enough government will to engage public support.

Key Quotes:

“PM10 .. is reported to be the major cause of air pollution in Beijing on about 90% of days from 1999 to 2005 ..and its concentration exceeds the China’s Grade-2 Standard (daily averaged concentration of PM10 of 150 μgm−3) on 30% of the days each year…emissions over the northwest and southwest to Beijing contribute 39% and 15 %, respectively, to the particle matter concentrations over urban Beijing”

“A series of emission control measures were undertaken in Beijing and the adjacent provinces in China during the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games on 8–24 August 2008..Before the full-scale control (pre-20 July 2008), heavy industrial polluters (e.g. the Capital Steel Company) were relocated, and 50% of government cars were not allowed to drive in Beijing after 23 June 2008”

“During the full-scale control (from 20 July to 19 September 2008), first, the odd/even license plate number rule was applied on personal vehicles in Beijing; second, stricter control was applied on vehicles entering Beijing; third, the production of some factories that can cause air pollution was limited or even stopped.. In addition, extra 20% government cars were not allowed to drive in Beijing, some outdoor constructions were stopped, and usages of coal-burning facilities were restricted”

“on-road concentrations of NOx, SO2, carbon monoxide (CO), and BC were reduced by 41 %, 70 %, 54 %, and 12 %, respectively during the Olympics”

“In addition to the emission controls, the weather was very important in reducing pollution. You can see the rain washing pollution out of the sky and wind transporting it away from the area….while some pollution got washed out by rain or fell out of the sky, most of it got blown away by wind”

“modeled concentrations of aerosol species (sulfate, nitrate, ammonium, black carbon, organic carbon, total particulate matter) in Beijing were decreased by 30–50% during the Olympic period compared to the other periods in July and August in 2008 and the same period in 2007”

Traveling to Beijing? Beware the pollution (gadling.com)
Racing Up (and Down) the Performance Index (green.blogs.nytimes.com)
Severe Beijing smog -- or fog? -- leads to long airport delays - Los Angeles Times (latimesblogs.latimes.com)
Snow Falling on Smog: Is There Any Hope for Beijing's Air? (globalspin.blogs.time.com)
Pollution Update : China to cut pollutant emissions by over 30% (environmentaleducationuk.wordpress.com)
Airing China (deegeesbb.wordpress.com)

Health Impact of Exposure to Particulate Matter in Beijing, China

2012-02-03T08:04:00.002-05:00

Effects of Particulate Air Pollution on Blood Pressure in a Highly Exposed Population in Beijing, China: A repeated-measure study (32 page pdf, Andrea Baccarelli, Francesco Barretta, Chang Dou, Xiao Zhang, John P McCracken, Anaite Diaz, Pier Alberto Bertazzi, Joel Schwartz, Sheng Wang, Lifang Hou, Environmental Health, Dec. 21, 2011)

Today’s review article looks at the link between traffic-related particulate matter on the blood pressure of truck drivers, using both personal and ambient measurements. The ambient levels are as much as an order of magnitude greater in Beijing than in average American cities. Results indicate that the greatest impact in blood pressure occurs about a week after exposure rather than in one or a few days for those examined, noting that they already have higher than average blood pressure levels due to diet, obesity and exercise (or lack)- perhaps indicating that PM pollution has its greatest impact on those already suffering from high blood pressure.

Key Quotes:

“Elevated BP is an established risk factor for coronary heart disease and stroke, and may be implicated in the association of short-term PM exposure with cardiovascular disease.. An increase as small as 1 mmHg in usual systolic BP is estimated to increase by 2-4% the risk of death due to cardiovascular disease”

“Traffic-derived PM is critical in Beijing due to very high population density and rapid increase in vehicular traffic”

“Truck drivers had higher BMI, reported a higher number of pack-years of smoking, smoked more cigarettes during the study time, and included a higher proportion of usual alcohol drinkers…Average personal PM2.5 was 126.8 μg/m3 in truck drivers and 94.6 μg/m3 for office workers”

“comparatively higher levels of PM exposure exert effects on BP that appear with a delay or possibly require 5-8 days to build up and become detectable”

“the average levels of ambient PM10 in Beijing were approximately 120 μg/m3 during our study. As a reference, the average urban-population weighted PM10 in the United States was 19 μg/m3 in the year 2008”

Fireworks send Beijing air pollution soaring (sfgate.com)
Particulate Matter in Our Homes Has a Great Negative Impact on The Elderly (socyberty.com)
China to release stricter smog readings for Beijing (cnn.com)
More Transparency For China? Beijing Releasing Pollution Data (huffingtonpost.com)
India's air the worst; China in bottom five (thehimalayantimes.com)
India's Air the World's Unhealthiest, Study Says (india.blogs.nytimes.com)
Lifetime deaths and life exceptancy impact from air pollution (nextbigfuture.com)
India's air the worst, says study (vancouversun.com)
Cities of World Ranked by Exposure to Particulates (pollutionfree.wordpress.com)

A Syndemic Approach to Healthy Sustainable Cities

2012-02-01T08:00:00.000-05:00

Built Environment and Public Health: A Syndemic Perspective (17 page pdf, Michael McGeehin, 4th annual summit of the Research Triangle Environmental Health Collaborative, “Incorporating Public and Environmental Health into Sustainable Solutions”, Nov. 8, 2010)

The focus of today’s review is on a recent urban summit linking the built environment to health and a presentation that shows how a syndemic approach is useful one to identify the links between diseases or ill health and their causes and remedies. Examples from transportation include road design, traffic management and removing barriers for pedestrians and cyclists.

Key Quotes:

“We recommend that in laying out new towns and villages, and in extending those already laid out, ample provision be made for a supply, in purity and abundance, of light, air, and water; for drainage and sewerage, for paving and for cleanliness.(1850)”

“Syndemic Perspective - an understanding of disease that focuses on the complex interconnections among co-morbid diseases, biological linkages, and interacting social and environmental conditions"

“Transportation: Highway and Roadway Design, Traffic Volume, Access to Public Transportation, Pedestrian Crossings, Pollution, Bike Paths"

“Research Topics – B.E. and Health: Barriers to Activity in Low Income Neighborhoods, Air Pollution and Acute Cardiac Events…”

“Conclusions: Human Health and Built Environment are Closely Linked, Built Environment and Health Associations are Complex and Comprehensive…”

Communities Learn the Good Life Can Be a Killer (well.blogs.nytimes.com)
Sustainable Cities for All (healthycities.wordpress.com)
Physical Environment V. Built Environment (happyspacesprojectblog.wordpress.com)
Sick of the suburbs: How badly designed communities trash our health (grist.org)
Retrofit Projects Without the Assistance of Positive Motivation are Going to Struggle (prweb.com)
Sick of the suburb (urbanvista.net)

Health Impacts of Electric Railway Noise

2012-01-30T06:59:00.000-05:00

Image via Wikipedia
Transportation Noise and Blood Pressure in a Population-Based Sample of Adults (6 page pdf, Julia Dratva, Harish C. Phuleria, Maria Foraster, Jean-Michel Gaspoz, Dirk Keidel, Nino Künzli, L.-J. Sally Liu, Marco Pons, Elisabeth Zemp, Margaret W. Gerbase, Christian Schindler, Environ Health Perspect, Jan. 2012)

Today, the focus is on a study of the impacts of railway noise on residents of a city in Switzerland. Differences with noise and air pollution from vehicle traffic are noted as well as the distinguishing characteristic of railway noise being more variable in volume and in being intermittent. While no association with hypertension was found, clear links with blood pressure were found in patients with diabetes. There would seem to be a need to consider similar health effects from electric rail systems (LRTs) being constructed for public urban transit in highly populated areas of many medium to large cities in the USA and Canada.

Key Quotes:

“We aimed to investigate the effects of railway and traffic noise exposure on blood pressure; a secondary aim was to address potentially susceptible subpopulations”

“in densely populated countries with a dense railway network, such as Switzerland, railway noise should also be addressed…. an area of 35 km2 in daytime and 56 km2 in nighttime is exposed to noise levels above accepted thresholds; 100% of this area is located in urban and highly populated areas… In Switzerland, trains are electrically powered”

“The SONBASE noise model assumes that only households within a 1,000-m radius of railway tracks experience railway noise”

“No significant association was seen between transportation noise and prevalence of hypertension”

” stratified analyses yielded a significant positive association with blood pressure in participants with doctor-diagnosed diabetes”

“Traffic noise from heavily frequented streets corresponds to a continuous exposure without much variation in noise exposure levels, whereas railway noise is characterized by a discontinuous pattern of intermittent very high maximum sound pressure levels and steep slopes of rise.. The intermittent pattern of noise exposure is thought to be more disruptive”

“Effects from traffic noise were not seen in the study population as a whole, but positive associations were estimated in subjects with self-reported diabetes and CVD”

Health Impacts from Road Traffic and Railway Noise (pollutionfree.wordpress.com)
Nighttime Noise and Blood Pressure (time.com)
Road Noise from Motor Vehicles in Europe (pollutionfree.wordpress.com)
School location may impact kids' health (cbc.ca)

Decarbonizing Europe

2012-01-27T07:14:00.000-05:00

Image via WikipediaEnergy Roadmap 2050 (20 page pdf, Communication From the Commission to the European Parliament, The Council, the European Economic and Social Committee and The Committee of the Regions, European Commission, Dec. 2011)

Also discussed here: Towards a competitive low-carbon energy sector (European Commission, Dec. 19, 2011

And here: EU’s “Energy Roadmap 2050” Published (Zachary Shahan, Clean Technica Dec. 27, 2011

While many countries have very modest plans to decarbonize in the short term (e.g. Canada and the US with a 17% reduction target by 2020), few countries have serious plans beyond this. The EU recently released a plan, or rather a series of scenarios, to achieve the required reduction of carbon fuels and a stable global climate by 2050 – if that is not too late for the atmosphere to recover, a question being debated between the carbon energy proponents on the one hand and serious climate researchers on the other who would see the target moved to much earlier. Whatever reductions occur, there will be significant improvements also in air pollution and the health benefits that come from that which is the prime focus of this blog, so that we follow the development of decarbonization plans such as this with much interest. Some of the implications of this roadmap are noted including the need to engage the public and the role of nuclear energy, energy efficiency, and managing energy demand.

Key Quotes:

“Committed to reducing greenhouse gas emissions to 80-95% below 1990 levels by 2050, the EU is exploring the challenges of decarbonisation”

“With electricity prices set to rise until 2030, investment is needed now in “intelligent” electricity grids and improved technologies to produce, transmit and store energy more effectively”

“In this Energy Roadmap 2050 the Commission explores the challenges posed by delivering the EU's decarbonisation objective while at the same time ensuring security of energy supply and competitiveness”

“Vulnerable consumers are best protected from energy poverty through a full implementation by Member States of the existing EU energy legislation and use of innovative energy efficiency solutions”

“Decarbonisation scenarios

High Energy Efficiency. …leads to a decrease in energy demand of 41% by 2050 as compared to the peaks in 2005-2006.
Diversified supply technologies…Decarbonisation is driven by carbon pricing assuming public acceptance of both nuclear and Carbon Capture & Storage (CCS).
High Renewable energy sources (RES)…leading to a very high share of RES in gross final energy consumption (75% in 2050) and a share of RES in electricity consumption reaching 97%.
Delayed CCS…decarbonisation driven by carbon prices rather than technology push.
Low nuclear. .. that no new nuclear is being built …resulting in a higher penetration of CCS (around 32% in power generation).

“Ten structural changes for energy system transformation:

Decarbonisation is possible – and can be less costly than current policies in the long-run
Higher capital expenditure and lower fuel costs
Electricity plays an increasing role
Electricity prices rise until 2030 and then decline
Household expenditure will increase
Energy savings throughout the system are crucial
Renewables rise substantially
Carbon capture and storage has to play a pivotal role in system transformation
Nuclear energy provides an important contribution
Decentralisation and centralised systems increasingly interact

“Transforming the energy system:

Energy saving and managing demand: a responsibility for all
Switching to renewable energy sources
Gas plays a key role in the transition
Transforming other fossil fuels
Nuclear energy as an important contributor
Smart technology, storage and alternative fuels

Junior still excited about 'decarbonization' (junkscience.com)
Tucker's Terrestrialism and the Technology of Modernity (junkscience.com)
EU Energy Roadmap 2050 : time for energy saving and renewable technologies (3eintelligence.wordpress.com)
Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) (missenergiser.com)
EU launches €9 billion energy infrastructure plan | EurActiv (3eintelligence.wordpress.com)
How California can hit its mid-century emissions reduction goals (arstechnica.com)
The European Power System - Decarbonization and Cost Reduction: Lost in Transmissions? (3eintelligence.wordpress.com)
IEEE Spectrum on China's Nuclear Energy Programme (nextbigfuture.com)
Gosh! Decarbonizing the atmosphere may be costly and impractical (junkscience.com)
Europe's Doomed Flight of Decarbonizing Fancy (junkscience.com)
EU carbon too cheap, no mention of intervention: draft (reuters.com)

Free Parking and Planning Sustainable Cities

2012-01-25T07:34:00.000-05:00

Between the Lines (Dave Gardetta, Los Angeles Magazine, Dec. 1, 2011)

The focus today, as it has been in past reviews, is the craziness involved in cities which give away free parking or set parking rates at the same low rate regardless of the demand- with a prominent example from Los Angeles compared with the more enlightened planners and traffic engineers in San Francisco which has migrated to dynamic parking prices and high tech aids to manage their traffic and parking.

The problem is not just in California, however, as you see the same thing in huge mandated parking lots and set parking fees in the downtown areas of Ottawa, Montreal and Toronto (and probably others too) - which adds to the congested misery of these air polluted, car-addicted cities.

Key Quotes:

“That prized garage space or curbside spot you’ve been yearning for may be costing you—and the city—in ways you never realized. A journey into the world of parking, where meter maids are under siege, everybody’s on the take, and the tickets keep on coming”

“Parking spaces can be amazingly expensive to fabricate. In aboveground structures they cost as much as $40,000 apiece. Belowground, all that excavating and shoring may run a developer $140,000 per space”

“The garage—designed to serve the public good—instantly made the Metro immaterial to concertgoers, placed several thousand cars on the road every week, and pumped a few hundred tons of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere each year”

““After a concert in San Francisco, the streets are full of people walking to their cars, eating in restaurants, stopping into bars and bookstores. In L.A.? The bar next door at Patina is a ghost town.”

“What if the free and abundant parking drivers crave is about the worst thing for the life of cities?”

“I truly believe that when men and women think about parking, their mental capacity reverts to the reptilian cortex of the brain…How to get food, ritual display, territorial dominance—all these things are part of parking, and we’ve assigned it to the most primitive part of the brain that makes snap fight-or-flight decisions. Our mental capacities just bottom out when we talk about parking.”

Sensor Networks Could End Parking Rage (technologyreview.com)
Why Do Cities Require So Many Offstreet Parking Spaces? (pollutionfree.wordpress.com)
Vancouver parking rates could vary by block, month with new project (vancouversun.com)
Privitized, Dynamically Priced Parking- a good deal for cash strapped cities? (pollutionfree.wordpress.com)
Too Entitled to Pay for the Externalities: (brothersjuddblog.com)
The Cost of Parking Regulation (seattletransitblog.com)
God is in the Parking Spaces (everydaylifeinrecovery.com)
Hefty parking fee recommended for on-street parking (thehindu.com)
DOT Testing New Technology Aimed At Making Parking Easier In NYC (newyork.cbslocal.com)
Banff to consider parking fees (calgaryherald.com)
On parking... (shannonturlington.com)
Bikers take on parking fee in court (autonetinsurance.co.uk)

Health Impacts from Traffic-Related Air Pollution and Biomass Fuels

2012-01-23T07:02:00.000-05:00

Respiratory health effects of air pollution: Update on biomass smoke and traffic pollution ( 9 page pdf, Robert J. Laumbach and Howard M. Kipen, Clinical reviews in allergy and immunology, The Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology, Jan, 2012)

Also discussed here: Review Hardens Links Between Air Pollution, Health Problems (Christine Hsu, Medical Daily, Dec. 26, 2011)

Today’s review article is very useful overview and updated literature review of two types of pollution that are both increasing in importance and have not been as well researched as ambient air pollution as a major health impact: the burning of carbon fuels inside homes (BMFs) in developing countries and exposure to traffic related air pollution (TRAPs) near roadways. The authors conclude by listing what is known and what is not, some of which is noted below.

Key Quotes:

“recent research has heightened the focus on 2 broad sources of air pollution: biomass fuels (BMFs) and motor vehicles. Understanding of the health effects of BMFs and traffic-related air pollution (TRAP) has lagged behind that of ambient air pollution”

“Although tobacco smoke is clearly the dominant cause of COPD worldwide, BMF smoke is now recognized as a major cause of COPD, especially among women in less-developed countries (LDCs)… The WHO has estimated that BMF smoke exposure is responsible for about 1.5 million premature deaths per year..About 2.4 billion persons live in households in which BMFs are the primary fuel for cooking, heating, or both”

“Concentrations of TRAP have steep gradients near roadways, with heightened exposure to persons living, attending school, or working near major roads in urban areas and return of TRAP to background levels within several hundred meters away from roadways…TRAP exposures are concentrated in areas of greater traffic density, which, at least in the United States, tend to be inner-city communities of lower socioeconomic status with a higher burden of environmental contamination/effects”

“non freeway pollutants demonstrated a stronger effect than those from freeways, possibly reflecting an effect of frequent acceleration and deceleration on TRAP characteristics”

“What do we know?

It is more difficult to estimate individual exposures to BMFs and TRAP than to ambient air pollution.
TRAP has been shown to increase the risk of COPD in well-controlled studies.
TRAPis associated with the development of asthma in adults.
Short-term air pollution interventions have been shown to decrease respiratory morbidity.

What is still unknown?

How much asthma risk is actually attributable to TRAP
A widely approved and acceptable method to reduce pollution from burning BMFs
Effects of TRAP on respiratory outcomes beyond asthma
How TRAP causes asthma: allergic, irritant, and/or other
Whether neonatal exposures to TRAP actually represent a critical window to cause childhood asthma”

Traffic-Related Pollution Can Cause the Skin to Age (bellasugar.com)
BBC News - Beijing releases air pollution data (djcadchina.wordpress.com)
Air pollution increases risk of diabetes and hypertension developing in black women, researchers say (thegrio.com)
Polluted air could put Olympic athletes at risk, warn scientists (independent.co.uk)
Study Finds Air Pollution Linked To Diabetes And Hypertension In African-American Women (medicalnewstoday.com)
Air pollution ups diabetes, hypertension risk in African-American women (thehindu.com)

Turning Parking Lots and Urban Highways into Parks

2012-01-20T07:37:00.000-05:00

In Madrid’s Heart, Park Blooms Where a Freeway Once Blighted (Michael Kimmelman, New York Times, Dec. 26, 2011)

Also discussed here : Parks in, Cars not out? Is that going to be our future? (World Streets, Dec. 27, 2011)

And here: Madrid Rio (8 slides)

Today the focus is on an article which reviews the large number of cities worldwide which have replaced their highways with parks, rivers and areas to be enjoyed by their citizens, instead of adding to the blight of inner city slums intersected by polluting roads. The highlight is on Madrid Rio in Spain’s capital which appears to have transformed the entire city, as can be seen in the slideshow linked below.

Key Quotes:

“All around the world, highways are being torn down and waterfronts reclaimed; decades of thinking about cars and cities reversed; new public spaces created.”

“San Francisco, the 1989 earthquake overcame years of entrenched thinking: the Embarcadero Freeway was taken down, which reconnected the city with its now glorious waterfront.

“Seoul, the removal of a stretch of highway along the now-revived Gaecheon stream has made room for a five-mile-long recreation area called Cheonggyecheon

Milwaukee, the destruction of the Park East freeway spur has liberated acres of downtown for parks and neighborhood development

the nearly-30-year, bank-busting Big Dig fiasco made Boston a better place by tunneling a downtown highway, though it was obviously nobody’s idea of a stellar urban redevelopment project.

New York, .. tearing down the Sheridan Expressway… to replace it with homes, commercial spaces, playgrounds, swimming pools and soccer fields arrayed along the Bronx River.

Madrid.. Its creation, in four years, atop a complex network of tunnels dug to bury an intrusive highway, .. Twenty-seven miles of new tunnels were dug; countless tons of granite installed to make paths and fountains; some 8,000 pine trees planted.

Chicago, to push through something big and great that is entirely for the public, like Millennium Park, 24.5 downtown acres of cultural attractions risen largely from rail yards and parking lots.

City Parks, Like Madrid Río, Stand Where Highways Did - Michael Kimmelman via NYTimes.com (stoweboyd.com)
The Tricky Second Wave of Urban Highway Removals (rightsofway.wordpress.com)
Freeways: divide and pollute cities today - greenspace tomorrow? (pollutionfree.wordpress.com)
How Freeways Came About from Cities Designed for Cars (pollutionfree.wordpress.com)
Chuck Schumer on Niagara Falls Highway: "Tear Down This Road" (streetsblog.org)
The Case for Tearing Down Urban Freeways (forbes.com)
The Problem With Urban Freeways (thinkprogress.org)
Madrid Joins Cities Replacing Concrete With Greenery (dotearth.blogs.nytimes.com)

Privitized, Dynamically Priced Parking- a good deal for cash strapped cities?

2012-01-18T07:47:00.000-05:00

Chicago Cashing In on Privatized Parking; Could LA be Next? (Steven Dornfeld, City Watch, Dec. 19, 2011)

Also discussed here: CPM-Chicago Parking Meters

A key example of the value of applying the pricing concept to parking rates is described in the article reviewed today about Chicago where the investment in the new technology needed for smart meters and dynamic rates was covered by leasing the parking system to the private sector. The result is increased revenue to the city, less congestion and vehicle emissions downtown as fewer vehicles have to search for a parking space and a public that is slow to accept it- the director of parking amusingly said "Thank God we don't have capital punishment" in Illinois”. This reminds us of the slow careful approach used in Stockholm to gain public acceptance of congestion pricing there.

Key Quotes:

“The initiative has enabled the city to extract large up-front payments from parking concessionaires, modernize its parking system and launch a form of "congestion pricing" aimed at reducing the parking crunch in downtown Chicago”

“city launched the effort in 2006, soliciting proposals to modernize four downtown parking garages and awarding a 99-year lease for $563 million..Two years later, he said, the city did the same thing with 34,500 on-street parking meters and 18 metered lots with another 1,240 spaces. It ultimately awarded a 99-year lease for $1.56 billion”

“all of the city's "dumb" parking meters were replaced with more than 4,600 "smart," solar-powered pay boxes at a cost of more than $40 million. The pay boxes can handle the fees for up to 15 parking spaces and the rates can be changed via wireless technology”

“a rate schedule was established that will raise rates by 2013 to amounts ranging from $6.50 per hour in the Chicago loop to $2 per hour in more remote neighborhoods. Prior to 2009, the rates at most meters were 25 cents per hour”

“Chicago uses wireless technology to reduce rates at some parking meters during non-peak hours. However, thus far, city officials thus far have resisted the idea of employing a system of "dynamic pricing" to change rates depending on demand”

Martinez to try out high-tech parking meters that accept credit and debit cards (mercurynews.com)
City set to begin negotiations for parking meters (newsok.com)
Chicago parking meters and the G8 Summit. (preaprez.wordpress.com)
Parking Meter Rates Set To Rise Again In 2012 (chicago.cbslocal.com)
City of Chicago Meters & Illinois Tolls Increase in 2012; How Much? (brittaj17.wordpress.com)
Parking Meter Firm Bills City $2.1M For Lost Revenue From Street Closures (chicago.cbslocal.com)
New coins won't work in parking meters and vending machines (telegraph.co.uk)
San Francisco gets NFC parking meters (nfcdata.com)
How Much Should Parking Cost? Ctd (andrewsullivan.thedailybeast.com)
Pricing Parking Policies and Principles in Delhi, India (pollutionfree.wordpress.com)
Air pollution and congestion charges in London, England (pollutionfree.wordpress.com)
A 2×2 Grid to Understanding Some of the Ideological Concerns of Privatization, Especially as it Pertains to Parking (rortybomb.wordpress.com)

Jane Jacobs and the Sustainable City

2012-01-16T07:38:00.000-05:00

Image via WikipediaDefining principles: Remembering Mrs. Jacobs, The Power of Jane Jacobs’ “Web Way of Thinking”
(Michael Mehaffy, World Streets, Dec.23. 2011)

Also discussed here: Jane Jacobs

Although born as an American and having made significant contributions to the New York City landscape, Jane Jacobs is often fondly viewed by Canadians as one of their own and one of the main influences on how Toronto developed as one of the most multi-cultural cities in the world. Today, we feature a review and a list of Jane’s “lessons” for urban planners, thanks to Eric Britton at the World Streets blog and an article reprinted there by Michael Mehaffy. These tips provide the basis for a sustainable city in all respects.

Key Quotes:

“Jane Jacobs’ Top Ten Lessons:

The city needs to maintain a continuous walkable fabric that promotes “thorough going city mobility and fluidity of use.”
The antithesis of this approach is to create isolated “projects” or project neighborhoods – large, disruptive superblocks of monocultures, featuring artfully designed, unchangeable buildings, surrounded by amorphous no-man’s landscapes
The best way to fight gentrification is not to demolish old buildings and build high rises, but to go into other depressed areas and regenerate them
The city must not be treated as a work of art, or a sculpture gallery
Zoning is not inherently bad, but should be liberal with regard to use, and prescriptive with regard to the way buildings address the street.
Density is a valuable urban ingredient in context, but is not an end in itself.
Sidewalk contacts are the small change from which a city’s wealth of public life may grow
Diversity does not by itself guarantee avoidance of economic stratification
We need to recognize that economic systems are feedback mechanisms for the values we seek, and we must treat economics as such – recognizing that there is as much danger in “money floods” as in “money droughts.”
The capacity to solve our problems rests with the informal web of creative and regulatory relationships we have – our culture – and not with specialized “experts.”

The infinite city, cont'd: Welcome to the grid (bluejaysway.wordpress.com)
'Urbanized': sprawling views on urban planning (seattletimes.nwsource.com)
Jane Jacobs (kavebagoly.wordpress.com)
Jane Jacobs "Ideas That Matter" - Even More So Today (Book Review) (treehugger.com)
The Death and Life of Great Public Servants (mischungltd.wordpress.com)

Speed Kills, But So Do Speed Bumps

2012-01-13T07:04:00.000-05:00

Image via WikipediaUrban Traffic Calming and Health: A Literature Review ( 152 page pdf, Olivier Bellefleur & François Gagnon, National Collaborating Centre for Healthy Public Policy, Institut national de santé publique du Québec, Nov. 2011)

Today, the focus is on a report that reviews the literature on health aspects of traffic calming. Among several surprising points is that traffic calming is usually aimed at and has benefits related to reduced speed as a prime factor for injuries or fatalities from collisions. But many traffic calming techniques, such as speed humps, cause a variation in speed- a temporary slowing followed by rapid acceleration and THIS results in a doubling of vehicle emissions and lower air quality near the road. The message is to take both pollution impacts and speed impacts into consideration when implementing traffic calming.

Key Quotes:

“The effects of traffic-calming measures and strategies on the four health determinants considered in this review (number and severity of collisions, air quality, environmental noise, and active transportation) are usually conceived of as being linked – directly or indirectly – to the two main mechanisms of action associated with such measures, namely, the reduction of driving speeds and of traffic volumes at intervention sites”

“two main mechanisms of action to classify traffic-calming measures into two broad categories: those used to reduce driving speeds and those used to reduce traffic volumes”

“In urban environments, traffic is responsible for a significant portion of emissions of nitrogen oxides (NOx), carbon monoxides (CO), volatile organic compounds (VOCs) – including hydrocarbons (HC), and particulate matter (PM)…in Toronto, motor vehicles are responsible for 85% of CO, 69% of NOx and 16% of PM2.5”

“traffic-calming strategies can influence air pollutant emissions and ambient air quality by means of three main mechanisms:

Reduction of vehicle speeds- slowing down of traffic due to traffic calming strategies should be accompanied by an increase in emissions.. a decrease in driving speeds and more frequent speed variations following the interventions explain the increases observed

Reduction of speed variations- Frequently varying speed while driving thus tends to produce more air pollutant emissions than driving at a constant speed

Reduction of traffic volume- approximately 90% of air pollutants are emitted during the first 200 seconds that a car is in motion when travelling less than 6 km in a city”

Northampton, MA makes Testing Roads with Rubber Speed Humps part of its Traffic Calming Program (prweb.com)
Traffic Calming Debut in Tulsa County, OK with Traffic Logix Rubber Speed Tables (prweb.com)
Bellevue, Washington Finds Radar Speed Signs a Valued Alternative to Speed Bumps and Other Traffic Calming Strategies (prweb.com)
Speed-breakers a major nuisance (nation.com.pk)

Health Impacts from Road Dust and Coarse Particulates

2012-01-11T07:47:00.000-05:00

Image via WikipediaEstimated Short-Term Effects of Coarse Particles on Daily Mortality in Stockholm, Sweden (27 page pdf, Kadri Meister, Christer Johansson, Bertil Forsberg, Environ Health Perspect, Dec. 19. 2011)

The focus today is on the short term health impacts from coarser particles that come from traffic and roads other than through emissions- an aspect not as well studied as the impacts from fine particles. For a number of reasons, both these types of particle and the health impacts from them are highest in the winter and spring.

Key Quotes:

“In this study we estimate the effects of short-term exposure of coarse particles on daily mortality in Stockholm.. coarse particle levels are expected to be more spatially heterogeneous than fine particle levels”

“serious health effects associated with particles with an aerodynamic diameter ≤ 10 μm (PM10) and ≤ 2.5 μm (fine fraction; PM2.5) are documented in many studies”

“At roadside locations the majority of traffic exhaust particles are 10-30 nm in diameter, which is too small to result in a large aerosol mass, even when number concentrations are high”

“[in Berlin] about 45% of local traffic contributions to roadside PM10 concentrations were due to suspended soil material, while the remaining traffic contribution was due to vehicle exhaust and tire abrasion”

“In northern Europe, coarse particle concentrations are generally elevated during winter and spring due to the use of studded tires, road salt, and traction sand.. the daily mean concentrations of PM2.5-10 are highest during late winter and spring”

Estimating Health Impacts on Major Streets Using Oxidative Potential of Particulates (pollutionfree.wordpress.com)
Fine particle health risks calculated for roughly city size areas in California (nextbigfuture.com)
China to tackle pollution and fine particulate matter with tighter air quality levels (naturalgaia.wordpress.com)
Particulate Hot-Spot Analyses (pollutionfree.wordpress.com)
Cities of World Ranked by Exposure to Particulates (pollutionfree.wordpress.com)
Smoking in cars 'leaves lingering danger' (admiral.com)

Does the Economy Affect Air Pollution and Health for Seniors?

2012-01-09T07:19:00.000-05:00

The Best of Times, the Worst of Times: Understanding Pro-cyclical Mortality Use a mirror (45 page pdf, Ann Huff Stevens, Douglas L. Miller, Marianne E. Page, Mateusz Filipski, National Bureau of Economy, Dec. 2011)

Also discussed here: Why Boom Times Kill (Robin Hanson, Overcoming Bias, Dec. 19, 2011)

We know that the elderly are more vulnerable to health impacts from air pollution than other age groups but a further complication is the impact on how well these people are cared for during cycles in the economy. Today’s review is on an analysis of the link between unemployment rates and the care for the elderly in nursing homes and shows that lower unemployment generally results in fewer nursing assistants being available- at least in the USA where the study was based. In addition, because more elderly in nursing homes are women, the impact is greater for them. The broader point is that taking steps to improve air pollution during boon times would have specific health benefits for women.

Key Quotes:

“why the probability of dying increases when economic times are good.

leisure time declines when the economy improves, making it more costly to undertake health-producing activities that are time-intensive.
Hazardous working conditions, job related stress and the physical exertion of employment, for example, may all have negative effects on health, and are expected to increase when the economy is expanding.
when more people are working, roadways are more congested, and this leads to an increase in the probability of being involved in a fatal auto accident..Similarly, pollution may vary over the business cycle and contribute to mortality fluctuations.
labor market changes leading to changes in the quantity or quality of purchased inputs to health (such as health care workers), could also affect mortality rates”

“women tend to be married to older men, and because men have a shorter life expectancy than women, older women are relatively more likely to have a market-based caregiver than are older men, and they are more likely to reside in nursing homes at the end of their lives”

“most of the additional deaths that occur during times of economic growth are among the elderly, particularly elderly women, who have limited labor force attachment. Focusing on mortality among the elderly, we show that cyclicality is especially strong for deaths occurring in nursing homes, and is stronger in states where a higher fraction of the elderly reside in nursing homes”

“a one percentage point cut in the unemployment rate leads to three percent fewer nursing assistants, which increases the national death rate by a half percent (which cuts about three weeks of life per person)”

“a one-percentage point increase in a state’s unemployment rate leads to a 0.54% reduction in that state’s mortality rate…Approximately 80 percent of the averted respiratory deaths are among those over age 60. … Virtually all of the additional cardiovascular deaths are among those over age 65”

“Nursing homes experience especially severe shortages of nursing aides when the economy is strong. … Between 70 to 90% of home health care agencies and nursing homes indicate shortages of direct care workers”

It's Vital That Elderly People Living in Nursing Homes Receive Flu Shots, Says Kentucky Lawyer (prweb.com)
The workforce of the future: Older and healthier (management.fortune.cnn.com)

Air pollution and congestion charges in London, England

2012-01-06T13:12:00.002-05:00

Image via WikipediaPay as you go: managing traffic impacts in a world-class city (55 page pdf, John Whitelegg, Eco-Logica Ltd, Lancaster, Dec. 2, 2011)

Also discussed here: Whitelegg proposes radical overhaul and extension of congestion charge in London (World Streets, Dec. 19, 2011)

The report reviewed today looks back at almost a decade of experience with London’s congestion charge system and analyses the reasons for its success as well as its weaknesses. Several interesting points are made including the way that free parking at work offsets the advantages of road pricing, the process of persuasion needed to gain public support and the degree to which trucks and heavy vehicles are the source of road damage and should therefore bear higher congestion fees for road use.

Key Quotes:

“a London-wide road pricing scheme is essential and without it congestion will worsen, air pollution will worsen, the legal consequences of failing to meet air quality standards will grow in severity and fall on the GLA, the health of Londoners will suffer, CO2 reduction targets will be missed”

“Advantages that can be claimed for this include:

It reduces traffic levels and this reduction makes a welcome contribution to reducing air pollution, noise and greenhouse gases
..over 4000 deaths in London each year are in part attributable to poor air quality
It sends a powerful message to all 7.6 million Londoners that something is being done to bring about an improvement in quality of life and that year-on year increases in traffic are simply not acceptable ..
It generates a stream of revenue that is available for investment in public transport, walking and cycling and this supports sustainable transport objectives”

“81% of car commuters into central London park free at work and “market-priced parking should therefore produce even greater reductions in traffic congestion” (than congestion charging)”

“It is supported by:

economists who are concerned with economic efficiency, proper working of the market and productivity
environmentalists who see traffic noise, air pollution, greenhouse gases from the transport sector and threats to walking and cycling as serious problems that need sorting out
those who focus on equity and social justice and want to see policies introduced that benefit women, children, the elderly and those on low incomes.

“The current congestion charge in London has generated total revenue of £2.182 billion and £1.287 billion of this has been spent on operating the system. A new London-wide ERP system has the potential to generate an income of £1-2 billion pa”

“Lorries account for 90% of the damage done to roads…“lorries in general and each class of lorry, should pay in taxation at least the road track costs which they impose…the public costs of accidents should be included in the calculation of road track costs.”

“The widening of a charging area to the whole of London largely eliminates the possibility of re-routeing effects and increases in distances travelled on orbital routes/alternative routes”

Lessons Learned from Stockholm's Congestion Charges (pollutionfree.wordpress.com)
Direct Bikes Review Congestion Charge in London (prweb.com)
Does Canada's Largest City Want Congestion Charges? (pollutionfree.wordpress.com)
London road-pricing scheme outlined in report (guardian.co.uk)
How Traffic Jams Affect Air Quality (environmentalleader.com)
Danish Plans for Road Pricing and Congestion Charging (pollutionfree.wordpress.com)
How to Cure Congestion: more roads, more public transit, or congestion pricing? (pollutionfree.wordpress.com)

Lessons Learned from Stockholm’s Congestion Charges

2012-01-04T08:12:00.000-05:00

The Stockholm congestion charges – lessons after 5 years (18 page pdf, Börjesson, M; Eliasson, J; Beser Hugosson, M; Brundell-Freij, K., Centre for Transport Studies, Royal Institute of Technology, Stockholm, Dec. 2011)

Also discussed here: How Sweden cut traffic congestion (Brad Plumer, Washington Post Wonkblog, Dec.15, 2011)

An excellent analysis of the social, economic and political aspects of the Stockholm congestion charges is the focus of today’s review. The report explains why the public which was against the charges initially come to support it, after they saw it worked- and traffic was permanently reduced by just under 20%. Also, the revenue generated was directed to improved public transit, already supported in Stockholm to a higher degree than in the USA or Canada with the exception of New York City, making it easier for commuters to make the switch from cars to transit. This factor, also seen in Sweden, no doubt led to the local New Yorker’s support for the proposed congestion charge scheme which was stopped in the end, not at the municipal but at the state level. Probably the most important lesson learned is the understanding and acceptance of pricing the value of a public good or service after following the approach taken by the Swedes, whether it is transportation and congestion, or by extension of the concept, to other municipal services such as waste, water or electric power.

(average number of passages across the cordon per weekday (6 am to 7 pm) for each month from January 2005 through September 2010)

Key Quotes:

“The Stockholm congestion charging system consists of a simple toll cordon around the inner city, thereby reducing traffic through the bottlenecks located at the arterials leading into the inner city”

“About 20 percent of the drop in Stockholm came about because Swedes shifted to public transit. Meanwhile, commercial traffic into the city — deliveries and freight — dropped by about 15 percent as companies adjusted to the new charges by switching routes or combining trips”

“The trial: Immediate reaction, slightly diminishing over time.. 24 % of commuting trips across the cordon disappeared; nearly all of these switched to transit – only 1 % switched route to avoid the cordon”

“The in-between period: Traffic increased, but some effects of charging remained.. between the end of the trial and the reintroduction of the charges, traffic volumes remained 5-10 %6 lower than in 2005”

“Permanent charges: Immediate effects, successive volume increase due to external factors…In the end of 2008, the relative difference compared to the 2005 level was -17 %”

“The share of exempt vehicles has remained constant, but applied to more cost-sensitive traffic in 2009 than in 2006. Passages with taxis, which were exempt from congestion charge during the trial, were no longer exempt in 2009”

“people in many cases do not like prices as an allocation mechanism...But once familiar with the concept that road space is in principle a scarce good that can be priced – much like parking space or telecommunication capacity – this reluctance may tend to decrease”

“The standard analysis of congestion charges underestimates the number of “winners” and the total benefit of congestion charging. This is because the standard “textbook” analysis neglects three things: dynamics, network effects and user heterogeneity”

“Perceived “system” effects also affect acceptability. In other words, it is not just perceived individual costs and benefits that determine acceptability. Hence, the “branding” of the charges matters – how they are marketed, explained and perceived”

Does Canada's Largest City Want Congestion Charges? (pollutionfree.wordpress.com)
Direct Bikes Review Congestion Charge in London (prweb.com)
How Sweden cut traffic congestion (theneteconomy.wordpress.com)
Danish Plans for Road Pricing and Congestion Charging (pollutionfree.wordpress.com)
Introducing Congestion Charging in China (pollutionfree.wordpress.com)
What does Traffic Congestion Cost us? (pollutionfree.wordpress.com)
How to Cure Congestion: more roads, more public transit, or congestion pricing? (pollutionfree.wordpress.com)
Economic Response to Cordon Congestion Pricing (pollutionfree.wordpress.com)
Traffic Accidents and Optimum Congestion Charges (pollutionfree.wordpress.com)

What You Liked Best in 2011

2012-01-03T07:30:00.008-05:00

Image via WikipediaImage via Wikipedia

Here is the list of the most visited posts over the last year:

1. The Cleanest (and Dirtiest) Cities in the World

2. Health Effects of Noise

3. Traffic-Related Air Pollution Literature Review

4. Masdar City - zero carbon, zero waste

5. Global Health Impact of Air, Land and Water Pollution

6. Impact of Traffic Air Pollution on Health in Toronto

7. Low and Zero Energy Buildings (ZEB)

8. Health Effects of Air Pollution from Motor Vehicles

9. Roundabouts, Cleaner Air and Safer Intersections

10. Health and Urban Poverty

The most popular one posted in 2011 was #7 on zero energy buildings. The perennially most popular post since the blog began in 2009 is #4 on zero -waste Masdar City.

As we begin 2012, the posted reviews will be reduced to three a week, usually on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, in order to maintain a high content quality.

Happy New Year!

2011-12-26T08:16:00.000-05:00

Image via Wikipedia

Taking a week off to recharge the batteries.

New posts will begin again on January 3, 2012

Best wishes to all for a healthy and happy New Year!

.......Pollution Free Cities

Onstreet Parking- a Public or Private Good?

Related articles

Pollution "Glue" and Congestion Pricing in London

Related articles

What is the Basis for Transit Policy in the USA?

Related articles

Intensification, Traffic Congestion and Air Pollution

Related articles

The Environmental Impact of Parking Spaces and Structures

Related articles

Better Ways to Handle Traffic and Parking

Related articles

Really Narrow Streets and Sustainable Cities

Related articles

GEO Medicine and Lifetime Exposure to Poor Air Quality

Related articles

The Better Air Quality at Beijing Olympics- government controls or lucky weather conditions?

Related articles

Health Impact of Exposure to Particulate Matter in Beijing, China

Related articles

A Syndemic Approach to Healthy Sustainable Cities

Related articles

Health Impacts of Electric Railway Noise

Related articles

Decarbonizing Europe

Related articles

Free Parking and Planning Sustainable Cities

Related articles

Health Impacts from Traffic-Related Air Pollution and Biomass Fuels

Related articles

Turning Parking Lots and Urban Highways into Parks

Related articles

Privitized, Dynamically Priced Parking- a good deal for cash strapped cities?

Related articles

Jane Jacobs and the Sustainable City

Related articles

Speed Kills, But So Do Speed Bumps

Related articles

Health Impacts from Road Dust and Coarse Particulates

Related articles

Does the Economy Affect Air Pollution and Health for Seniors?

Related articles

Air pollution and congestion charges in London, England

Related articles

Lessons Learned from Stockholm’s Congestion Charges

Related articles

What You Liked Best in 2011

Happy New Year!

Related articles