Transportation and Health: Policy Interventions for Safer, Healthier People and Communities

The United States road system was built with a focus on motor vehicles; only recently has substantial funding and attention been given to transit, walking, and bicycling. For those unable or unwilling to purchase and use a private automobile for transportation, there can be disparate access to economic opportunity, services, and social interaction. Enhancing multimodal surface transportation will provide more options for travel and at the same time advance important public health goals. Doing so will expand beyond immediate goals such as investing in infrastructure, developing more sustainable transportation systems, and supporting economic recovery. Doing so will enable more distal, but equally worthy outcomes including: improving people's health and well-being and reducing health care costs; increasing physical activity; and improving air quality and reducing consumption of fossil fuels and unwanted emissions, including those that contribute to climate change. Both the general public and the government have a strong interest in improving health, bringing down health care costs, and reducing energy use and traffic congestion. The report is divided into three chapters to focus on the following policy areas: policies that improve the environment and environmental health (Chapter 1); policies that enhance community design and promote active transportation (Chapter 2); and policies that reduce motor vehicle-related injuries and fatalities (Chapter 3).