Communities exposed to higher levels of air pollution experience higher rates of infection, particularly in areas with high population density.

Shahla Farzan reports on new research from a dozen U.S. cities that reveals that "coronavirus spreads faster in areas with worse air pollution and higher population density," putting communities of color at higher risk for transmission.
"Roughly one-third the size of a red blood cell, microscopic particles known as PM 2.5 penetrate deep into the lungs and cause a wide variety of illnesses. The dust-like pollution also reshapes the cells in our bodies, causing them to produce proteins that act as doorways. That allows the coronavirus to invade the cells," Farzan writes. This means that poor air quality can worsen COVID-19 symptoms, according to Rajan Chakrabarty, a Washington University aerosol scientist. Meanwhile, Farzan notes that "Black people and Latinos across the U.S. are exposed to higher-than- average levels of air pollution from nearly every source, including power plants, construction and agriculture. They are also two to three times as likely to die of COVID-19 than white people." Even when controlling for other factors, air pollution and population density were shown to have the biggest impact on transmission rates.
As we noted early in the pandemic, COVID-19 highlighted the damaging impacts of decades of disenfranchisement and disinvestment on communities of color and low-income households, who now face a growing set of interrelated challenges that include rising housing costs, inadequate infrastructure, and health hazards compounded by the uncertainty of the pandemic.
FULL STORY: Air pollution in St. Louis helps fuel coronavirus spread, especially in communities of color

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Cool Walkability Planning
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Congestion Pricing Could Be Coming to L.A.
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Illinois Legislators Pass Controversial I-55 Road Expansion Legislation
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What Is ‘Arterial Rapid Transit?’
Atlanta is planning to build ‘BRT lite,’ a version of bus service that offers signal priority and fewer stops but keeps buses in mixed-traffic lanes.

Vermont Latest State to Preempt Single-Family Zoning
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Caltrans
San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency
City of Orange
Chaddick Institute at DePaul University
HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research
HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research
Montrose County
Wichita-Sedgwick County Metropolitan Area Planning Department
City of Lomita
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