How Car-Oriented Infrastructure Harms Public Health

A new documentary shows the ways that infrastructure designed for cars and not people is making us ill.

1 minute read

June 14, 2023, 12:00 PM PDT

By Diana Ionescu @aworkoffiction


Does auto-oriented infrastructure make us physically and mentally ill? This is the question that a documentary in the works by Andy Boenau aims to explore. Kea Wilson describes the project in Streetsblog USA.

Decades of research have shown that residents of car-dependent places have higher rates of heart disease, diabetes, chronic respiratory conditions and other ailments associated with sedentary lifestyles and car pollution, especially when compared to residents of walkable areas, who also report higher levels of happiness and a host other social, emotional, and physical benefits.

Boenau says, “it’s even worse than you think it is, but it can get better. As awful as some state regulations are, this is problem so fixable at the local level.”

According to Wilson, “Boenau says he expects even the most well-informed sustainable transportation advocates will learn something new when the film comes together — and his biggest challenge will be keeping it under a one-hour run-time.”

Thursday, June 8, 2023 in Streetsblog USA

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I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching.

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