An expert discusses the public health implications of the CDC’s new finding that 5.7 percent of Americans face unreliable transportation.
According to a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) report released earlier this month, 15 million of American adults—5.7% of the adult population—don’t have access to reliable transportation. Why is the CDC conducting a study on transportation, you might ask? Because lack of transportation isn’t just a mobility issue; it also has far-reaching public health implications, writes Aleyna Rentz in Medical Xpress.
“Previous research has suggested a lack of transportation, especially among adults who are older, uninsured, and have lower incomes, leads to reduced access to health care, which may then lead to adverse health outcomes,” the CDC report said.
Rentz spoke about the findings with Megan Latshaw, associate professor in the Department of Environmental Health and Engineering at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, who has examined the health and environmental impacts of unreliable transportation in Baltimore.
People don’t just need transportation to get to doctor’s appointments, Latshaw pointed out, but also to access healthy food, education, and jobs, which also affects people’s health and ability to access quality health care. America’s high reliance on cars has also been tied to health issues caused by air pollution from vehicle emissions, she said.
“We've built America around cars. If you want to get anywhere in the U.S., unless you live in a downtown area, you need to jump in your car to get there. It's unsustainable, and it's not healthy, so we need to figure out a way to move past cars. Doing so will reduce air pollution, reduce greenhouse gases, and also get people walking and biking. And when you take public transportation, it's a social activity, if you think about it,” Latshaw told Rentz.
For better public health, Latshaw said, we need to focus on building better public transit instead of widening highways. “President Hoover had a campaign ad mentioning a car in every yard and a chicken in every pot. I'd like to see an ad calling for ‘a transit stop near every home.’ Not just a transit stop near your home, but a reliable transit system where it's going to come on time and an app that has live feed data. We need to make transit the easy choice, as opposed [to] cars.”
FULL STORY: Q&A: Expert discusses new report on how access to transportation affects public health
Where 2024 Presidential Candidates Stand on 12 Issues Important to Urban Planners
Whether you’re yet undecided or have already cast your early vote, here is a roundup of the key positions of Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump on important urban planning policies.
Commentary: New Bill Holds Key to Solving US Housing Crisis. We Just Have to Pass It.
Two bills currently moving through Congress could make mass production of prefabricated, affordable housing possible on a large scale.
Amtrak Expanding Service in California’s Central Valley
Amtrak is planning a major expansion to the passenger rail lines connecting the Central Valley and the Bay Area.
Denver Slaughterhouse Measure Reveals Impacts of Meat Industry
Voters did not approve a measure that would have closed a slaughterhouse that is key to the nation’s lamb production.
Chicago Transit Increasing Rail Service to Pre-Pandemic Levels
The Chicago Transit Authority is close to returning both rail and bus service to pre-pandemic schedules, with some adjustments for new travel demand.
Baltimore Traffic Suffering From Absence of Key Bridge
The loss of a key route to the Port of Baltimore is causing major delays and long detours on alternate routes.
Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools
This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.
Planning for Universal Design
Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.
University of Southern California
City of Meridian
University of Calgary
HUDs Office of Policy Development and Research
HUDs Office of Policy Development and Research
HUDs Office of Policy Development and Research
Detroit Regional Partnership
San Joaquin LAFCo
City of South Portland