Bicycling in the City is Good for You, Despite Air Pollution
A recent study shows that bicyclists absorb more carbon soot in their lungs than pedestrians or drivers. But new reports argue that the benefits of the exercise far outweigh the downsides.
Conrad deFiebre dissects the argument, explaining that yes, studies show a small increase in mortality for bicyclists in polluted areas:
"But this downside is outweighed nearly 100 to 1 by the health and fitness advantages of cycling. The British Medical Journal study found that one more bicyclist might die over seven or eight years from air pollution compared with drivers, while more than 12 lives would be saved each year by the health benefits of cycling."
DeFiebre also takes on Wendell Cox, who argues that the increase in pollution is an argument against densification.
Published on Sunday, October 9, 2011 in
- Google's San Jose Transit Village Plans Revealed
- The Varied Career of a Transit Service Planner
- The Life and Death of Neighborhood Rebrandings
- 150 Acres of Undeveloped Land to Become 2,350 Homes Outside Denver
- City to Bicyclists: Berkeley Not in Idaho
- Anti-Development Forces Strike at L.A.'s Transit Oriented Communities Program
- New York City 'More Congested Than Ever'
- Kanye West's Unpermitted Vision for Housing Utopia Has Been Demolished
- What Walk Buttons Do (and Don't Do)
- Jersey City Building More Apartment Than Manhattan
- 28.3 Million Acres of Public Land at Risk in Alaska
- First-Time Home Buyers Look Different Than They Once Did
- Consumer Group Accuses States of 'Punishing' Electric Vehicle Drivers
- L.A.'s New Tool for More Efficient City Asset Management
- Pedestrian Planning Changing the Public Realm in Vancouver
- Digital Transportation: The Future of Urban Mobility
- Frequencies Restored on L.A.'s Expo Line After Rider Backlash
- A Traffic Safety Commitment for Chicago's West Side
- Report: Shared Bikes and Scooters Could Reduce Car Trips By 50 Percent in Downtowns
- The Great Flood of 2019, Visualized
