Though research has been piling up on the adverse health impacts connected with driving long distances every day, it turns out that no matter how you travel to work, "having a job far from home can undermine health."
"Millions of Americans . . . pay dearly for their dependence on automobiles, losing hours a day that would be better spent exercising, socializing with family and friends, preparing home-cooked meals or simply getting enough sleep," writes Jane E. Brody. "The resulting costs to both physical and mental health are hardly trivial."
But such costs aren't just borne by Americans, or car commuters.
"Erika Sandow, a social geographer at [Sweden's] Umea University, found that people who commuted more than 30 miles a day were more likely to have high blood pressure, stress and heart disease," notes Brody. "Another Swedish study, directed by Erik Hansson of Lund University, surveyed more than 21,000 people ages 18 to 65 and found that the longer they commuted by car, subway or bus, the more health complaints they had. Lengthy commutes were associated with greater degrees of exhaustion, stress, lack of sleep and days missed from work."
FULL STORY: Commuting’s Hidden Cost
The Harms of a Car-Centric World
While most of the world’s population doesn’t drive, cars have an outsized negative impact on public health, the environment, and land use.
L.A. Metro Plans for an Equitable Recovery
The pandemic has forced difficult confrontations with inequities that existed long before the novel coronavirus. L.A. Metro planners are responding by charting a path toward a transportation system that reverses and improves those previous realities.
Wisconsin Awarded $12 Million for Brownfield Redevelopment Amid Broader EPA Budget Cuts
The EPA provided the funding to Wisconsin for brownfield cleanups in cities like Milwaukee and Racine, even as broader agency budget cuts under the Trump administration raise concerns about future environmental protection capacity.
Rethinking Redlining
For decades we have blamed 100-year-old maps for the patterns of spatial racial inequity that persist in American cities today. An esteemed researcher says: we’ve got it all wrong.
Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.
California High-Speed Rail's Plan to Right Itself
The railroad's new CEO thinks he can get the project back on track. The stars will need to align this summer.
US Senate Reverses California EV Mandate
The state planned to phase out the sale of gas-powered cars by 2035, a goal some carmakers deemed impossible to meet.
Trump Cuts Decimate Mapping Agency
The National Geodetic Survey maintains and updates critical spatial reference systems used extensively in both the public and private sectors.
Washington Passes First US ‘Shared Streets’ Law
Cities will be allowed to lower speed limits to 10 miles per hour and prioritize pedestrians on certain streets.
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.
City of Camden Redevelopment Agency
City of Astoria
Transportation Research & Education Center (TREC) at Portland State University
Regional Transportation Commission of Southern Nevada
Toledo-Lucas County Plan Commissions