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Impacts on Health

Jennifer L. Kent (The University of Sydney School of Architecture, Design and Planning, Australia)
Melanie Crane (The University of Sydney, Australia)

Transport and Pandemic Experiences

ISBN: 978-1-80117-345-2, eISBN: 978-1-80117-344-5

Publication date: 17 October 2022

Abstract

Transport shapes the health of urban populations. It can support healthy behaviours such as participation in regular physical activity and access to community connection. Transport systems can also have major negative impacts on health. For example, through air pollution from fossil fuel-based modes of travel, the risk of injury and death from transport related collisions, and in the way sedentary modes of travelling can contribute to less physically active lifestyles.

This chapter considers the long-term impact of the pandemic on a series of well-researched transport-related health outcomes. It first describes the established connections between transport and health. It then considers the future implications of three potential pandemic-induced shifts: the increased uptake of working from home (WFH); decreased usage of public transport and increased interest in walking and cycling in the local neighbourhood. The impacts of these shifts on the transport-health nexus are then discussed, revealing both positive and negative outcomes. The authors conclude by providing policy recommendations to mitigate possible negative outcomes and strengthen the positive consequences into the future.

Keywords

Citation

Kent, J.L. and Crane, M. (2022), "Impacts on Health", Attard, M. and Mulley, C. (Ed.) Transport and Pandemic Experiences (Transport and Sustainability, Vol. 17), Emerald Publishing Limited, Leeds, pp. 303-322. https://doi.org/10.1108/S2044-994120220000017017

Publisher

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Emerald Publishing Limited

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