Back to Annual Meeting

Back to Annual Meeting

APHA Scientific Session and Event Listing

Recorded presentation

Norman King, MSc, Urban environment and health, Montreal public health board, 1301 Sherbrooke East, Montreal, QC H2L 1M3, Canada, 514-528-2400, ext.3245, nking@santepub-mtl.qc.ca

In recent years the negative effects of transportation on public health have been well documented. For example a European assessment has suggested that of the 40,000 yearly deaths related to air pollution in three countries, half can be attributed to pollution resulting from the transport sector. Injuries and deaths resulting from traffic accidents kill or seriously injure over 20 million people a year worldwide. The transportation sector is also a major contributor to greenhouse gas emissions. Finally, recent studies i show that people living in car-dependant sprawling suburbs are less likely to achieve the recommended levels of exercise and more likely to be obese and suffer from related health problems. The Montreal public health board has thus developed a multi-faceted approach to promote public transit and active transportation. Firstly, we have carried out research confirming that the elderly living along major roads in our region are at greater risk for being hospitalized for respiratory problems. We have also mapped the traffic fatalities and injuries throughout the island of Montreal and have shown that pedestrians and the poor are at greatest risk. These research findings and other scientific data are then used by various means (public health advisories, annual report and organization of a public forum) to mobilize the population, community groups, urban planners and municipal and government authorities towards action on better financing of public transit and improving urban design in order to improve air quality and physical activity and to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and traffic accidents.

Learning Objectives: