Children's residential proximity to roadways in the Los Angeles, CA urban area

A growing body of literature is exploring the links between health outcomes and proximity to contaminant sources such as roadways and industrial facilities. This presentation will summarize this literature and present a case study of the Los Angeles urban area. Spatial analysis of data from the 2000 United States Census for children aged 0-17 years at the census block centroid level and the 2006 National Transportation Atlas Database (NTAD) has yielded results characterizing the number of children residing within one mile of a major roadway. Major roadways are defined as having four or more lanes. Where possible, actual traffic density data has also been analyzed, and other fixed pollution sources have been included in the analysis. This presentation will provide a cross-sectional examination of children's geographic environment with the goal of providing a better understanding of the types of exposures that children may encounter in an urbanized area. Other expected applications of this approach include analysis of school proximity to roadways and other sources.

The views expressed in this presentation are those of the authors, and do not necessarily represent those of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.