Cyclists’ exposure to air pollution, noise, and greenery: a population-level spatial analysis approach
Abstract Urban travel exposes people to a range of environmental qualities with significant health and wellbeing impacts. Nevertheless, the understanding of travel-related environmental exposure has remained limited. Here, we present a novel approach for population-level assessment of multiple envir...
| Main Authors: | , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
BMC
2023-02-01
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| Series: | International Journal of Health Geographics |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1186/s12942-023-00326-7 |
| _version_ | 1811165734461505536 |
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| author | Elias Willberg Age Poom Joose Helle Tuuli Toivonen |
| author_facet | Elias Willberg Age Poom Joose Helle Tuuli Toivonen |
| author_sort | Elias Willberg |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract Urban travel exposes people to a range of environmental qualities with significant health and wellbeing impacts. Nevertheless, the understanding of travel-related environmental exposure has remained limited. Here, we present a novel approach for population-level assessment of multiple environmental exposure for active travel. It enables analyses of (1) urban scale exposure variation, (2) alternative routes’ potential to improve exposure levels per exposure type, and (3) by combining multiple exposures. We demonstrate the approach’s feasibility by analysing cyclists’ air pollution, noise, and greenery exposure in Helsinki, Finland. We apply an in-house developed route-planning and exposure assessment software and integrate to the analysis 3.1 million cycling trips from the local bike-sharing system. We show that especially noise exposure from cycling exceeds healthy thresholds, but that cyclists can influence their exposure by route choice. The proposed approach enables planners and individual citizens to identify (un)healthy travel environments from the exposure perspective, and to compare areas in respect to how well their environmental quality supports active travel. Transferable open tools and data further support the implementation of the approach in other cities. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-10T15:42:30Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-d424d5af132e4afaa37b2c51dab52105 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1476-072X |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-10T15:42:30Z |
| publishDate | 2023-02-01 |
| publisher | BMC |
| record_format | Article |
| series | International Journal of Health Geographics |
| spelling | doaj.art-d424d5af132e4afaa37b2c51dab521052023-02-12T12:21:28ZengBMCInternational Journal of Health Geographics1476-072X2023-02-0122112110.1186/s12942-023-00326-7Cyclists’ exposure to air pollution, noise, and greenery: a population-level spatial analysis approachElias Willberg0Age Poom1Joose Helle2Tuuli Toivonen3Digital Geography Lab, Faculty of Science, University of HelsinkiDigital Geography Lab, Faculty of Science, University of HelsinkiDigital Geography Lab, Faculty of Science, University of HelsinkiDigital Geography Lab, Faculty of Science, University of HelsinkiAbstract Urban travel exposes people to a range of environmental qualities with significant health and wellbeing impacts. Nevertheless, the understanding of travel-related environmental exposure has remained limited. Here, we present a novel approach for population-level assessment of multiple environmental exposure for active travel. It enables analyses of (1) urban scale exposure variation, (2) alternative routes’ potential to improve exposure levels per exposure type, and (3) by combining multiple exposures. We demonstrate the approach’s feasibility by analysing cyclists’ air pollution, noise, and greenery exposure in Helsinki, Finland. We apply an in-house developed route-planning and exposure assessment software and integrate to the analysis 3.1 million cycling trips from the local bike-sharing system. We show that especially noise exposure from cycling exceeds healthy thresholds, but that cyclists can influence their exposure by route choice. The proposed approach enables planners and individual citizens to identify (un)healthy travel environments from the exposure perspective, and to compare areas in respect to how well their environmental quality supports active travel. Transferable open tools and data further support the implementation of the approach in other cities.https://doi.org/10.1186/s12942-023-00326-7Environmental exposureActive travelRoute choiceAir pollutionNoiseGreenery |
| spellingShingle | Elias Willberg Age Poom Joose Helle Tuuli Toivonen Cyclists’ exposure to air pollution, noise, and greenery: a population-level spatial analysis approach International Journal of Health Geographics Environmental exposure Active travel Route choice Air pollution Noise Greenery |
| title | Cyclists’ exposure to air pollution, noise, and greenery: a population-level spatial analysis approach |
| title_full | Cyclists’ exposure to air pollution, noise, and greenery: a population-level spatial analysis approach |
| title_fullStr | Cyclists’ exposure to air pollution, noise, and greenery: a population-level spatial analysis approach |
| title_full_unstemmed | Cyclists’ exposure to air pollution, noise, and greenery: a population-level spatial analysis approach |
| title_short | Cyclists’ exposure to air pollution, noise, and greenery: a population-level spatial analysis approach |
| title_sort | cyclists exposure to air pollution noise and greenery a population level spatial analysis approach |
| topic | Environmental exposure Active travel Route choice Air pollution Noise Greenery |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1186/s12942-023-00326-7 |
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