As Columbians, we often joke about the rat-infested and cramped subways and our proximity to the “dangerous” Morningside Park. However, unlike the rest of the United States, where people must drive in bumper-to-bumper traffic on massive highways to get anywhere, we can pay $2.90 or walk at most 15 minutes to get nearly anywhere in the city. Yet, while car-centric design has become the status quo of transportation throughout the United States, it is becoming clear that this system is detrimental to both our physical and mental health and actions must be taken to make cities healthier for their residents.
People often underestimate the effect of constant traffic on their bodies, especially in neighborhoods near highways. While the highways of Manhattan run along the island’s perimeter, away from all pedestrians, typical American cities have highways running straight through residential areas—often as a means of connecting citizens to workplaces. However, living in proximity to highways is correlated with various adverse health effects. A longitudinal study done in Vancouver observed that those who moved closer to major railroads had an increased risk of coronary mortality risk of coronary heart disease than those who moved farther (Gan et al.). Additionally, living in proximity to highways is associated with elevated levels of high sensitivity C-sensitive protein (hsCRP) and interleukin 6, both of which aid in the buildup of plaque in arteries and thus the development of cardiovascular disease (Brugge et al.).
Yet, it isn’t just the presence of highways that negatively affect cardiovascular health. By designing cities around highways, people have fewer opportunities to engage in an important physical activity: walking. Studies done on individuals who walked over 10,000 steps a day found improvements in both mental and physical health (Yuenyongchaiwat). However, typical Americans were found to only walk about 5,100 steps a day, in large part due to the car-centric cities we live in giving people little reason to walk (Bassett et al.). After all, why would you walk on narrow sidewalks and cross five-lane roads when you could just drive in an air-conditioned car to the grocery store or work?
It is this mentality that you must drive everywhere that creates another problem: urban heat islands, areas with higher temperatures recorded in cities compared to rural areas. They are in large part due to the need for expansive parking lots to accommodate drivers. Studies have found that areas with high densities of urban heat islands had a higher risk of heat-related cardiovascular diseases, which occur due to the heart’s increased workload to pump blood and regulate temperature (Cleland et al.). In fact, 35% of total heat-related cardiovascular diseases over an 18 year period are attributed to areas with lots of urban heat islands (Cleland et al.). As the world gets warmer, the risk of heat-related cardiovascular disease will continue to rise—especially in cities where sprawling parking lots trap heat. Cars, which already contribute about 28% of U.S. greenhouse gas emissions (Environmental Protection Agency), not only accelerate global warming but also build urban environments that intensify dangerous heat, compounding future health risks.
So, what can urban planners do to build a healthy city? One thing could be to improve walkability; studies found that White, Black, Hispanic, and Asian adults in America had decreased rates of obesity and engaged in more physical activity when living in walkable neighborhoods (Wang et al.). In fact, some cities, such as Mueller Austin, Texas, are already implementing policies to build new urban areas built for walking and community, building large sidewalks, protected bike lanes, and mixed-use housing. Surveys of residents of Mueller found significant increases in minutes spent walking each week and social interactions with neighbors, creating an environment for improved physical and social health (Zhu 1). Additionally, the expansion and construction of green spaces in cities has a positive effect, and many cities are currently taking initiative to replace parking lots with parks and green spaces. For instance, when Philadelphia turned vacant or underused lots into parks, researchers found that residents — especially those in low-income neighborhoods — reported feeling less depressed (South et al.). Residents in areas with green spaces were also associated with having a lower risk of heat-related morbidity—unlike those living near massive swaths of parking—and overall saw general improvements in mental health (Nazish et al.). Ultimately, urban planners must account for our health when building cities, as they play a major role in the wellbeing of an increasingly urbanized society.
Works Cited
Bassett, David R., et al. “Pedometer-Measured Physical Activity and Health Behaviors in United States Adults.” Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise, vol. 42, no. 10, 1 Oct. 2010, pp. 1819–1825, www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2927728/, https://doi.org/10.1249/MSS.0b013e3181dc2e54.
Brugge, Doug, et al. “Highway Proximity Associated with Cardiovascular Disease Risk: The Influence of Individual-Level Confounders and Exposure Misclassification.” Environmental Health, vol. 12, no. 1, 3 Oct. 2013, https://doi.org/10.1186/1476-069x-12-84.
Cleland, Stephanie E, et al. “Urban Heat Island Impacts on Heat-Related Cardiovascular Morbidity: A Time Series Analysis of Older Adults in US Metropolitan Areas.” Environment International, vol. 178, 1 Aug. 2023, pp. 108005–108005, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envint.2023.108005. Accessed 15 Sept. 2023.
Environmental Protection Agency. “Fast Facts on Transportation Greenhouse Gas Emissions.” United States Environmental Protection Agency, 18 June 2024, www.epa.gov/greenvehicles/fast-facts-transportation-greenhouse-gas-emissions.
Gan, Wen Qi, et al. “Changes in Residential Proximity to Road Traffic and the Risk of Death from Coronary Heart Disease.” Epidemiology, vol. 21, no. 5, Sept. 2010, pp. 642–649, https://doi.org/10.1097/ede.0b013e3181e89f19. Accessed 1 Apr. 2020.
Nazish, Ahsana, et al. “Health Impact of Urban Green Spaces: A Systematic Review of Heat-Related Morbidity and Mortality.” BMJ Open, vol. 14, no. 9, Sept. 2024, p. e081632, https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjopen-2023-081632.
South, Eugenia C., et al. “Effect of Greening Vacant Land on Mental Health of Community-Dwelling Adults.” JAMA Network Open, vol. 1, no. 3, 20 July 2018, p. e180298, jamanetwork.com/journals/jamanetworkopen/fullarticle/2688343, https://doi.org/10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2018.0298.
Wang, Monica L., et al. “Higher Walkability Associated with Increased Physical Activity and Reduced Obesity among United States Adults.” Obesity (Silver Spring, Md.), vol. 31, no. 2, 1 Feb. 2023, pp. 553–564, pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/36504362/, https://doi.org/10.1002/oby.23634.
Yuenyongchaiwat, Kornanong. “Effects of 10,000 Steps a Day on Physical and Mental Health in Overweight Participants in a Community Setting: A Preliminary Study.” Brazilian Journal of Physical Therapy, vol. 20, no. 4, Aug. 2016, pp. 367–373, www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5015672/, https://doi.org/10.1590/bjpt-rbf.2014.0160.