Routine Assessment of Health Impacts of Local Transportation Plans: A Case Study From the City of Los Angeles

Abstract

OBJECTIVES: To determine the health impacts of three future scenarios of travel behavior by mode for the City of Los Angeles, California, and to provide specific recommendations for how to conduct health impact assessments of local transportation plans on a more routine basis. METHODS: We used the Integrated Transportation and Health Impact Model to assess the health impacts of the Los Angeles Mobility Plan 2035 by using environmental impact report data on miles traveled by mode under alternative implementation scenarios as inputs. The Integrated Transportation and Health Impact Model links region-wide changes in travel behavior to population exposures to physical activity, air pollution, and traffic collisions and associated health outcomes and costs. RESULTS: The largest impacts were on cardiovascular disease through increases in physical activity. Reductions in air pollution-related illnesses were more modest. Traffic injuries and deaths increased across all scenarios but were greatly reduced through targeted roadway safety enhancements accounted for outside the model. CONCLUSIONS: By establishing miles travelled as the metric for transportation impacts of statewide and regional plans, states can leverage existing data sources to more routinely consider health impacts as part of environmental impact reports. While not insurmountable, challenges remain regarding the incorporation of land use and roadway safety strategies into health impact estimates.

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