Planning for Pollution

 

We talk a lot about pedestrians and cyclists being the victims of motor vehicle accidents but have not yet touched on the effects of car pollution. According to the World Health Organization, in some countries more people are dying as a result of air pollution from vehicles than being killed in accidents. Emissions from motor vehicles have several health effects on the people who breathe it in including, allergies, asthma, and heart failure. This is a serious problem that continues to rise  as people become more dependent on motorized transportation. Fortunately this public health problem can also be solved through policies and planning.

LA Smog caused by heavy pollution
Photo courtesy of: http://oceanworld.tamu.edu

In 2009, 1 in 12 people in the U.S. suffered from asthma up from 1 in 14 just eight years earlier. The group that saw the biggest increases of lung diseases were inner city kids as they are more susceptible to acute and chronic respiratory effects from pollution. Children with higher exposure to pollutants such as tobacco smoke and vehicle emissions have higher rates of asthma and other respiratory illnesses. According to the Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America asthma is the most common chronic condition among children, and is also very costly with an annual cost of nearly 18 billion dollars in healthcare costs and days lost from work and school.

During the two weeks of the 1996 summer olympic games, Atlanta restricted private vehicles from being used in the downtown area. The CDC took this unique opportunity to measure the impact of motor vehicle use and asthma. Research shows that over this time hospital visit for acute asthma attacks reduces over 40% and the ozone levels reduces 27%. This shows that efforts to cut motor vehicle use has a dramatically positive impact on pollution levels and help keep us all healthy. To learn more about sprawl and its effects on air quality check out Public Health and Urban Sprawl.

 

Stormwater Management

Aging sewers and their increasing maintenance costs are a big topic for Honolulu’s 2012 election, other cities across the United States are flooded by the same problem. Seattle is making a splash with its new RainWise program by encouraging citizens to mitigate storm water runoff by using their yards as rain gardens. The goal is to direct water flow to a natural water filtering system like landscaping and rain gardens and away from sewers, which can flood homes, overflow sewers, and quicken erosion. It can also cause other disgusting problems like in the following picture of an otherwise beautiful marina in Honolulu.

Ala Moana Marina (yes, that is a mattress)

So why does water runoff matter? Stormwater runoff can create a cesspool of disease and trash. When it rains or snow melts sewers can become overfilled causing water to flow out of the sewers and into our streets and neighborhoods. This runoff can not soak into our streets and sidewalks and eventually returns to our waterways causing two problems, 1. water from the sewers going into our natural water has not been treated and causes contamination 2. water on the roads and sidewalks pick up debris and carry that to the nearest waterway. Human waste and pollutants that are often picked up by water runoff include, cigarette buds, animal waste, pesticides and other lawn chemicals, motor oil, and plastic bags. Contaminated water can get into our drinking water sources, close beaches, and have effects on wildlife. Contaminated water increases cost of water treatment.

Permeable surfaces allow water absorption into the ground before it can become contaminated and infect our water systems. The soil also acts as a natural water filter as it fills local aquifers. Roof gardens are a way that architects help mitigate stormwater when  creating new buildings. Combined with complete streets cities can promote green streets, which have many of the walkable/bikeable benefits of complete streets plus added green space and stormwater mitigation. We can all do our part to help prevent stormwater runoff and keep our community looking beautiful. Take pride in your community.

Sample of a Greenstreet
Image courtesy of land perspectives.wordpress.com