Cyclists' exposure to air pollution, noise, and greenery: a population-level spatial analysis approach

Area of Science:

• Environmental Health
• Urban Planning
• Transportation Science

Background:

• Urban travel significantly impacts health and wellbeing through environmental exposures.
• Assessing cumulative environmental exposures during active travel remains a challenge.

Purpose of the Study:

• To present a novel, population-level approach for assessing multiple environmental exposures during active travel.
• To analyze urban-scale exposure variations and the potential of alternative routes to mitigate exposure.
• To enable identification of healthier travel environments for planners and citizens.

Main Methods:

• Developed and applied an in-house route-planning and exposure assessment software.
• Integrated data from 3.1 million cycling trips from a bike-sharing system in Helsinki, Finland.
• Assessed cyclist exposure to air pollution, noise, and greenery.

Main Results:

• Demonstrated the feasibility of assessing multiple environmental exposures for active travel.
• Identified that noise exposure for cyclists frequently exceeds healthy thresholds.
• Showcased that cyclists can modify their exposure levels through strategic route selection.

Conclusions:

• The novel approach effectively assesses population-level environmental exposures for active travel.
• Route choice is a significant factor in mitigating adverse environmental exposures during urban cycling.
• The developed tools and data can support healthier urban planning and individual travel decisions.