Chapter fourteen - Health impact assessment of transport planning and policy

Abstract

Health impact assessment (HIA) is an important tool to integrate evidence in the decision-making process and introduce health in all policies. In transport planning, investment appraisals are generally conducted by estimating costs and benefits of a transportation scheme known as cost-benefit analyses. Often, these tools do not fully integrate health impacts of the scheme in question. HIAs could and should form a part of this appraisal to consider and account for the impacts on health. HIAs could answer various pressing questions such as what are the best and most feasible transport planning and policy measures to improve public health in cities? Also, the process on how to get the results is often as important as the actual output of the HIA, as the process may provide answers to important questions regarding how different disciplines/sectors can effectively work together and develop a common language, how to best incorporate citizens and stakeholders, how different modeling and measurement methods can be effectively integrated, and whether a public health approach could make positive changes in transport planning and policy.