Environment

Associations Between Urban Greenspace and Depressive Symptoms in Mexico's Cities Using Different Greenspace Metrics

Bakhtsiyarava, M
Ju, Y
Moran, M
Rodriguez, Daniel
Dronova, I
Delclòs-Alió, X
Moore, K
Castillo-Riquelme, M
Anza-Ramirez, C
2024

Greenspace has been shown to be positively associated with mental wellbeing, but studies from the global South have been scarce. We advance the understanding of the relationship between greenspace and depressive symptoms by using multiple clearly defined metrics describing neighborhood greenness and urban parks in an understudied region with rapid urban growth.

Ambient Nitrogen Dioxide Exposures in Latin American Cities

Kephart, JL
Gouveia, N
Rodríguez, Daniel
Alfaro, T
Texcalac-Sangrador, JL
Miranda, J
Bilal, U
Roux, AV Diez
2022
Background and Aim: Ambient nitrogen dioxide (NO₂) is a ubiquitous urban air pollutant emitted by fossil fuel combustion. Exposure to NO₂ is associated with respiratory disease and all-cause mortality. Health research on ambient NO₂ is sparse in Latin America, despite high urbanization and the high prevalence of NO₂-associated respiratory diseases in the region. This study aims to describe highly-granular population exposures to ambient NO₂ and urban characteristics associated with NO₂ exposure within 326 Latin American cities. Methods: We leveraged estimates of annual surface NO₂ at 1km²...

Ambient Nitrogen Dioxide in 47 187 Neighbourhoods Across 326 cities in Eight Latin American Countries: Population Exposures and Associations with Urban Features

Kephart, JL
Gouveia, N
Rodriguez, Daniel
Indvik, K
Alfaro, T
Texcalac-Sangrador, JL
Miranda, J
Usama, B
Roux, AV Diez
2023

Health research on ambient nitrogen dioxide (NO2) is sparse in Latin America, despite the high prevalence of NO2-associated respiratory diseases in the region. This study describes within-city distributions of ambient NO2 concentrations at high spatial resolution and urban characteristics associated with neighbourhood ambient NO2 in 326 Latin American cities. We aggregated estimates of annual surface NO2 at 1 km2 spatial...

Ambient Fine Particulate Matter in Latin American Cities: Levels, Population Exposure, and Associated Urban Factors

Gouveia, N
Kephart, J
Dronova, I
McClure, L
Granados, J
Rodriguez, Daniel
Bentancourt, R
O'Ryan, A
Texalac-Sangrador, J
Martinez-Folgar, K
Roux, AV Diez
2021
Exposure to particulate matter (PM2.5) is a major risk factor for morbidity and mortality. Yet few studies have examined patterns of population exposure and...

Advanced Modeling System for Forecasting Regional Development, Travel Behavior, and Spatial Pattern of Emissions

Rodriguez, Daniel
Song, Y
Morton, B
Rouphail, N
Frey, C
Khattak, A
2010

Can regional development patterns, over 50 years, influence quantity and spatial pattern of emissions from transportation in the Charlotte (NC) area?

Accessibility, Mobility, and Transportation Innovations in Latin America and the Caribbean: Successes and Areas for Improvement

Rodriguez, Daniel
2022

High traffic congestion and travel times in the cities of Latin America and the Caribbean have significant impacts on air quality, population health, and well-being. To address these challenges, policy and infrastructure innovations have been proposed and implemented over recent decades. This chapter reviews the current state of mobility and accessibility in the region, with special attention to innovative practices and their impacts on accessibility, especially for low-income populations. Specifically, bus rapid transit and aerial tram infrastructure as well as policy innovations such as...

A42 Transportation, Air Pollution and Physical ActivitieS (TAPAS): A Comprehensive Research Programme on Active Travel

Nazelle, A De
Rojas-Rueda, D
Jerrett, M
Rodriguez, Daniel
Cole-Hunter, T
Donaire, D
Andersen, Z
Nieuwenhuijsen, MJ
2015
Encouraging walking and cycling as means of transportation may have diverse benefits, such as reduced pollutant emissions and increased physical activity in the population. At the same time, individuals who shift to active travel modes may also experience increased risks of traffic...

A Comparison of Heat Effects on Road Injury Frequency Between Active Travelers and Motorized Transportation Users in Six Tropical and Subtropical Cities in Taiwan

Hsu, CK
Rodriguez, Daniel
2024
Road traffic injuries (RTIs) pose significant public health threats, particularly for vulnerable road users such as pedestrians and cyclists. While recent studies have revealed adverse impacts of heat exposure on RTI frequency among motorized road users, a research gap persists in understanding these impacts on non-motorized road users, especially in tropical regions where their vulnerability can be heightened due to differential thermal exposure, adaptive capacity, and biological sensitivity. In this study, we compared associations between high temperatures and RTIs across four different...

A Comparative Case Study on Active Transport to and from School

Fesperman, CE
Evenson, KR
Rodriguez, Daniel
Salvesen, D
2008

This study investigates active-transport-to-school initiatives through the Active Living by Design Community Action Model framework. The framework outlines five strategies that influence physical activity: preparation, promotion, programs, policies, and physical projects. A comparative case study was conducted to investigate active-transport-to-school initiatives at two North Carolina schools. A group of key stakeholders from each site was interviewed (N = 16), including principals, physical education teachers, public safety officers, city planners, regional transportation planners, city...

Joint PEV Charging Network and Distributed PV Generation Planning Based on Accelerated Generalized Benders Decomposition

Zhang, Hongcai
Moura, Scott
Hu, Zechun
Qi, Wei
Song, Yonghua
2018

Integration of plug-in electric vehicles (PEVs) with distributed renewable power sources will reduce PEVs' well-to-wheels greenhouse gas emissions, promote renewable power adoption, and defer power system investments. This paper proposes a multidisciplinary approach to jointly plan PEV charging stations and distributed photovoltaic (PV) power plants on a coupled transportation and power network. We formulate a two-stage stochastic programming model to determine the sites and sizes of: 1) PEV charging stations and 2) PV power plants. This proposed method incorporates comprehensive models of...