Policy

Research on the Effects of Bicycle Education is Limited but Does Point to Higher Rates of Bicycling and Increased Safety

Nachman, Elizabeth R., MCP
Rodríguez, Daniel A., PhD
2019

Increasing the number of people bicycling is often proposed as a solution for addressing environmental and climate-related challenges. Strategies to support more bicycling have traditionally included building bicycle infrastructure, enforcing traffic laws, and educating people about bicycling. Additionally, many cities across California are pursuing Vision Zero, the goal to eliminate traffic death and serious injury in the next decade. In San Francisco, for example, Vision Zero strategies include creating safe streets, safe people and safe vehicles. It also seeks to include training on “...

Urban Scaling of Health Outcomes: A Protocol for a Scoping Review

McCulley, EM
Mullachery, PH
Rodriguez, D
Roux, AV Diez
Bilal, U
2019

With most of the world’s population living in urban areas, it is important to understand the health effects of city living. Precise descriptions of the relations of city size and growth with population health metrics have not been systematically described. Describing these relationships can provide clues regarding the factors driving differences in health across cities. Objective The goal of this scoping review is to map the existing evidence regarding the scaling properties of health outcomes, with a special emphasis on city size and growth. Method and analysis We will conduct this...

Inequalities in Life Expectancy in Six Large Latin American Cities from the SALURBAL Study: An Ecological Analysis

Bilal, U
Alazraqui, M
Caiaffa, WT
Lopez-Olmedo, N
Martinez-Folgar, K
Miranda, J
Rodriguez, D
Vives, A
Roux, AV Diez
2019
Latin America is one of the most unequal regions in the world, but evidence is lacking on the magnitude of health inequalities in urban areas of the region. Our objective was to examine inequalities in life expectancy in six large Latin American cities and its association with a measure of area-level socioeconomic status. In this ecological analysis, we used data from the Salud Urbana en America Latina (SALURBAL) study on six large cities in Latin America (Buenos Aires, Argentina; Belo Horizonte, Brazil; Santiago, Chile; San José, Costa Rica; Mexico City, Mexico; and Panama City, Panama),...

A Typology of the Built Environment Around Rail Stops in the Global Transit-Oriented City of Seoul, Korea

Rodriguez, DA
Kang, CD
2020

Compact, diverse, walkable, and well-integrated development around mass transit has been shown to increase transit ridership, balance passenger flows, promote economic development, and improve quality of life. Developing station area typologies constitutes an important step in the planning and implementation of land development oriented toward transit. These typologies should reflect local priorities and market conditions, avoid a one-size-fits-all approach to station area development, and stimulate conversations regarding the roles transit-focused development can play in regional...

Physical Disorders and Poor Self-Rated Health in Adults Living in Four Latin American Cities: A Multilevel Approach

Vaz, C
Andrade, A
Silva, U
Rodriguez, D
Wang, X
Moore, K
Friche, A
Roux, AV Diez
Caiaffa, WT
2020
Considering that urban environments may affect self-rated health through behavioral and psychosocial mechanisms, the aim of this study was to investigate the association between self-rated health and perceived urban environment characteristics among adults living in four Latin American cities. Data is from a population-based survey by Development Bank of Latin America, encompassing adults between 20 and 60 years old in Buenos Aires, Lima, Mexico City, and Panama City. Self-rated health was measured using a single question and the response options were categorized as poor and good. The...

The Changing Impacts of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Individuals and Households in the US

Bouzaghrane, M
Obeid, H
Parker, M
Li,. M
Hayes, D
Chen, M
Frick, K
Rodriguez, D
Walker, Joan
Sengupta, R
Chatman, D
2021

This brief describes findings from a research effort to understand the changing impacts of the pandemic upon households from different places and backgrounds living in the United States. We investigated the effects of the pandemic along with pandemic-based restrictions and rules on people’s behavior along with their mental and emotional health, social relations, and livelihoods. Unlike other research efforts, as far as we are aware this effort is the only one to join passive data from cell phones with survey information collected from the same individuals over time. We combined these data...

Support for Market-based and Command-and-Control Congestion Relief Policies in Latin American Cities: Effects of Mobility, Environmental Health, and City-level Factors

Wang, X
Rodriguez, D
Mahendra, A
2021
Public support for the implementation of congestion relief policies is critical for the policies’ technical and political success. To identify the personal, social, and city-level factors associated with higher acceptance towards such policies, this study uses a 2016 survey of 8178 residents from 11 cities across 10 Latin American countries collected by the Development Bank of Latin America (Corporación Andina de Fomento or CAF). We examined support for two demand-side approaches to managing the traffic congestion externality: congestion pricing – a market-based approach, and driving...

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...

Impacts of Commute Trip Reduction Programs, Rail Station Area Built Environment Changes, and Ride-Hailing Services on Traveler Behavior

Li
Rodriguez, D
Montilla, M
Chatman, D
Chen, P
Yang, X
Winters, P
2022

This project consists of three related studies investigating strategies to address urban congestion: a) employer-based travel demand management strategies, b) improvement of transit station area built environments, and c) understanding the impacts of ride-hailing. Collectively, the three studies represent complementary strategies to address urban congestion. However, each of them focuses on a particular approach from managing demand side incentives to supply side service disruptions.

Bicycle Use in Latin American Cities: Changes Over Time by Socio-Economic PositionBicycle Use in Latin American Cities: Changes Over Time by Socio-Economic Position

Avila-Palencia, I
Gouveia. N
Jáuregui, A
Mascolli, M
Rodriguez, D
Slovic, A
Sarmiento, O
2023

We aimed to examine utilitarian bicycle use among adults from 18 large Latin American cities and its association with socio-economic position (education and income) between 2008 and 2018. Data came from yearly cross-sectional surveys collected by the Development Bank of Latin America (CAF). A total of 77,765 survey respondents with complete data were used to estimate multilevel logistic regression models with city as random intercept and year as random slope. Individuals with high education and high-income levels had lower odds of using a bicycle compared with participants with lower...