This report identifies opportunities and provides recommendations on how TransLink can incorporate health into the transportation planning process and begin to consider the health impacts of transportation-related administrative, procedural, programmatic, fiscal and regulatory decisions.
This short report discusses how transportation and urban form can help or hinder older adults living well. It reviews previous research about older adults’ travel patterns, physical activity, and how these connect to the built environment. Using the walkability index, the report also analyzes where in the Lower Mainland of British Columbia high concentrations of older adults reside and the walkability and transit accessibility in those areas.
This summary report introduces the Metro Vancouver Walkability Index developed at the University of British Columbia to measure neighbourhood urban form characteristics in Metro Vancouver, and summarizes results from a series of local studies that have applied the Index to explore associations between neighbourhood design and travel behaviour, physical activity, obesity, and air pollution.
Explores how the planning, layout and design of neighbourhoods and communities throughout Metro Vancouver relates with the amount of driving, walking, and transit riding residents do on a daily basis. Prepared for the British Columbia Recreation and Parks Association. Authored by Andrew Devlin and Dr. Lawrence Frank.
Promoting Physical Activity Through Healthy Community Design (Spring 2009)
Examines the statistical relationships between Body Mass Index (BMI), physical activity, and development patterns in southwestern British Columbia. Authored by Dr. Lawrence Frank, Meghan Winters, Brian Patterson, and Cora Craig.
SMARTRAQ Final Summary Report (January 2007)
Summarizes the SMARTRAQ research program, its results, and its application to policy decisions for the Atlanta region. Prepared by David Goldberg, Barbara McCann, Dr. Lawrence Frank, Jim Chapman and Sarah Kavage. 60 pp.
SMARTRAQ Final Technical Report (April 2004)
Detailed description of methodology and model results from the SMARTRAQ study. Prepared by Jim Chapman and Dr. Lawrence Frank. 304 pp.
Creating a Healthier Built Environment in British Columbia (September 2007)
This report examines the existing empirical evidence linking development patterns to physical activity and healthy food choices – the characteristics of built environments that promote or inhibit healthy body weights. It also discusses the potential effectiveness of environmental interventions to support people in achieving healthy weights, and the strength of the available evidence, including current gaps in the research, and highlights where further study will benefit the state of the practice. Prepared for the BC Public Health Services Authority. Authored by Dr. Lawrence Frank and Dr. Kim Raine (University of Calgary).
Promoting Public Health Through Smart Growth (Spring 2006)
An exploration of the literature regarding linkages between development patterns, transportation behavior, and all different facets of public health, including safety, air quality, physical activity, and community cohesion. The report helps to frame how smart growth policies can best support population health objectives overall, rather than looking at any one impact in isolation. Prepared for Smart Growth BC. Authored by Dr. Lawrence D. Frank, Sarah Kavage and Todd Litman, (Victoria Transportation Policy Institute).
