Key Citations:
1. CARB (2005) Air Quality and Land Use Handbook: A Community Health Perspective. California Air Resources Board. April 2005. Available at: http://www.arb.ca.gv/ch/handbook.Pdf
2. HEI (2010). Traffic-Related Air Pollution: A Critical Review of the Literature on Emissions, Exposure, and Health Effects. Health Effects Institute, January 2010. Available at: http://pubs.healtheffects.org/getfile.php?u=553
3. Zhou, Y. and Levy, J. (2007). Factors influencing the spatial extent of mobile source air pollution impacts: a meta-analysis. BMC Public Health. doi:10.1186/1471-2458-7-89. Available at http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1890281/
4. http://healthnews.uc.edu/news/?/7358/
School Proximity to Traffic
The School Proximity to Traffic indicator measures the proportion of neighborhood schools located near high traffic roadways, defined as freeways or major arterial roadways. One in three U.S. public schools are in the “air pollution danger zone,” according to new research from the University of Cincinnati (UC). A strong indicator of children’s health, this indicator attempts to identify schools where students are at high risk of near-road pollution exposure. Many studies have shown increased respiratory effects, such as asthma, in children attending school near major roadways. Posted under Environmental Hazards domain, this indicator is also tied to the Educational Opportunities, Transportation Services, Economic Health, and Neighborhood Characteristics domains. The School Proximity to Traffic indicator is an “inverse” measure, meaning the higher the value, the more negative the impact on neighborhood health. Computation of this indicator requires highway, traffic volume, and school location data which is available from the U.S. Census, Alabama Department of Transportation (ALDOT) and the Regional Planning Commission of Greater Birmingham.