Sending open-mindedness and awareness to you all.
I am seating in my living room, and writing to you on this beautiful Monday evening. Thankful for my ability to do so. Thank you for being here with me and reading my words.
What intrigued you lately?
Have you ever been intrigued by highways?
I have many times.
I would seat in the backseat of a car, traveling through highways and wondering how they were constructed. How was one street able to stand on top of another? How did the construction workers do that? I would also wonder how architects were able to determine the lasting effects of a road. How can one predict when a road is old and needs to be repaired? My mind would also find poems when staring at cars driving high-speed past each other.
Staring at people speaking to each other, or sleeping in cars would make me smile.
When heading to New York, I would be intrigued by the houses near the highways. I would wonder if the sound of cars passing by would ever bother people at night.
I would then ask myself if sounds of a car would either bother me at night or bring me comfort.
Then one year ago, I decided to do some research on highways.
Why not research a subject that intrigues you, right? 🙂
I am here to share some of my findings with you all.
During World War II, President Dwight Eisenhower emphasized the importance of the United States’ mobility and military defense through the continuous construction of an interstate highway system. Under the Federal-Aid Act of 1944, due to limited expense, only a fraction of the roadways was constructed. Therefore, President Dwight requested Congress to provide additional funding. Under the Highway Trust Fund, the United States legislation expanded its budget to $25 billion for the construction of 41,000 miles of interstates. On June 29, 1956, President Dwight signed the bill into law under the Federal-Aid Highway Act of 1956. The Mark Twain Expressway (Interstate 70) was the first project under this budget to be improved in Saint. Charles County, Missouri (Office of Art & Archives, 2017). The physical landscape and human-environment interaction of the United States changed since then.
The highway network increased industry and employee productivity for the transportation of goods and services throughout the Nation. This advantage supports the United States’ desire to remain a global and national economic competitor. It has also contributed to the adoption of transport technologies, employment during highway construction activities, and commuters’ possible time savings through high-speed travel (US Department of Transportation, 2014). To obtain 41,000 miles of geographical space for highway construction though, numerous low-income neighborhoods were displaced without receiving relocation assistance. (US Department of Transportation, 2006). Nationwide, there are also neighborhoods that are located near highways with people who are unable to relocate, such as due to the segregation of property values.
The Cross-Bronx Expressway is one of the last freeways completed in New York. It was based on the vision of Robert Moses, Parks Commissioner of both New York State and Long Island commissions in 1924. Despite the topological challenge and the cost of displacing people, this Expressway was completed with a $17 million budget by 1972. Robert Moses wanted Cross-Bronx Expressway to connect with seven other freeways such as Bruckner Expressway and Highbridge. Today, the Cross-Bronx Expressway is not only known for the poverty thriving in surrounding neighborhoods. But also, for being the site of the worst traffic jams outside of California. Due to the interconnections of highways, Bruckner Expressway and Sheridan Expressway are commonly congested at any time of the day (Alpert, 2003).
EPA’s Environmental Justice Screening and Mapping Tool (Version 2017). The Expressways in red which includes Cross-Bronx Expressway, Bruckner Expressway, Major Deegan Expressway, Bronx River Expressway, Hutchinson River Expressway and more are in 95-100 percentile of traffic proximity.
Highways have major environmental and health impacts that have been studied throughout the years. Traffic emissions lead to local air pollution influenced by the increase in volatile organic compounds, oxides of nitrogen, carbon dioxide, particulate matter and ground-level ozone on the road. This can be heavily influenced by the density of traffic and car characteristics such as the number of people transported. Secondly, roads change albedo (the surface reflection of light) and other surface characteristics which then contribute to heat-island effects already provided by buildings, parking lots and sidewalks. The loss of pervious surfaces and vegetation due to the number of roads’ impervious surfaces result in localized temperature increase.
Furthermore, roads can hinder animal movements and adjacent habitat quality by direct mortality and avoidance behavior. Traffic volume and car speed strongly influence the effects on animal populations. Thus far though, not much is known about the long-lasting ecological effects it can have on them. Therefore, concerns are constantly being raised on the barriers that interstate highways have on speciation (Transportation Research Board and National Research Council, 2005). Roadway pollutants (ex: dust, dirt, spills, wastes) generated during vehicle and adjacent land usage enter our waterways through surface runoff. It then affects water quality and fisheries. Furthermore, the amount of salt utilized for snow melting can lead to an unacceptable amount in drinking water sources. Runoff contaminated with chemicals like salt can affect roadside vegetation which results in the reduction of sensitive plant species. There are areas in the United States that are affected by salt runoff through a shift in plant community structure (Transportation Research Board and National Research Council, 2005).
Human beings who live near highways are more likely to experience the diverse health effects associated with living near highways and major roadways. It can range from cardiovascular to respiratory health problems. In Southern California, a study found that the air particles were approximately 25 times more concentrated near the highways. The pollution levels lessened gradually as the background levels of meters downwind from the highway (Hulsey, 2004). Ground level ozone also called ‘’ bad’’ ozone created by the chemical reaction in the presence of sunlight is a harmful air pollutant that can trigger a variety of health problems in people of all ages who especially have lung diseases. It can lead to asthma, shortness of breath, pain, coughing, sore throat, airways damage, aggravated lung disease and even chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (the United States Environmental Protection Agency, 2017). Furthermore, particle pollution which is an air mixture of solid particles and liquid droplets come from sources such as unpaved roads and automobiles. Such a mixture is commonly found in the air pollution of the United States. It is associated with premature death, nonfatal heart attacks, irregular heartbeats, decreased lung function and irritation of airway. It can even create fog stagnation, shadows and increase lake or stream acidification (the United States Environmental Protection Agency, 2017).
People of low socioeconomic status are at higher risk of health impacts from air pollution related to roadway traffic due to a barrier in economic opportunity and security. It also impacts people who live, work or attend school near major roads. The common effects found in such communities are higher rates of asthma, cardiovascular disease, impaired lung development, low-birth-weight infants, neurological disorders, and premature death (the United States Environmental Protection Agency, 2017). A Denver study proclaimed that children who live near busy roads such as highways are eight times more likely to develop various forms of cancer. The California South Coast Air Quality Management studied that the source of cancer-causing air pollutants in Southern California is vehicle exhaust. In a 2003 Italian study, it was found that roadside emissions are partially responsible for childhood leukemia. It was four times higher for children living near road traffic in Northern Italy compared to children whose homes were not exposed to such emissions. Noise pollution is another environmental and health effect of highways and major roadways (Arond, 2015).
So,
Based on highways’ challenging health and environmental impacts, what are possible, sustainable counteractions for the protection and advocacy of human-ecosystems?
The number one reason children usually miss school is due to asthma and often influenced by the pollution of cars and trucks in roadways. Therefore, Journal of the American Medical Association found that increasing public transportation amid traffic measures in major roadways reduced acute asthma during the 1996 Atlanta Olympics. As Interstate highways continue to have environmental and health impacts in various communities, designing communities to be less reliant on cars remain a major recommendation. It is about lessening the traffic jams that can be found in roadways through diverse transportation choices like trains, carpools, and buses. They are amongst key aspects where healthy communities can thrive through the minimization of air pollution, and protection of human beings’ health.
To control traffic in Sweden, there are congestion taxes in Stockholm and Gothenburg whether the vehicle is registered in the country or abroad. When a vehicle passes through a control point on the road, payment is automatically sent to its owner. The driver can see the tax rates on a digital screen of highway’s control point. If the car is registered abroad, the Swedish Transportation Agency has a notification partner to send out payments to the vehicle owner. The cost is highest when traffic congestion is heaviest in certain periods and places. If a vehicle passed several stations in 60 minutes, payment is only charged once. When payment is not made on time, additional fees are given (Transportation Styrelsen, n.d). Furthermore, in Hong Kong, there are red minibusses that carry approximately 19 passengers and drive places that regular buses do not operate. They are free to operate anywhere except places where prohibitions apply. Apart from that, there are green buses that operate on fixed routes at fixed fares. It is all about diversifying the routes that can be taken especially when carpooling is not necessarily available (The Department of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, 2017).
Technologies can provide real-time messages on incidents, road weather management, congestion and real-time via planning processes. In 2008, South Carolina Systematic Intersection placed signage to warn drivers of upcoming stop signs in approximately 2200 intersections. It reduces the number of accidents by 20% (Boyd, 201
In Copenhagen, the Integrated Transportation System allows passengers to move with efficiency and flexibility from different modes of transportation such as bus stops and metro stations. It has been accentuating bus priority by shortening travel time and informing passengers via radio stations and GPS technologies. The reduction of car use dropped traffic congestion throughout the years in Copenhagen. There is also cycling infrastructure as a central part of urban design and planning (Mobility and Access, n.d). Apart from that, research states that local government should encourage the use of clean-burning buses and hybrid cars by even offering public transportation incentives. The latter can include Commuter Choice Checks by giving a tax reduction on all public transit fares even when walking and biking (Hulsey, 2004). There should also be more electric cars on the road where renewable energy is the electric operator (Union of Concerned Scientists, n.d). The West Oakland Diesel Truck Emissions Reduction Initiative found that people who live near highways were exposed indoors to diesel particulates from mobiles and idling trucks five times more than people outdoors in other areas of Oakland (Hulsey, 2004). Such penetration can be lessened through filtration systems such as HEPA filtration or air conditioning. Filtration has been studied as an effective method to improve indoor air quality by 50-90% reductions with relatively little expense during building design and construction (Aron, 2015).
The decrease in noise exposure can increase the quality of life for residents and academic achievement for students. To decrease noise pollution, the Federal Highway Administration and Green Building Council recommended noise barriers along roads which should be placed downwind of the major road. Its effectiveness requires the cooperation of an entire municipality especially if implementation would derive from dense vegetation. Apart from that, several studies stated that air pollution can be reduced 60-90% by having parks nearby or green roofs and similar green infrastructure with limited effective distance. Furthermore, it should be noted that food-producing gardens should not be planted near highways due to traffic-related pollution. Therefore, to mitigate the health effects of pollution, strategizing around zoning, community activism, and public health regulations are best recommended. It is also important to define buffer areas around pollution sources and heavy traffic before creating established practices in each area; 500 to 700 feet around pollution sources are usually recommended by various jurisdictions (Arond, 2015).
During my research, the other mitigation measures that have been provided are large-span bridges and wildlife-crossing structures to reconnect isolated populations, restore hydrological processes and assist movement of wildlife across roads. The Dulles Airport Access Road in Northern Virginia is a planned development that provided such access and prohibits use by non-airport traffic (Transportation Research Board and National Research Council, 2005). It is about having strategic land use initiatives that can ease road congestion with the support of public health officials and the State Department of Transportation representatives including transit and airport officers (Christopher, 2013). The Michigan Transportation Commission found that placing asphalt cap on the concrete highway would lead to a 5-decibel reduction in noise pollution (Michigan Asphalt Paving Association, 2001). Furthermore, it is important to pay attention to travel time patterns because they are predictable and can help alleviate traffic. In West Little Rock Road, through years of study, a plan to send traffic over another intersection has been created to alleviate traffic congestion. It is about what works best for the area (Oman, 2017).
For a highway to be sustainable, its construction must be in tune with the natural and man-made environments. It is about creating access to our ecosystem to thrive amid pavement technologies. Noise barriers should be created through the creation of quiet pavements. Trained personnel should be taught the best practices that can reduce environmental impacts. Furthermore, dust control measures should be utilized at construction sites by developing sustainable practices that consider local value assessments of social, economic and ecological goals (Asmar, 2013). ‘’ The Ray’’ I-85 Georgia highway is a 16-mile highway working to become the world’s first sustainable highway. Since transportation accounts for more than 25% of total US emissions in the United States, it would help alleviate its effects on human health. The potential technologies that can be added are solar sound barriers, interactive barriers, bioswales, wildlife tunnel (to prevent animal mortality), native grasses and wildflowers around the highways. The total cost of I-85 Georgia is unknown. However, it serves as an exemplary initiative for future major roads’ construction that states can learn from. To control traffic, for the sake of safety and congestion, The Bay Area’s highway utilizes signs and sensors to provide screenings on roads that are best to re-route from or even if public transportation would then be the best option (Boyd, 2016). This initiative could create new jobs, incentives for neighborhoods and families, promote positive health changes with climate change considerations.
In understanding that temperatures can be higher in areas near highways, cooling centers should be a form of resource for communities. It is about strategizing with community members, community development organizations and various stakeholders to figure out where they can be placed and made accessible to neighborhoods. This is a continuous conversation and planning processes to be held because in each community perception of what is needed can vary. How does health initiatives become one of relationship-building and educational awareness for each other?
May we, as community members and they as developers and policy makers be aware of the various stories that lie in streets and corners of the United States. It is about not employing a single solution to situations that are embedded in intersectional spaces.
In targeted areas near highways, door-to-door outreach in regards to health and environmental initiatives should be prominent. It is also important for public health officials to be provided with geographical data on the density of air pollution and traffic proximities near highways and neighborhoods. To understand how people interact with places per census tracts, zip-codes and neighborhoods can make doctor visits specialized to human geographies, too. The education system should uphold high academic standards in all public schools on environmental health. There should be health advisors in schools for diverse services and educational initiatives.
I believe that there are many other implementations that should be kept in mind. What other forms of counteractions are you thinking of? Should we not have homes near highways at all, by creating a high-end buffer zone? How are we paying attention to segregation and the other spatial planning near highways which then influence regional and city planning? How are we thinking through the ways that highways are elongating distance of travel for many communities?
I am a learner and want to learn from you too.
May we keep thinking through the spaces that we interact, and how they can be impacting our neighbors.
May the environmental and health impact that highways can have on human-environment ecosystems be remembered.
Citation
“National Environmental Public Health Tracking Network – CDC – Info By Location External.” Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, https://ephtracking.cdc.gov/showInfoByLocationExt?&FIPS=42101
EPA’s Environmental Justice Screening and Mapping Tool (Version 2017)
“How Does Transportation Affect Public Health?” U.S. Department of Transportation/Federal Highway Administration, www.fhwa.dot.gov/publications/publicroads/13mayjun/05.cfm.
Hulsey, Brett. Highway Health Hazards.
http://vault.sierraclub.org/sprawl/report04_highwayhealth/report.pdf
Advancing a Sustainable Highway System. U.S Department of Transportation, 2014. https://www.sustainablehighways.dot.gov/documents/FHWA_Sustainability_Activities_June2014.pdf
Asmar, Mounir El. Sustainable Highway Construction Practices. 2013,
“Mobility and Access.” Copenhagen Sustainable City, sites.tufts.edu/copenhagen/mobility-and-access/
Transport Department – Minibuses, 14 Aug. 2017, www.td.gov.hk/en/transport_in_hong_kong/public_transport/minibuses/index.html.
“Improving Health in Communities Near Highways.” CAFEH, https://sites.tufts.edu/cafeh/files/2011/10/CAFEH-Report-Final-2-26-15-hi-res1.pdf
Alpert, Steve. Heartbreak Highway. 2003, http://web.mit.edu/1.011/www/finalppr/smalpert-Cross-Bronx_paper.pdf.
Gaskill, Melissa. “Rise in Roadkill Requires New Solutions.” Scientific American, 16 May 2013, www.scientificamerican.com/article/roadkill-endangers-endangered-wildlife/.
“Car Emissions and Global Warming.” Union of Concerned Scientists, www.ucsusa.org/clean-vehicles/car-emissions-and-global-warming#.WihzaErtzqZ.
“Congestion taxes in Stockholm and Gothenburg.” Congestion taxes in Stockholm and Gothenburg – Transportstyrelsen,
https://transportstyrelsen.se/en/road/Congestion-taxes-in-Stockholm-and-Goteborg/#20032
Michigan Transportation Commission Misses Opportunity to Prove Best Way to Reduce Highway Noise Pollution, Says Michigan Asphalt Paving Association. (2001). PR Newswire, 1
“How Mobile Source Pollution Affects Your Health.” EPA, Environmental Protection Agency, 15 Dec. 2016, www.epa.gov/mobile-source-pollution/how-mobile-source-pollution-affects-your-health.
“Federal Highway Act of 1956.” US House of Representatives: History, Art & Archives, history.house.gov/HouseRecord/Detail/15032436197
Google Search, Google, www.google.com/search?q=solutions%2Bto%2Btraffic%2Bcongestion&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjhoYmM0vbXAhWH4iYKHQZKCF8Q_AUICygC&biw=1920&bih=1028#imgrc=tbtAVzJ5uI9-GM:
Google Search, Google, www.google.com/search?q=pollution&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwimluvF0fbXAhVI5iYKHQ3CAZQQ_AUICigB&biw=1920&bih=1028#imgrc=hyf9Oi23a5M9OM:
Clendaniel, Morgan. “Can A 16-Mile Stretch Of Road Become The World’s First Sustainable Highway?” Fast Company, Fast Company, 25 Feb. 2016, www.fastcompany.com/3054885/can-a-16-mile-stretch-of-road-become-the-worlds-first-sustainable-highway.
“Residential Proximity to Major Highways — United States, 2010.” Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 22 Nov. 2013, www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/su6203a8.htm.
“New interchange design picked for congested west Little Rock road.” Google, Google, www.google.com/amp/amp.arkansasonline.com/news/2017/sep/25/cantrell-parham-junction-selected-20170/.
Google Search, Google, www.google.com/search?q=highway%2Bnext%2Bto%2Bhouses&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjDiIL4o-_XAhUpYt8KHW6eA8oQ_AUICigB&biw=1366&bih=662#imgrc=h0MX8JC2VAVVAM:
“Impact.” The History of the Interstate Highway System, highway.umwblogs.org/impact/
marat.gubaydullin. “History 3460: American Politics and Society Since Vietnam, Fall 2013.” History 3460 American Politics and Society Since Vietnam Fall 2013,
https://blogs.baruch.cuny.edu/his3460fall2013/?p=217
“What is a Sustainable Highway?” INVEST – Sustainable Highways Self-Evaluation Tool, www.sustainablehighways.org/203/what-is-a-sustainable-highway.html.
“Sustainable Highways.” US Department of Transportation, United States Department of Transportation, 28 Aug. 2014, www.transportation.gov/mission/sustainability/sustainable-highways.
Cabanatuan, Michael. “Smart highway aims to cut congestion on westbound I-80.” SFGate, 3 Aug. 2014, www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/Smart-highway-aims-to-cut-congestion-on-westbound-5666068.php.
Transportation Research Board and National Research Council. 2005. Assessing and Managing the Ecological Impacts of Paved Roads. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. https://doi.org/10.17226/11535. Citation for: https://www.nap.edu/read/11535/chapter/5
Journeying & Loving Words 