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Oct 10 2011, 12:22 PM EDT (current) ncormier 9 words added
Sep 27 2011, 3:55 PM EDT ncormier 4 words added

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circulatory system

DESCRIPTION
This system consists of the elements that connect our communities and move people and goods into, out of, and around the region. The circulatory system also connects elements of other green infrastructure systems.


CIRCULATORY FUNCTIONS

Pedestrian mobility: includes the provision of sidewalks, but also “Deep Walkability" (concept of author Alex Steffen): increasing the prevalence of and reducing barriers to walkability.

Bicycle mobility: bicycling is one of the most efficient modes of transportation around, using just a fraction of the energy that is needed to move other vehicles like a car or plane. And since they are relatively compact and lightweight, bicycles are less resource intensive than other modes.

Transit mobility: transit use has long been known to have two significant and positive benefits. (1) Most cities are too spread out to be effectively navigated solely on bicycle or on foot, but transit allows those modes to flourish by providing a means to make longer distance connections. (2) By aggregating trips, transit allows us to decrease our overall energy consumption.

Transport of goods: one of the underpinnings of our current economic model is the fast, efficient transport of goods across long distances. A fleet of trucks, trains, boats and planes make these services possible and their movement accounts for a significant portion of our economic output and jobs. The landscapes associated with these activities are vast. How these needs are met in cities can have an enormous impact on the performance of their green infrastructure systems.


PERFORMANCE METRICS
Evaluation of the connectivity, physical connections as sidewalks, cycle routes, canal towpaths, trails, etc. that allow people to reach their destinations; percentage of people getting around without a car; reduction of carbon footprint.

Transportation GHG reduction: another measure of the strength of urban green infrastructure’s circulatory system is green house gas (or GHG) emissions from the transportation sector. If we can reduce GHG’s or improve the propulsive technologies of automobiles like hybrid and plug-in vehicles, then GHG’s will decrease.


Health care cost reductions: Another indicator of circulatory system success should be a noted reduction in the cost of health care. It was showed that the ways that cycling and walking save money for each kilometer travelled: in the United States, using 2007 dollars, we save 12 cents for bicycling and 30 cents for walking. We can look at a model developed by Stokes, MacDonald and Ridgeway (2008) as a way to quantify public health cost savings from a new light rail system in Charlotte, NC. Based on estimates of future riders, the increased physical activity and reduced obesity rates, the researchers “estimate that the light rail system would provide cumulative public health cost savings of $12.6 million over nine years.”

Pollutant removal: in a better functioning circulatory system, we need to look at reduced pollutant loading from the transportation sector. Affecting both our air and our water, the extent of our use of certain transportation modes and the amount that we use them will dramatically impact the amount of pollutants that we contribute to larger planetary systems.

Accessibility is a key term that refers to the ease of reaching destinations. To measure accessibility is important to know the travel cost. In modes of transport such as walking or cycling is important to include factors as safety or gradient. It is also important to consider people with disabilities.

Recently, researchers at the St. Louis University School of Public Health's Prevention Resource Center, funded by a Robert Wood Johnson Active Living grant, created a community check list to evaluate whether your community is healthy or not. You can view it here:http://prc.slu.edu/iafc.htm.

Health Impact Assessments (HIA) are an emerging tool for planners and public health officials to measure the potential effects a policy or project will have on human health. An HIA is similar to an Environmental Impact Assessment, however there is no regulatory requirement, it focuses exclusively on health, and reports can vary in length. To date there have been 26 HIA's conducted in the United States that meet the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) assessment criteria and methodology. In an ideal world the CDC would like to see more HIA's published in public health literature for researchers to learn from others methodologies. However, these assessments can often be resource intensive.

So what does this mean for planners and designers who want design healthy communities and do not have the time to conduct labor intensive assessments? The CDC recognizes that the HIA is a scientific tool, but it can also be adapted to a desktop tool such as the NACCHO checklist and LEED ND points that focus on human health for designers to reference during the design process.

Health Impact Assessments (HIA) Website by the Centers for Disease Control

CASE STUDIES: PLANNING AND POLICY

CASE STUDIES: HIGH PERFORMANCE LANDSCAPES

CIRCULATORY SYSTEM RESOURCES