Traffic fumes in city streets 'largely wipe out exercise benefits for over-60s’

The over-60s should stick to green spaces and parks when they go for a walk and avoid the city streets, according to a groundbreaking study that says air pollution from traffic fumes largely wipes out the health benefit from the exercise.

As well as the over-60s, those with lung and heart problems should
 steer clear of areas with heavy traffic, the study says.

Walking is often recommended for older people, but the study from Imperial College London and Duke University in the USA suggests that the over-60s and those with lung and heart problems should steer clear of urban areas with heavy traffic. The negative effect may well be the same in younger people, say the authors, and it reinforces the urgency of reducing emissions in city streets.

The research compared walking for two hours in Oxford Street with strolling in Hyde Park, which registers some air pollution but far less than in the heart of the capital city’s shopping district.

Read Sarah Boseley’ story on The Guardian - “Traffic fumes in city streets 'largely wipe out exercise benefits for over-60s’.”

Why the ecocity needs to be a just city

(This is one of a series of articles to coincide with the 2017 Ecocity World Summit in Melbourne)

Why is it easier to imagine an ecocity – full of lush green spaces and buildings, footpaths and bike lanes, outdoor goat yoga and dog parks – than a just city where everyone belongs? Why is it difficult to imagine a city where there are no great disparities of income or of access to convivial life because these have been equitably distributed?

Why is it easier to imagine a green ecocity than a just city where everyone belongs?

The prospects for rebuilding the city along ecological lines is enchanting. But ecocities, like smart cities, frequently devolve into a techno-fetishist fantasy, (un)wittingly abetting gentrification – from the sell-off of public housing in cities like Sydney to violent informal housing eradication in places like Jakarta.

Part of what’s required here is to connect the currents of imagination shaping the ecological future of cities with other conversations that are more focused on the future of employment and industry and the possibilities for greater equity. Thinking these disparate ideas together will take some work. Fortunately, it’s well under way in cities around Australia and the world.

Read the piece on The Conversation by a Senior Research Fellow from the Institute for Culture and Society at the Western Sydney University, Stephen Healey - “Why the ecocity needs to be a just city.”

Five things town planners must remember

T

own planners need to consider five things in descending order when laying out or designing a community.

First, every allowance and convenience must be made for the pedestrian; second, similar consideration must be given to the cyclist; third, public transit systems need to be integrated with both pedestrians and cyclists; fourth, there need to be many and generously sized green public spaces and fifth, and last, the planner needs to think about the motorist.

People, regardless of socio-economic standing, need to somewhere to walk or cycle to as it is those green public spaces that refurbish human wellbeing and repair broken spirits.

Such human sized and community places will be increasingly important as our disrupted climate makes life increasingly difficult for everyone, irrespective of income.

The Guardian has written about the importance of these green spaces arguing that arguing they are equally important as social housing.

Read The Guardian story - “People don’t just need social housing, they need green spaces close by”.