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Despite growing literature on animal feeding operations (AFOs) including concentrated animal feeding operations (CAFOs), research on disproportionate exposure and associated health burden is relatively limited and shows inconclusive findings. We systematically reviewed previous literature on AFOs/CAFOs, focusing on exposure assessment, associated health outcomes, and variables related to environmental justice (EJ) and potentially vulnerable populations. We conducted a systematic search of databases (MEDLINE/PubMed and Web of Science) and performed citation screening. Screening of titles, abstracts, and full-text articles and data extraction were performed independently by pairs of reviewers. We summarized information for each study (i.e., study location, study period, study population, study type, study design, statistical methods, and adjusted variables (if health association was examined), and main findings), AFO/CAFO characteristics and exposure assessment (i.e., animal type, data source, measure of exposure, and exposure assessment), health outcomes or symptoms (if health association was examined), and information related to EJ and potentially vulnerable populations (in relation to exposure and/or health associations, vulnerable populations considered, related variables, and main findings in relation to EJ and vulnerable populations). After initial screening of 10,963 papers, we identified 76 eligible studies. This review found that a relatively small number of studies (20 studies) investigated EJ and vulnerability issues related to AFOs/CAFOs exposure and/or associated health outcomes (e.g., respiratory diseases/symptoms, infections). We found differences in findings across studies, populations, the metrics used for AFO/CAFO exposure assessment, and variables related to EJ and vulnerability. The most commonly used metric for AFO/CAFO exposure assessment was presence of or proximity to facilities or animals. The most investigated variables related to disparities were race/ethnicity and socioeconomic status. Findings from this review provide suggestive evidence that disparities exist with some subpopulations having higher exposure and/or health response in relation to AFO/CAFO exposure, although results varied across studies. [Display omitted] [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Current urban and transport planning practices have significant negative health, environmental, social and economic impacts in most cities. New urban development models and policies are needed to reduce these negative impacts. The Superblock model is one such innovative urban model that can significantly reduce these negative impacts through reshaping public spaces into more diverse uses such as increase in green space, infrastructure supporting social contacts and physical activity, and through prioritization of active mobility and public transport, thereby reducing air pollution, noise and urban heat island effects. This paper reviews key aspects of the Superblock model, its implementation and initial evaluations in Barcelona and the potential international uptake of the model in Europe and globally, focusing on environmental, climate, lifestyle, liveability and health aspects. We used a narrative meta-review approach and PubMed and Google scholar databases were searched using specific terms. The implementation of the Super block model in Barcelona is slow, but with initial improvement in, for example, environmental, lifestyle, liveability and health indicators, although not so consistently. When applied on a large scale, the implementation of the Superblock model is not only likely to result in better environmental conditions, health and wellbeing, but can also contribute to the fight against the climate crisis. There is a need for further expansion of the program and further evaluation of its impacts and answers to related concerns, such as environmental equity and gentrification, traffic and related environmental exposure displacement. The implementation of the Superblock model gained a growing international reputation and variations of it are being planned or implemented in cities worldwide. Initial modelling exercises showed that it could be implemented in large parts of many cities. The Superblock model is an innovative urban model that addresses environmental, climate, liveability and health concerns in cities. Adapted versions of the Barcelona Superblock model are being implemented in cities around Europe and further implementation, monitoring and evaluation are encouraged. The Superblock model can be considered an important public health intervention that will reduce mortality and morbidity and generate cost savings for health and other sectors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There is a growing body of modelling evidence that demonstrates the potential for immediate and substantial benefits to adult health from greenhouse gas mitigation actions, but the effects on the health of younger age groups is largely unknown. We conducted a systematic review to identify the available published evidence of the modelled effects on child and adolescent health (≤18 years of age) of greenhouse gas mitigation. We searched six databases of peer-reviewed studies published between January 1, 1990 and July 27, 2022, screened 27,282 original papers and included 23 eligible papers. All included studies were set in high- and middle-income countries; and all studies modelled the effects of interventions that could mitigate greenhouse gas emissions and improve air quality. Most of the available evidence suggests positive benefits for child and adolescent respiratory health from greenhouse gas mitigation actions that simultaneously reduce air pollution (specifically PM2.5 and nitrogen dioxide). We found scant evidence on child and adolescent health from regions more vulnerable to climate change, or on mitigation interventions that could affect exposures other than air pollution. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background Particulate matter (PM) has been recognized as one of the key risk factors of lung cancer. However, spatial and temporal patterns of this association remain unclear. Spatiotemporal analyses incorporate the spatial and temporal structure of the data within random effects models, generating more accurate evaluations of PM-lung cancer associations at a scale that can better inform lung cancer prevention programs. Methods We conducted a critical review of spatial and temporal analyses of PM and lung cancer. The databases of PubMed, Web of Science and Scopus were searched for potential articles published until September 30, 2017. We included studies that applied spatial and temporal analyses to evaluate the associations of PM 2.5 (inhalable particles with diameters that are 2.5 µm and smaller) and PM 10 (inhalable particles with diameters that are 10 µm and smaller) with lung cancer. Results We identified 17 articles eligible for the review. Of these, 11 focused on PM 2.5 , five on PM 10 , and one on both. These studies suggested a significant positive association between PM 2.5 exposure and the risk of lung cancer. Relative risks of lung cancer mortality ranged from 1.08 (95% confidence interval (CI): 1.07–1.09) to 1.60 (95%CI: 1.09–2.33) for 10 µg/m 3 increase in PM 2.5 exposure. The association between PM 10 and lung cancer had been less well researched and the results were not consistent. In terms of the analysis methods, 16 papers undertook spatial analysis and one paper employed temporal analysis. No paper included spatial and temporal analyses simultaneously and considered spatiotemporal uncertainty into model predictions. Among the 16 papers with spatial analyses, thirteen studies presented maps, while only five and 11 studies utilized spatial exploration and modeling methods, respectively. Conclusions Advanced spatial and temporal epidemiological methods were seldom applied to PM-lung cancer associations. Further research is urgently needed to develop and employ robust and comprehensive spatiotemporal analysis methods for the evaluation of PM-lung cancer associations and the support of lung cancer prevention strategies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Associations between fine particulate matter (PM2.5) exposure concentrations and a wide variety of undesirable outcomes, from autism and auto theft to elderly mortality, suicide, and violent crime, have been widely reported. Influential articles have argued that reducing National Ambient Air Quality Standards for PM2.5 is desirable to reduce these outcomes. Yet, other studies have found that reducing black smoke and other particulate matter by as much as 70% and dozens of micrograms per cubic meter has not detectably affected all-cause mortality rates even after decades, despite strong, statistically significant positive exposure concentration-response (C-R) associations between them. This paper examines whether this disconnect between association and causation might be explained in part by ignored estimation errors in estimated exposure concentrations. We use EPA air quality monitor data from the Los Angeles area of California to examine the shapes of estimated C-R functions for PM2.5 when the true C-R functions are assumed to be step functions with well-defined response thresholds. The estimated C-R functions mistakenly show risk as smoothly increasing with concentrations even well below the response thresholds, thus incorrectly predicting substantial risk reductions from reductions in concentrations that do not affect health risks. We conclude that ignored estimation errors obscure the shapes of true C-R functions, including possible thresholds, possibly leading to unrealistic predictions of the changes in risk caused by changing exposures. Instead of estimating improvements in public health per unit reduction (e.g., per 10 µg/m 3 decrease) in average PM2.5 concentrations, it may be essential to consider how interventions change the distributions of exposure concentrations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Based on toxicological, clinical, and epidemiological knowledge, the present paper reviews the status regarding possible deleterious health effects from occupational exposure to metallic mercury (Hg) in dental practice. Symptoms from the central nervous system are among the health problems that most often are attributed to Hg exposure in dentists and dental nurses working with amalgam. Uncharacteristic symptoms of chronic low-level Hg vapor exposure including weakness, fatigue, and anorexia have been observed in numerous studies of dental personnel. It is crucial to protect both human health and the environment against negative effects of Hg. In line with this, the use of dental amalgam in industrial countries is about to be phased out. In Norway and Sweden, the use of the filling material is banned. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Urban green and blue spaces promote health by offering areas for physical activity, stress relief, and social interaction, which may be considered as cultural ecosystem services. They also provide a number of regulating ecosystem services that can be regarded as nature-based solutions to mitigate impacts from urbanization-induced challenges. Urban trees and other vegetation provide cooling through shade and evapotranspiration, which reduce the impact of the urban heat island on hot summer days. Urban vegetation may improve air quality by removing air pollutants. Open areas in cities, such as parks, gardens, playgrounds and cemeteries, are unsealed spaces that also improve infiltration during extreme precipitation events providing water regulating functions. All these services have the potential to improve the health of urban residents, particularly of specific vulnerable groups such as children and the elderly. The aim of this paper is to provide an overview of the current state of evidence on the relationship between the health of children and the elderly and urban green and blue spaces that can account as nature-based solutions to urbanization-induced challenges. We discuss potential confounding factors and refer to the different green space metrics used to identify associations to health. From the results, we cannot conclude on a universal protective health effect of urban green and blue spaces for children and the elderly. While the association trend is positive, the results remain inconclusive, context dependent and are partly overridden by socioeconomic confounders. However, the research area is consistently increasing, and we advance important prospects for future research on urban green and blue spaces in the face of global challenges such as urbanization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Uranium (U) is a chemo-toxic, radiotoxic and even a carcinogenic element. Due to its radioactivity, the effects of U on humans health have been extensively investigated. Prolonged U exposure may cause kidney disease and cancer. The geological distribution of U radionuclides is still a great concern for human health. Uranium in groundwater, frequently used as drinking water, and general environmental pollution with U raise concerns about the potential public health problem in several areas of Asia. The particular paleo-geological hallmark of India and other Southern Asiatic regions enhances the risk of U pollution in rural and urban communities. This paper highlights different health and environmental aspects of U as well as uptake and intake. It discusses levels of U in soil and water and the related health issues. Also described are different issues of U pollution, such as U and fertilizers, occupational exposure in miners, use and hazards of U in weapons (depleted U), U and plutonium as catalysts in the reaction between DNA and H 2 O 2, and recycling of U from groundwater to surface soils in irrigation. For use in medical geology and U research, large databases and data warehouses are currently available in Europe and the United States. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mercury pollution and its impacts on human health is of global concern. The authors of this paper were members of the Plenary Panel on Human Health in the 12th International Conference on Mercury as a Global Pollutant held in Korea in June 2015. The Panel was asked by the conference organizers to address two questions: what is the current understanding of the impacts of mercury exposure on human health and what information is needed to evaluate the effectiveness of the Minamata Convention in lowering exposure and preventing adverse effects. The authors conducted a critical review of the literature published since January 2012 and discussed the current state-of-knowledge in the following areas: environmental exposure and/or risk assessment; kinetics and biomonitoring; effects on children development; effects on adult general populations; effects on artisanal and small-scale gold miners (ASGM); effects on dental workers; risk of ethylmercury in thimerosal-containing vaccines; interactions with nutrients; genetic determinants and; risk communication and management. Knowledge gaps in each area were identified and recommendations for future research were made. The Panel concluded that more knowledge synthesis efforts are needed to translate the research results into management tools for health professionals and policy makers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper we studied the exposure to three size fractions of outdoor particulate matter (PM 10 , PM 2.5 , and PM 1 ) collected in an area influenced by a cement plant. For that purpose, three groups of population were evaluated (children, adults and retired) in two seasons (summer and winter). Outdoor measured PM concentrations, as well as physiological parameters and activity patterns of the three groups of population were used as input data in two different models. The first one was an indoor air quality model, used to elucidate indoor PM concentrations in different microenvironments. The second one was a dosimetry model, used to evaluate the internal exposure and the distribution of the different PM fractions in the respiratory tract. Results from the indoor air quality model showed that special attention must be paid to the finest particles, since they penetrate indoors in a greater degree. Highest pulmonary doses for the three PM sizes were reported for retired people, being this a result of the high amount of time in outdoor environments exercising lightly. For children, the exposure was mainly influenced by the time they also spend outdoors, but in this case due to heavy intensity activities. It was noticed that deposition of fine particles was more significant in the pulmonary regions of children and retired people in comparison with adults, which has implications in the expected adverse health effects for those vulnerable groups of population. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Polar bears ( Ursus maritimus ) consume large quantities of seal blubber and other high trophic marine mammals and consequently have some of the highest tissue concentrations of organohalogen contaminants (OHCs) among Arctic biota. In the present paper we carried out a risk quotient (RQ) evaluation on OHC-exposed polar bears harvested from 1999 to 2008 and from 11 circumpolar subpopulations spanning from Alaska to Svalbard in order to evaluate the risk of OHC-mediated reproductive effects (embryotoxicity, teratogenicity), immunotoxicity and carcinogenicity (genotoxicity). This RQ evaluation was based on the Critical Body Residue (CBR) concept and a Physiologically-Based Pharmacokinetic Modelling (PBPK) approach using OHC concentrations measured in polar bear adipose or liver tissue. The range of OHC concentrations within polar bear populations were as follows for adipose, sum polychlorinated biphenyls ∑PCBs (1797–10,537 ng/g lw), sum methylsulphone-PCB ∑MeSO 2 -PCBs (110–672 ng/g lw), sum chlordanes ∑CHLs (765–3477 ng/g lw), α-hexachlorocyclohexane α-HCH (8.5–91.3 ng/g lw), β-hexachlorocyclohexane β-HCH (65.5–542 ng/g lw), sum chlorbenzenes ∑ClBzs (145–304 ng/g lw), dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane ∑DDTs (31.5–206 ng/g lw), dieldrin (69–249 ng/g lw), polybrominated diphenyl ethers ∑PBDEs (4.6–78.4 ng/g lw). For liver, the perfluorooctanesulfonic acid (PFOS) concentrations ranged from 231-2792 ng/g ww. The total additive RQ from all OHCs ranged from 4.3 in Alaska to 28.6 in East Greenland bears for effects on reproduction, immune health and carcinogenicity, highlighting the important result that the toxic effect threshold (i.e. RQ>1) was exceeded for all polar bear populations assessed. PCBs were the main contributors for all three effect categories, contributing from 70.6% to 94.3% of the total risk and a RQ between 3.8–22.5. ∑MeSO 2 –PCBs were the second highest effect contributor for reproductive and immunological effects (0.17

Objectives A relationship between ambient air pollution and adverse birth outcomes has been found in a large number of studies that have mainly used a nearest monitor methodology. Recent research has suggested that the effect size may have been underestimated in these studies. This paper examines associations between birth outcomes and ambient levels of residential and workplace sulphur dioxide, particulates and Nitrogen Dioxide estimated using an alternative method – pollution climate mapping. Methods Risk of low birthweight and mean birthweight (for n =21,843 term births) and risk of preterm birth (for n =23,086 births) were modelled against small area annual mean ambient air pollution concentrations at work and residence location adjusting for potential confounding factors for singleton live births (1994–2008) across Scotland. Results Odds ratios of low birthweight of 1.02 (95% CI, 1.01–1.03) and 1.07 (95% CI, 1.01–1.12) with concentration increases of 1 µg/m 3 for NO 2 and PM 10 respectively. Raised but insignificant risks of very preterm birth were found with PM 10 (relative risk ratio=1.08; 95% CI, 1.00 to 1.17 per 1 µg/m 3 ) and NO 2 (relative risk ratio=1.01; 95% CI, 1.00 to 1.03 per 1 µg/m 3 ). An inverse association between mean birthweight and mean annual NO 2 (−1.24 g; 95% CI, −2.02 to −0.46 per 1 µg/m 3 ) and PM 10 (−5.67 g; 95% CI, −9.47 to −1.87 per 1 µg/m 3 ). SO 2 showed no significant associations. Conclusions This study highlights the association between air pollution exposure and reduced newborn size at birth. Together with other recent work it also suggests that exposure estimation based on the nearest monitor method may have led to an under-estimation of the effect size of pollutants on birth outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Low birth weight and preterm birth have a substantial public health impact. Studies examining their association with outdoor air pollution were identified using searches of bibliographic databases and reference lists of relevant papers. Pooled estimates of effect were calculated, heterogeneity was quantified, meta-regression was conducted and publication bias was examined. Sixty-two studies met the inclusion criteria. The majority of studies reported reduced birth weight and increased odds of low birth weight in relation to exposure to carbon monoxide (CO), nitrogen dioxide (NO2) and particulate matter less than 10 and 2.5 microns (PM10 and PM2.5). Effect estimates based on entire pregnancy exposure were generally largest. Pooled estimates of decrease in birth weight ranged from 11.4g (95% confidence interval −6.9–29.7) per 1ppm CO to 28.1g (11.5–44.8) per 20ppb NO2, and pooled odds ratios for low birth weight ranged from 1.05 (0.99–1.12) per 10μg/m3 PM2.5 to 1.10 (1.05–1.15) per 20μg/m3 PM10 based on entire pregnancy exposure. Fewer effect estimates were available for preterm birth and results were mixed. Pooled odds ratios based on 3rd trimester exposures were generally most precise, ranging from 1.04 (1.02–1.06) per 1ppm CO to 1.06 (1.03–1.11) per 20μg/m3 PM10. Results were less consistent for ozone and sulfur dioxide for all outcomes. Heterogeneity between studies varied widely between pollutants and outcomes, and meta-regression suggested that heterogeneity could be partially explained by methodological differences between studies. While there is a large evidence base which is indicative of associations between CO, NO2, PM and pregnancy outcome, variation in effects by exposure period and sources of heterogeneity between studies should be further explored. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Parks and green space areas are important to human health for psychological and physiological reasons. There have been few evaluations of access to green space on mortality. This paper describes a cohort study of approximately 575,000 adults, 35 years of age and older, who resided in 10 urban areas in Ontario, Canada, between 1982 and 1986. Individuals were identified from income tax filings, and vital status was determined up to December 31, 2004 through record linkage to the Canadian Mortality Data Base. Place of residence was defined by postal code data that were extracted from income tax filings. Urban green space was defined by Landsat satellite retrievals with the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index and this was assigned to individuals'' place of residence at inception into the cohort using both a 30m grid cell and a 500m buffer. The proportional hazards model was used to estimate rate ratios (RRs) and their corresponding 95% confidence intervals (CI) for selected underlying causes of death. The rate ratios were adjusted for income, marital status, ambient air pollution, and contextual neighborhood characteristics. About 187,000 subjects died during follow-up. An increase in the interquartile range of green space, using a 500m buffer, was associated with reduced non-accidental mortality (RR=0.95, 95% CI=0.94–0.96). Reductions in mortality with increased residential green space were observed for each underlying cause of death; the strongest association was found for respiratory disease mortality (RR=0.91, 95% CI=0.89–0.93). Risk estimates were essentially unchanged after adjusting for ambient air pollution. Our study suggests that green space in urban environments was associated with long-term reduction in mortality although this finding should be interpreted cautiously as this association may be influenced by residual confounding of sociodemographic and lifestyle factors. Further research is needed to: confirm these findings, better understand the relationships between access to green space and behavioral risk factors for mortality, and identify what green space characteristics may confer the greatest health benefit. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: In Korea, there have been a number of efforts to measure levels of exposure to environmental pollutants among the population. This paper focuses on investigating the distribution of, extent of, and factors influencing the blood levels of lead, cadmium, and mercury in the Korean population, working from data obtained from the Second Korean National Human Exposure and Bio-monitoring Examination. To that end, blood metal concentrations were analyzed from a total of 2369 participants who were 18 years of age and older. The geometric mean concentrations and their 95% confidence intervals of metals in blood were found to be lead, 1.72μg/dL (95% CI, 1.68–1.76); cadmium, 1.02μg/L (95% CI, 1.00–1.05); and mercury, 3.80μg/L (95% CI, 3.66–3.93). Regression analyses indicate that the levels of metals in the blood are mainly influenced by gender, age, and the education levels of the participants. Current smoking status is also found to be a significant factor for increasing both lead and cadmium levels. Although our study, as the first nationwide survey of exposure to environmental pollutants in Korea, has value on its own, it should be expanded and extended in order to provide information on environmental exposure pathways and to watch for changes in the level of exposure to environmental pollutants among the population. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: While the general link between substandard housing and poor health has received increased attention recently, there are currently no widely accepted standardized protocols to assess and remediate multiple housing-related health hazards. This paper compares several protocols that assess housing health hazards, including the Hazard Assessment and Reduction Program, the American Healthy Homes Survey, the Public Housing Assessment System, the Housing Quality Standards, the American Housing Survey, the Community Environmental Health Resource Center protocol, and the National Energy Audit Tool. The comparison shows considerable variability across the protocols, particularly in the collection of environmental samples or measurements. This may be due in part to differing end uses, as well as the fact that the intersection of housing and health issues is not clearly in the domain of either profession. Housing professionals typically focus on durability and affordability, while environmental health professionals are frequently focused on specific disease or injury vectors, not on place-based interventions. Validation studies at both the national and the international level are needed to determine how well both the hazard assessment and the resulting interventions predict health outcome. Standardizing and validating such protocols can help move beyond the existing limited categorical approaches and will help improve both substandard housing quality and public health. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Exposure to lead (Pb) as well as other heavy metals in the environment is still a matter of public health concern. The development of the enamel biomarker for heavy metal exposure assessment is designed to improve studies of dose–effect relationships to developmental anomalies, particularly embryonic dysfunctions, and to provide a time-specific recount of past exposures. The work presented in this paper demonstrates maternal transfer across the placental barrier of the enriched isotope 206Pb tracer to the enamel of the rat pup. Likewise, injections of 204Pb-eriched tracer in the neonate rat resulted in deposition of the tracer in the enamel histology as measured by secondary ion microprobe spectrometry. Through enamel, we were able to observe biological removal and assimilation of prenatal and postnatal tracers, respectively. This research demonstrates that enamel can be used as a biomarker of exposure to Pb and may illustrate the toxicokinetics of incorporating Pb into fetal and neonatal steady-state system processes. The biomarker technique, when completely developed, may be applied to cross-sectional and longitudinal epidemiological research. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Climate change is one of the biggest and most urgent challenges for the 21st century. Rising average temperatures and ocean levels, altered precipitation patterns and increased occurrence of extreme weather events affect not only the global landscape and ecosystem, but also human health. Multiple environmental factors influence the onset and severity of human diseases and changing climate may have a great impact on these factors. Climate shifts disrupt the quantity and quality of water, increase environmental pollution, change the distribution of pathogens and severely impacts food production – all of which are important regarding public health. This paper focuses on brain health and provides an overview of climate change impacts on risk factors specific to brain diseases and disorders. We also discuss emerging hazards in brain health due to mitigation and adaptation strategies in response to climate changes. • Climate change is one of the biggest and most urgent challenges regarding human health. • Multiple environmental factors affecting human health can be modulated in the changing climate. • The paper provides an overview of climate change impacts on risk factors specific to brain diseases. • Hazards due to mitigation and adaptation strategies in response to climate changes are also discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Research into the potential health and well-being benefits from exposure to green spaces such as parks and woodlands has led to the development of several frameworks linking the different strands of evidence. The current paper builds on these to provide a model of how exposure to aquatic environments, or blue spaces such as rivers, lakes and the coast, in particular, may benefit health and well-being. Although green and blue spaces share many commonalities, there are also important differences. Given the breadth of the research, spanning multiple disciplines and research methodologies, a narrative review approach was adopted which aimed to highlight key issues and processes rather than provide a definitive balance of evidence summary. Novel aspects of our framework included the inclusion of outcomes that are only indirectly good for health through being good for the environment, the addition of nature connectedness as both a trait and state, and feedback loops where actions/interventions to increase exposure are implemented. Limitations of the review and areas for future work, including the need to integrate potential benefits with potential risks, are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Noise pollution is a major environmental problem due to its impact on human health and implications for other spheres of society. Since road traffic is the main source of noise pollution, the use of measurement methodologies to accurately determine the environmental noise levels to which the façades of buildings in cities are exposed is an important issue. This paper presents an experimental study in urban environments that uses different configurations to evaluate the influence of the position of the microphone and the parking lanes on the levels of road traffic noise to which the population is exposed. In urban settings in which sound waves propagate without obstacles between the lanes of traffic and the receivers, broadband results for the differences between noise levels measured by microphones placed at heights of 4.0 and 1.5 m showed a significant increase with an increase in the distance between the microphone and sound source of between −0.8 and 0.9 dBA over a range from 2 to 8 m. This difference between the two microphones was greater at points where a lane of parked vehicles was located between the road traffic lanes and the receivers were placed near the façades of building. At the same heights, the broadband difference in sound levels ranged from 2.7 to 4.5 dBA. This acoustic shielding effect due to the presence of parked vehicles started to be relevant in the 250 Hz band and increased progressively with frequency. Taking into account these experimental results and the recommendations in the European Noise Directive, it would be important to apply corrections to sound indicators for road traffic noise that are related to the height of the microphone. Making a distinction between urban configurations with and without lines of parked vehicles between the microphone and the road traffic lanes would be advisable. Image 1 • Microphone heights and/or parking lines have significant effects on exposure levels. • The distance microphone-source affects the values measured at different heights. • Differences in sound levels of up to 4.5 dBA were measured between 4.0 and 1.5 m. • Strategic noise map validation should consider microphone height and parking lines. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Urban transportation is an important determinant of health and environmental outcomes, and therefore essential to achieving the United Nation's Sustainable Development Goals. To better understand the health impacts of transportation initiatives, we conducted a systematic review of longitudinal health evaluations involving: a) bus rapid transit (BRT); b) bicycle lanes; c) Open Streets programs; and d) aerial trams/cable cars. We also synthesized systems-based simulation studies of the health-related consequences of walking, bicycling, aerial tram, bus and BRT use. Two reviewers screened 3302 unique titles and abstracts identified through a systematic search of MEDLINE (Ovid), Scopus, TRID and LILACS databases. We included 39 studies: 29 longitudinal evaluations and 10 simulation studies. Five studies focused on low- and middle-income contexts. Of the 29 evaluation studies, 19 focused on single component bicycle lane interventions; the rest evaluated multi-component interventions involving: bicycle lanes (n = 5), aerial trams (n = 1), and combined bicycle lane/BRT systems (n = 4). Bicycle lanes and BRT systems appeared effective at increasing bicycle and BRT mode share, active transport duration, and number of trips using these modes. Of the 10 simulation studies, there were 9 agent-based models and one system dynamics model. Five studies focused on bus/BRT expansions and incentives, three on interventions for active travel, and the rest investigated combinations of public transport and active travel policies. Synergistic effects were observed when multiple policies were implemented, with several studies showing that sizable interventions are required to significantly shift travel mode choices. Our review indicates that bicycle lanes and BRT systems represent promising initiatives for promoting population health. There is also evidence to suggest that synergistic effects might be achieved through the combined implementation of multiple transportation policies. However, more rigorous evaluation and simulation studies focusing on low- and middle-income countries, aerial trams and Open Streets programs, and a more diverse set of health and health equity outcomes is required. This figure represents a word network created by extracting keywords from the paper abstracts included in our systematic review. Each keyword represents a node in the network; its size is proportional to the number of abstracts in which it appears. Keywords are connected if they are found in the same abstract. The colours represent different communities of words as identified using the Louvain method. Image 1 • Bike lanes and bus rapid transit systems promote physical activity and active travel. • Multi-component interventions can act synergistically to increase active travel. • Few longitudinal health evaluations of aerial trams and open streets programs exist. • Low-and-middle income countries are understudied in the literature. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The use of strategic noise maps as a means for estimating population exposure to environmental noise and defining action plans to mitigate its effects on human health has become a reality since the publication of the European Noise Directive. In this context, it is known that some differences can be found between the values obtained for sound indicators through simulation and measurements due to different causes. One of these factors is the presence of elements in urban environments not currently considered in calculation methods but certainly present in validation measurements. This paper presents an assessment of the acoustic shielding effect due to parked vehicles on urban streets using computational methods. First of all, a process of validation of the software model by means of different simulation methods and in situ measurements was carried out. Then, a study was developed varying different variables related to urban planning and noise modelling, as well as considering different typologies of real streets according to a categorisation method. Broadband results show that this shielding effect can be significant in common configurations in urban environments, even to receiver heights of 4 m considered as a reference in strategic noise maps. The magnitude of this effect varied depending on the distances between the building façade, parked vehicles and sound sources, as well as the receiver height. Differences up to 4 dBA in sound levels were found in several configurations between situations without and with cars parked at 4 m, although in some specific cases it reached up to 8 dBA. Therefore, results of this study indicated that parking lane shielding effect should be considered in calculations and validation measurements for strategic noise maps in order to obtain an adequate estimation of population exposure to road traffic noise. Image 1 • Parking lanes on streets should be considered to estimate traffic noise exposure. • The acoustic shielding effect can be significant even for receiver heights of 4 m. • A dependence on the magnitude of shielding effect with urban variables was found. • Attention should be paid to existing parking lanes for noise mapping validation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]