HEALTH CLIMATE CHANGE TRANSPORTATION AND CLIMATE CHANGE COBENEFITS

HEALTH & CLIMATE CHANGE TRANSPORTATION AND CLIMATE CHANGE CO-BENEFITS Charles Gardner, MD, CCFP, MHSc, FRCPC Medical Officer of Health NOVEMBER 13, 2019

PUBLIC HEALTH HAS REDISCOVERED THE BUILT ENVIRONMENT § Public Health movement began with John Snow and the Broad Street Pump § Public Health reawakened to impact of the built environment on health with Places To Grow / A Place to Grow § Global concern about climate change caused public health to join the call to action on climate change and health.

A HAPPY COINCIDENCE “…tackling climate change could be the greatest global health opportunity of the 21 st century” Lancet Commission on Health & Climate Change, 2015 • Complete Streets • Connected Communities • Transit • Bike Lanes • Active School Travel

SMDHU SPRUNG INTO ACTION 2006 BHC Committee and Municipal Call To Action 2007 Literature Review on Health & and Built Environment 2007 -2008 Planning: Logic Model Workplan Knowledge Transfer

WE THEN ENGAGED, SUPPORTED AND COLLABORATED 2008/09 Official Plan Review Process 2009 Municipal Workshop and Survey 2010 Healthy Community Design: Policy Statements for Official Plans 2011 OPPI & SMDHU Workshop 2013 AT Symposium 2014 & 17 Update: Healthy Community Design: Policy Statements for Official Plans

CLIMATE CHANGE BECAME A PRIORITY 2015 Climate Change Action Plan 2017 SMDHU Climate Change Vulnerability Assessment 2018 Climate Change Action Plan Theory of Change

TRANSPORTATION PLANNING PROVIDES OPPORTUNITIES • To increase leisure and utilitarian physical activity • For walking and cycling to work • For children to walk and cycle safely to school • For affordable transportation like transit • To have sidewalks, pathways, trails and bike lanes that are inviting, accessible, safe and connected to amenities and public transit • To reduce greenhouse gas emissions • To improve air quality • To reduce the risk of chronic diseases like CVD, cancer, lower respiratory disease and diabetes • To Improve the health of the population

ACTIVE TRANSPORTATION Before and after renditions of active transportation infrastructure and a place for social gather in a rural community in Simcoe County

ACTIVE SCHOOL TRAVEL Simcoe Muskoka District Health Unit received a $110, 600 for Active School Travel Now what? • Partnership development with local school boards, municipalities, schools and school communities • Local School Travel Planning Committee • Assessment • Plan • Implement

TRANSIT SMDHU has provided representation at both upper and lower tier government consultation tables advocating for local and intermunicipal and County/District wide transit.

IMPROVE AIR QUALITY • Traffic-related emissions are still a main contributor to air pollution. • Transportation planning to prioritize AT, AST, & Transit can improve air quality pg. 84, A Changing Climate: Assessing health impacts and vulnerabilities due to climate change within Simcoe Muskoka. (118) Public Health Ontario. Traffic-related air pollution: avoiding the trap zone. 2017; Available from: URL: https: //www. publichealthontario. ca/en/Data. And. Analytics/Ontario. Health. Profile/Pages/OHP-IWR-TRAP. aspx

ARE PUBLIC HEALTH UNITS ENGAGING IN HEALTHY BUILT ENVIRONMENT (HBE) INTERVENTIONS? Survey : Self-Reported Engagement Level From the focus groups Land Use and Community Design Transportation Parks and Open Space Food Environment Natural Environment “…public health professionals convince stakeholders of the “value -add” of public health …in the design of built environment. ”

FINAL THOUGHTS • Active transportation is needed for climate change mitigation • Climate change mitigation is also an excellent opportunity to achieve the “health co-benefits” of active transportation • Health Units such as SMDHU have been pursuing both