From the Executive Summary:
Transportation investments and the systems that are developed fromthemshape lives and communities. The
transportation systemis a complex web of highways, sidewalks, bike paths, trains and bus services that connect
people to each other aswell as to places ofwork, play, prayer,medical care, and shopping.Transportationpolicies
and decisions influence land use and how communities and neighborhoods are designed and built—whether
sprawling and disconnected, or central and connected.
The combustion engine and the creation of the highway systemincreasedmobility and access to goods and
services.However, investments in highways have come at the expense of other transportationmodes.Over the
years this has led to a heavier reliance onvehicles and roadways and less onwalking, bicycling and transit use.
Further, suburbandevelopment has resulted in communities that are away fromtown centers and public transit
and require a near-total reliance on the automobile for transport and access.
Read the full report - http://www.apha.org/NR/rdonlyres/A8FAB489-BE92-4F37-BD5D-5954935D55C9/0/APHAHiddenHealthCosts_Short.pdf