Neighbourhood socioeconomic and transport disadvantage: The potential to reduce social inequities in health through transport

Publication date: Available online 2 October 2017 Source:Journal of Transport & Health Author(s): Jerome N. Rachele, Vincent Learnihan, Hannah M. Badland, Suzanne Mavoa, Gavin Turrell, Billie Giles-Corti Globally, concerns about population growth, urbanisation, traffic congestion, climate change and rising chronic disease are prompting policy-makers and governments to prioritise policies that support local walking and increase access to public transport. These are of particular relevance for those more likely to experience transport disadvantage, such as those in socioeconomically disadvantaged areas, where transport disadvantage tends to be higher. The aim of this study was to examine associations between neighbourhood socioeconomic disadvantage and transport-related spatial measures, identified through a review of transport-related policies. It included 2460 neighbourhoods in Brisbane, Australia as defined by the 2011 Australian national census boundaries. Neighbourhood socioeconomic disadvantage was measured using a census-derived composite index. Policy-relevant spatial measures included: street connectivity, cul-de-sac length, street block length, traffic volume, public transport stops and public transport frequency. Data were analysed using binary and multinomial logistic regression. More disadvantaged neighbourhoods had significantly greater odds of being highly connected, and with cul-de-sac and street block lengths, and public transport stop access an...
Source: Journal of Transport and Health - Category: Occupational Health Source Type: research