Going Green at the Speed of Light

Blog #11

•  How can public transportation planning affect illness and injury in a community?
• I used this Metro station- a part of me misses living in a big city! In regards to illness and injury. It is easy to see how lower income communities live closer is not on major beltways, roads and streets. Transportation is a source of pollution generating, air, soil and water pollutants leading to negative health outcomes that range from respiratory to cardiac problems.  For transportation planning this seems bias that commonly most are located in lower income communities. These communities also do not have the best access to health care, so how many people must suffer with everyday pollutants from these public transportations.
• Injury not only meaning accidents, either as a driver or passenger, but also injuries that occur by not paying proper attention to safety rules i.e. wearing safety belts. When planning for a transportation, safety belt education would be important in schools, MD offices, out in the community, DMV's. etc.

• What is the mix of modes of public transportation in your community? Is public transportation subsidized for students, poor people, the elderly in your community?
• In my community we have a central bus station that serves, Monterey, Salinas, Seaside and Marina. We have taxi's, uber, lyft and all the other independent companies. Currently we do not have a train system, but it has been proposed for a high speed train to connect us to San, Jose and possible as far as Santa Barbara. We also have a small local airport. All locations are farther from residents, but are close to restaurants, medical offices and grocery stores.
• We do have programs to help with transportation. There are shuttles that help the elderly get to grocery stores, appointments and other locations locally. We also have a ride share program, there is a program for our Oncology patients to have help with driving to and from medical appointments. We also have a shuttle that encourages employees to utilize in the form of offering vouchers for free meals.

• Are there urban planning initiatives in your area that consider environmental concerns?
• At this time, no. There have been rumors of the High Speed Train coming to our area, but no final plans have been set in motion, but stayed tuned!

• How can you, as a nursing professional, advocate for this in your area?
• For my community I am excited that this may happen! I think it would be incredible opportunity for growth and development. At times Monterey seems stale; so this will bring in something new. When it comes to planning where stations will go; this is where as a nurse we can make a difference. Land needs to be developed with human, animal and environmental safety. There doesn't seem to be a lot of space open for development, but if we work together, safety needs to be a part of this. I also would love to advocate for a Green Train; this would seem to solve most problems and keep us safe!

• Are these cities near you that could benefit from "green" urban planning?
• I think they all could! Monterey is very conscious and considerate when it comes to taking care of land and respecting land. But there is always room for improvement and with the possibility of a High Speed Train this will be even more important. 

• How might you modify this for rural areas?
• I wouldn't modify it any differently. All areas need to be given the same opportunity for safe, proper planning. The education piece would be different. Education would have to be tailed to a level that was easily understand and of course in different languages. Also to encourage the community to be active in this decision making, attend planning meetings, voice their concerns and advocate for the safety of their environments.

• How might Health Impact Assessment process be translated to a population-based nursing action or policy?
• It was very interesting to learn that HIA tools help communities and practitioners to make choices to improve public health through community design. Having a tool that help communities integrate health consideration and transportation is so helpful and will be valuable when I am a practitioner. It's hard to believe that HIA isn't used in all planning, hard to imagine that freeways are still being built in back yards and stations are running through neighborhoods. I will keep a watch as the High Speed Train plan evolve and see if HIA is utilized and follow the decision making process as much as possible.

In the News

     In February a new article was publish on EHN about a new incentive for America to adopt Green High Speed Trains; so a perfect fit for this module. This proposed new green deal will both tackle climate change and inequality with environmental planning in one. Trains produce less greenhouse gasses, but are not as efficient in regards to time hen traveling. The US has a some catching up to with our High Speed train toping at a maximum speed of 150mph when compared to trains overseas that reach speeds of 200mph. As the country moves forward, as it ages and infrastructures need more an more attention; implementing a costly (at first) but environmentally beneficial- do these costs out-weight the risks? I believe so!