This report commissioned by UK charity Sustrans accompanies two Eunomia models developed to consider the potential air pollution impacts of some of Sustrans activities.
The first approach is the ‘Scheme-based Model’, which takes data on specific Sustrans schemes such as Connect2 and Community Links for specific areas, with the aim of estimating air pollution impacts for these schemes. The model estimates two kinds of air pollution benefits from shifting to active travel. These are:
- Reducing Car Journeys
- Route Users Personal Exposure
The second ‘Area-wide Model’ considers the potential benefits of a more substantial intervention across a whole city, based on the methodology previously developed by Eunomia for the National Institute of Health and Care Excellence (NICE). This models the health impacts based on changes in atmospheric pollution levels arising as a result of sustained campaign activity on active transport. The advantage of this approach is that it allows for a relatively high-level consideration of the potential results of a more substantial intervention affecting larger numbers of people.
