Preprint Article Version 1 Preserved in Portico This version is not peer-reviewed

Integrated Impact Assessment of Active Travel: Expanding the Scope of the Health Economic Assessment Tool (HEAT) for Walking and Cycling

Thomas Götschi
* ,
Sonja Kahlmeier
ORCID logo ,
Alberto Castro Fernandez
,
Christian Brand
ORCID logo ,
Nick Cavill
,
Paul Kelly
,
Christoph Lieb
,
David Rojas Rueda
ORCID logo ,
James Woodcock
,
Francesca Racioppi
Version 1 : Received: 14 September 2020 / Approved: 15 September 2020 / Online: 15 September 2020 (08:40:57 CEST)

A peer-reviewed article of this Preprint also exists.

Götschi, T.; Kahlmeier, S.; Castro, A.; Brand, C.; Cavill, N.; Kelly, P.; Lieb, C.; Rojas-Rueda, D.; Woodcock, J.; Racioppi, F. Integrated Impact Assessment of Active Travel: Expanding the Scope of the Health Economic Assessment Tool (HEAT) for Walking and Cycling. Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2020, 17, 7361. Götschi, T.; Kahlmeier, S.; Castro, A.; Brand, C.; Cavill, N.; Kelly, P.; Lieb, C.; Rojas-Rueda, D.; Woodcock, J.; Racioppi, F. Integrated Impact Assessment of Active Travel: Expanding the Scope of the Health Economic Assessment Tool (HEAT) for Walking and Cycling. Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2020, 17, 7361.

Abstract

The World Health Organization’s Health Economic Assessment Tool (HEAT) for walking and cycling is a user-friendly web-based tool to assess health impacts of active travel. HEAT, developed over 10 years ago, has been used by researchers, planners and policymakers alike in appraisals of walking and cycling policies of both national and more local scales. HEAT has undergone regular upgrades adopting the latest scientific evidence. This article presents the most recent upgrades of the tool. Health impacts of walking and/or cycling in a specified population are quantified in terms of premature deaths avoided (or caused). In addition to the calculation of benefits from physical activity, HEAT was recently expanded to include assessments of the burden associated with air pollution exposure and crash risks while walking or cycling. Further, impacts on carbon emissions from mode shift to active travel modes can now be assessed. Monetization of impacts using Value of Statistical Life and Social Costs of Carbon now uses country-specific values. As active travel inherently results in often substantial health benefits as well as not always negligible risks, assessments of active travel behaviour or policies are incomplete without considering health implications. The recent developments of HEAT make it easier than ever to obtain ballpark estimates of health impacts and carbon emissions related to walking and cycling.

Keywords

active transportation; health impact assessment; physical activity; air pollution; traffic safety; carbon emissions; monetization; online tool

Subject

Public Health and Healthcare, Health Policy and Services

Copyright: This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

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