Through a grant to the San Francisco Study Center, the Ditching Dirty Diesel Collaborative conducted an HIA to inform development of long-range strategies for moving goods efficiently, reliably, and sustainably within, to, from, and through the county by road, rail, air, and water to be included in the final freight component of the Alameda County Transportation Commission’s Alameda County Goods Movement Plan. The HIA addressed the risk of chronic illnesses, such as asthma and cardiovascular disease, associated with freight transportation and diesel pollution, among other factors, in vulnerable low-income communities adjacent to freeways, designated truck routes, ports, rail yards, warehouses, and distribution centers. (This project was supported by funding from the California Endowment.)
Outcome
As a result of the HIA and the San Francisco Study Center’s thorough engagement with the commission, the freight transportation plan was strengthened to emphasize health as a primary objective and to prioritize investments in remediation to benefit communities most burdened by freight transportation. The commission has said it will adopt the plan. In addition, the chair proposed and the commission unanimously passed a companion resolution that translates many of the HIA recommendations into policy actions.
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This Health Impact Assessment Report first appeared in The Cross-Sector Toolkit for Health. The Cross-Sector Toolkit for Health was originally developed by the Health Impact Project, formerly a collaboration of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and The Pew Charitable Trusts. The creation of this resource was supported by a grant from the Health Impact Project. The views expressed are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Pew Charitable Trusts, or the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.
