Transportation produces 25% of the Portland, Oregon Metro region’s greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, contributing to a warming climate that could severely impact our health and quality of life. Our climate is already changing, and the way we work together to prevent future changes will have both immediate and long-term impacts on our well being. Changes in policies and infrastructure could limit exposure to air and noise pollution, encourage us to be more physically active, and reduce traffic-related injuries and deaths. By understanding impacts, tradeoffs and unintended consequences, we can both reduce our greenhouse gas emissions and improve the health of everyone in our region.
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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.