WHY SHIFT Children are the most vulnerable to environmental factors during the early years, and their well-being rests on reducing health risks like poor air quality, noise pollution, and road safety. Babies and toddlers suffer more from exposure to noxious motor vehicle fumes than adults do because of their more rapid breathing and their closer proximity to direct fumes from exhaust pipes. Noise pollution has been associated with reduced cognitive function, inability to concentrate, and increased feelings of nervousness and helplessness in babies and toddlers. Lastly, with a height of 95 cm or less, young children are often invisible to motor vehicles, especially as car design continues to get bigger and bigger. Young children are also at a greater risk of injury and death when involved in a road crash with motorized vehicles. Not only do road crashes affect young children, but if someone in the household is injured, the burden of care usually falls on the primary caregiver and can result in a loss of income for the family. Streets are the main source of public space in a city and can comprise 80 percent of a city’s total public space, but the overprioritization of cars leaves little room for open space and play. A key to shifting from motor vehicle–centric development to people-centric is to reduce the share of public and private space allocated to motor vehicles while increasing availability of walkable destinations and affordable transport.
OBJECTIVES AND METRICS OBJECTIVE A: The land occupied by motor vehicles is minimized • Off-street parking (p. 95) • Driveway density (p. 97) • Roadway area (p. 98)
54
