South Bronx Traffic Congestion Worsens, Raising Health and Safety Concerns
Columbia Mailman School of Public Health
By: Marianthi Kioumourtzoglou and Steven N. Chillrud
Automotive congestion worsened between 2017 and 2019 in residential and mixed-use neighborhoods of Mott Haven and Port Morris in the South Bronx, an area already overburdened by environmental pollution from interstate highways and industrial activity. The study was led by researchers at Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health, in collaboration with local environmental justice organization South Bronx Unite. The findings appear in the journal Environmental Science and Policy.
Traffic-related air pollution contributes to high rates of asthma prevalence in Mott Haven and Port Morris (17 percent of children ages 4 and 5) and traffic-related pedestrian injuries (43 hospitalizations per 100,000 people vs. 23 citywide). Traffic-related air pollution is also associated with hypertension, heart attacks, and stroke.
