Has research on health co‑benefits influenced urban climate and transport planning in the United Kingdom, United States, Japan, and France?

Decarbonizing transport systems is critical to a net-zero future. Explicitly factoring health co-benefits into urban climate/ transport plans could persuade decision-makers to adopt and implement the policies needed for such a future. Many studies have estimated the health benefits of transport policies with these ends in mind. However, how carefully urban policymakers consider this research remains an open question. This study aims to shed light on that question by examining whether research on transport-related health co-benefits has influenced climate/transport planning in leading cities in the United Kingdom, United States, Japan, and France. More concretely, the study examines the degree of overlap between (1) featured policies; (2) data-driven quantification methods; and (3) health equity concerns in 20 recent articles on transport co-benefits and 28 urban climate/transport plans (from 16 cities). The study finds that both research and city plans include upstream avoid–shift interventions with significant health co-benefits. At the same time, research emphasizes quantifying co-benefits, while city plans pay more attention to health equity. The study concludes co-design processes featuring (1) accessible co-benefits tools for (2) quantifying co-benefits from avoid–shift interventions complemented by (3) action-oriented work on equity can strengthen the interface between research and policy on health co-benefits in the transport sector in cities.