Health related benefits of non-motorised transport: An application of the health economic assessment tool of the world health organisation to the case of Trikala, Greece

Abstract

It has been several years now that research coming from various disciplines such as sports science, medicine, urban planning and transport planning has provided strong evidence that sustainable urban mobility (SUM) is not only beneficial to the function of the city but to the human body too. As SUM includes not merely public transport but physical activity (walking, cycling, etc.) and as these can be further combined with exercise, an active urban environment can be created that can contribute to human health. The World Health Organization (WHO) has developed the Health Economic Assessment Tool (HEAT), a software which includes an algorithm designed to estimate the long–term health and economic benefit of a given population’s cycling or walking. This paper shows how the HEAT has been applied to the case of the city of Trikala, Greece. It is based on bicycle traffic measurements recorded on September 2016, in Trikala, in the context of the SPACE Erasmus+ EU Programme. The result shows how and how much the increase of bicycle traffic (distance, hours, frequency of use) in the future can increase life expectancy and reduce health care costs, thus being a beneficial investment. The paper, also includes several ‘what if scenarios’ related to walking, so as to provide a broader picture of a possible urban active environment in the city. © Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2019.