IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/jotrge/v101y2022ics0966692322000722.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Long-term commuting times and air quality relationship to COVID-19 in São Paulo

Author

Listed:
  • Pérez-Martínez, P.J.
  • Dunck, J.A.
  • de Assunção, J.V.
  • Connerton, P.
  • Slovic, A.D.
  • Ribeiro, H.
  • Miranda, R.M.

Abstract

The Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) epidemic is an unprecedented global health crisis and the effects may be related to environmental and socio-economic factors. In São Paulo, Brazil, the first death occurred in March 2020 and since then the numbers have grown to 175 new deaths per day in April 2021, positioning the city as the epicenter of the number of cases and deaths in Brazil. São Paulo is one of the largest cities in the world with more than 12 million inhabitants, a fleet of about 8 million vehicles and frequent pollutant concentrations above recommended values. Social inequalities are evident in the municipality, similarly to other cities in the world. This paper focuses on transportation activities related to air pollution and associated with cardiovascular and respiratory diseases especially on people who developed comorbidities during their whole life. This study relates travel trip data to air quality analysis and expanded to COVID-19 disease. This work studied the relationship of deaths in São Paulo due to COVID-19 with demographic density, with family income, with the use of public transport and with atmospheric pollution for the period between March 17th, 2020 and April 29th, 2021. The main results showed that generally passenger kilometers traveled, commuting times and air quality related diseases increase with residential distance from the city center, and thus, with decreasing residential density. PM2.5 concentrations are positively correlated with COVID-19 deaths, regions with high urban densities have higher numbers of deaths and long-distance frequent trips can contribute to spread of the disease.

Suggested Citation

  • Pérez-Martínez, P.J. & Dunck, J.A. & de Assunção, J.V. & Connerton, P. & Slovic, A.D. & Ribeiro, H. & Miranda, R.M., 2022. "Long-term commuting times and air quality relationship to COVID-19 in São Paulo," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 101(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:jotrge:v:101:y:2022:i:c:s0966692322000722
    DOI: 10.1016/j.jtrangeo.2022.103349
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0966692322000722
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.jtrangeo.2022.103349?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Patrick Connerton & João Vicente de Assunção & Regina Maura de Miranda & Anne Dorothée Slovic & Pedro José Pérez-Martínez & Helena Ribeiro, 2020. "Air Quality during COVID-19 in Four Megacities: Lessons and Challenges for Public Health," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(14), pages 1-24, July.
    2. Chatman, Daniel G., 2008. "Deconstructing development density: Quality, quantity and price effects on household non-work travel," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 42(7), pages 1008-1030, August.
    3. Eric S. Coker & Laura Cavalli & Enrico Fabrizi & Gianni Guastella & Enrico Lippo & Maria Laura Parisi & Nicola Pontarollo & Massimiliano Rizzati & Alessandro Varacca & Sergio Vergalli, 2020. "The Effects of Air Pollution on COVID-19 Related Mortality in Northern Italy," Environmental & Resource Economics, Springer;European Association of Environmental and Resource Economists, vol. 76(4), pages 611-634, August.
    4. Raquel Beatriz Jimenez & Nicolas Caceres Bronfman, 2012. "Comprehensive indicators of traffic-related premature mortality," Journal of Risk Research, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 15(9), pages 1117-1139, October.
    5. Pérez-Martínez, P.J. & Miranda, R.M. & Andrade, M.F., 2020. "Freight road transport analysis in the metro São Paulo: Logistical activities and CO2 emissions," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 137(C), pages 16-33.
    6. Matthew A Cole & Ceren Ozgen & Eric Strobl, 2020. "Air Pollution Exposure and Covid-19," Discussion Papers 20-13, Department of Economics, University of Birmingham.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Marion Davin & Mouez Fodha & Thomas Seegmuller, 2021. "Environment, public debt and epidemics," AMSE Working Papers 2128, Aix-Marseille School of Economics, France.
    2. Marion Davin & Mouez Fodha & Thomas Seegmuller, 2023. "Environment, public debt, and epidemics," Journal of Public Economic Theory, Association for Public Economic Theory, vol. 25(6), pages 1270-1303, December.
    3. Federica Cappelli & Gianni Guastella & Stefano Pareglio, 2021. "Urban Sprawl and Air Quality in European Cities: an Empirical Assessment," Working Papers 2021.07, Fondazione Eni Enrico Mattei.
    4. Liu, Ziheng & Chen, Xi & Lu, Qinan, 2023. "Blowin' in the Wind of an Invisible Killer: Long-Term Exposure to Ozone and Respiratory Mortality in the United States," IZA Discussion Papers 15981, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    5. Brandon Michael Taylor & Michael Ash & Lawrence Peter King, 2022. "Initially High Correlation between Air Pollution and COVID-19 Mortality Declined to Zero as the Pandemic Progressed: There Is No Evidence for a Causal Link between Air Pollution and COVID-19 Vulnerabi," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(16), pages 1-9, August.
    6. Jorge A Bonilla & Alejandro Lopez-Feldman & Paula Pereda & Nathaly M. Rivera & J. Cristobal Ruiz-Tagle, 2021. "Long-Term Air Pollution Exposure and COVID-19 Mortality in Latin America," Working Papers, Department of Economics 2021_23, University of São Paulo (FEA-USP), revised 02 Feb 2023.
    7. Becchetti, Leonardo & Beccari, Gabriele & Conzo, Gianluigi & Conzo, Pierluigi & De Santis, Davide & Salustri, Francesco, 2022. "Particulate matter and COVID-19 excess deaths: Decomposing long-term exposure and short-term effects," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 194(C).
    8. Macarena Valdés Salgado & Pamela Smith & Mariel A. Opazo & Nicolás Huneeus, 2021. "Long-Term Exposure to Fine and Coarse Particulate Matter and COVID-19 Incidence and Mortality Rate in Chile during 2020," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(14), pages 1-12, July.
    9. Brandily, Paul & Brébion, Clément & Briole, Simon & Khoury, Laura, 2021. "A poorly understood disease? The impact of COVID-19 on the income gradient in mortality over the course of the pandemic," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 140(C).
    10. Dang, Hai-Anh H. & Trinh, Trong-Anh, 2020. "Does the COVID-19 Pandemic Improve Global Air Quality? New Cross-national Evidence on Its Unintended Consequences," GLO Discussion Paper Series 606, Global Labor Organization (GLO).
    11. Buys, Laurie & Miller, Evonne, 2011. "Conceptualising convenience: Transportation practices and perceptions of inner-urban high density residents in Brisbane, Australia," Transport Policy, Elsevier, vol. 18(1), pages 289-297, January.
    12. Eduardo Polloni-Silva & Diogo Ferraz & Flávia de Castro Camioto & Daisy Aparecida do Nascimento Rebelatto & Herick Fernando Moralles, 2021. "Environmental Kuznets Curve and the Pollution-Halo/Haven Hypotheses: An Investigation in Brazilian Municipalities," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(8), pages 1-19, April.
    13. Borsati, Mattia & Nocera, Silvio & Percoco, Marco, 2022. "Questioning the spatial association between the initial spread of COVID-19 and transit usage in Italy," Research in Transportation Economics, Elsevier, vol. 95(C).
    14. Wenjia Zhang, 2016. "Does compact land use trigger a rise in crime and a fall in ridership? A role for crime in the land use–travel connection," Urban Studies, Urban Studies Journal Limited, vol. 53(14), pages 3007-3026, November.
    15. Ao, Yibin & Zhang, Yuting & Wang, Yan & Chen, Yunfeng & Yang, Linchuan, 2020. "Influences of rural built environment on travel mode choice of rural residents: The case of rural Sichuan," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 85(C).
    16. Ed Ferrari & Mark A Green, 2013. "Travel to School and Housing Markets: A Case Study of Sheffield, England," Environment and Planning A, , vol. 45(11), pages 2771-2788, November.
    17. Syed Abul Basher & A. K. Enamul Haque, 2021. "Public policy lessons from the Covid-19 outbreak: How to deal with it in the post-pandemic world?," Journal of Social and Economic Development, Springer;Institute for Social and Economic Change, vol. 23(2), pages 234-247, September.
    18. Jill Furzer & Boriana Miloucheva, 2020. "The Long Arm of the Clean Air Act: Pollution Abatement and COVID-19 Racial Disparities," Working Papers tecipa-668, University of Toronto, Department of Economics.
    19. Heres-Del-Valle, David & Niemeier, Deb, 2011. "CO2 emissions: Are land-use changes enough for California to reduce VMT? Specification of a two-part model with instrumental variables," Transportation Research Part B: Methodological, Elsevier, vol. 45(1), pages 150-161, January.
    20. Feng Wang & Xing Ge & Danwen Huang, 2022. "Government Intervention, Human Mobility, and COVID-19: A Causal Pathway Analysis from 121 Countries," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(6), pages 1-26, March.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:jotrge:v:101:y:2022:i:c:s0966692322000722. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.journals.elsevier.com/journal-of-transport-geography .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.