For many, getting to work involves traffic and tedium. New research supports the common-sense idea that the way we commute can have a significant impact on our feelings of well-being. \u201cHow can we make it so we start the day with happiness?\u201d asks Dr. Yingling Fan, a professor of urban and regional planning at the University of Minnesota\u2019s Humphrey School of Public Affairs and a research scholar at its Center for Transportation Studies. <\/p>\n
Dr. Fan\u2019s research is the centerpiece of a new Redford Center short film, \u201cTransportation and Happiness.\u201d <\/em>Created by Minneapolis filmmaking team Sebastian Schnabel and Cici Yixuan Wu, it\u2019s the final installment in a series showcasing community power<\/a> in a collective call for civic engagement that redefines clean transportation. <\/p>\n Fan\u2019s home city of Minneapolis offers the typical American tangle of highways\u2014but also extensive dedicated bike lanes, and an increasing number of public transportation options. Nissa Tupper, the transportation and public health planner at the Minnesota Department of Transportation, says the alternatives are only growing as the city tries to change how people think about commuting. \u201cMost people think of being stuck behind a wheel,\u201d she says, \u201cwhich is an immediately unhappy situation.\u201d <\/p>\n Tupper collaborated with Fan to explore how transportation is a crucial contributor to health. In a recent project, Fan tracked people\u2019s emotional experiences as they travel through Minneapolis and St. Paul metropolitan areas, producing a transportation happiness map for the Twin Cities. \u201cWhen we select morning peak hours, the West River Parkway is happiest,\u201d Fan explains, referring to a tree-lined road that winds through a riparian zone of the Mississippi River. The research team was initially surprised, because the Parkway wasn\u2019t designed as a commuter throughway, but retrospectively, Fan says, \u201cof course people feel happier\u2014it\u2019s scenic and beautiful.\u201d Traditional transportation plans emphasize the ability to travel from point A to point B. But Fan adds, \u201cwhen we overemphasize efficiency, we minimize the human experience.\u201d <\/p>\n The nearby suburb of Columbia Heights is hoping to apply these lessons as they focus on also how to improve transportation. Am\u00e1da M\u00e1rquez Simula, the mayor of Columbia Heights, says, \u201cRight now, it\u2019s set up just for people to drive really quickly. It\u2019s not a partnership for pedestrians, bicyclists, and cars.\u201d In a region with dramatic seasons, Simula notes that taking local conditions into account will be important to success. \u201cWinter is the hardest right now,\u201d she admits, a time when only the hardy are excited to hop on a bicycle. That makes it even more important for public transportation to be accessible. \u201cWe want to make sure service works from the beginning all the way through to the end,\u201d Simula says, \u201cnot just \u2018the bus is safe,\u2019 but how is waiting for the bus safe?\u201d<\/p>\n Those are the kinds of holistic questions Tupper is asking in Minneapolis, too. \u201cTo a large percent, environment is actually what influences our ability to be healthy,\u201d she says. \u201cYou can\u2019t overstate the role of transportation in that space.\u201d In addition to considering impacts like emissions, Tupper explains it\u2019s critical to create routes where people feel a sense of belonging to their neighborhood, which means considering amenities like places to stop to rest, and shade. <\/p>\n Along Minneapolis\u2019 16 miles of protected bike routes, users\u2019 experiences confirm the team\u2019s finding that bicycling is the happiest mode of transportation. One bundled-up bicyclist says he\u2019s biked every day since 1983. \u201cIf you\u2019re pedaling hard, you work up a sweat and generate your own heat,\u201d he says. Another, a mother pedaling her daughter in a cargo bike, says she likes cycling. \u201cI\u2019m not burning fossil fuels, I get exercise, and it\u2019s also a great motivator for getting her outdoors.\u201d (Her daughter chimes in, \u201cI like to bike!\u201d) <\/p>\n The team in Minnesota hopes that government agencies will replicate their work elsewhere, tracking the aspects of the built environment that can promote positive emotions. \u201cWhen you put people at the center of designing cities, you empower the community,\u201d Fan says. \u201cIn the end, our dream is to design with<\/em> the community, rather than for<\/em> the community.\u201d<\/p>\n Interested in learning more about how this research could be applied to an area near you? Watch the film and get The Redford Center\u2019s free Clean Transportation Community Action Toolkit.<\/a> <\/em><\/p>\n The <\/em>Community Power film series<\/em><\/a> <\/em><\/a>is a civic engagement initiative of The Redford Center, in collaboration with LCV and Chispa, showcasing local activists, storytellers, and culture-makers as visionary leaders with the collective power to enact lasting environmental change. The Redford Center advances environmental solutions through the power of stories that move. The League of Conservation Voters builds political power for people and the planet. Chispa is a grassroots community organizing program building the power of Latinx and communities of color in the fight for climate justice. Community Power films are generously supported by Far Star Action Fund.<\/em><\/p>\n This story was originally published by Grist<\/a> with the headline Can your commute make you happy?<\/a> on Aug 17, 2022.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" For many, getting to work involves traffic and tedium. 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