Tree characteristics and environmental noise in complex urban settings - A case study from Montreal, Canada.

Field studies have shown that dense tree canopies and regular tree arrangements reduce noise from a point source. In urban areas, noise sources are multiple and tree arrangements are rarely dense. There is a lack of data on the association between the urban tree canopy characteristics and noise in complex urban settings.

Integrating random forests and propagation models for high-resolution noise mapping.

The adverse effects of long-term exposure to environmental noise on human health are of increasing concern. Noise mapping methods such as spatial interpolation and land use regression cannot capture complex relationships between environmental conditions and noise propagation or attenuation in a three-dimension (3D) built environment. In this study, we developed a hybrid approach by combining a traffic propagation model and random forests (RF) machine learning algorithm to map the total environment noise levels for daily average, daytime, nighttime, and day-evening-nighttime at 30 m × 30 m resolution for the island of Montreal, Canada.

Exposure to Road Traffic Noise and Incidence of Acute Myocardial Infarction and Congestive Heart Failure: A Population-Based Cohort Study in Toronto, Canada.

Background: Epidemiological evidence for the association between traffic-related noise and the incidence of major cardiovascular events such as acute myocardial infarction (AMI) and congestive heart failure (CHF) is inconclusive, especially in North America.

Objectives: We evaluated the associations between long-term exposure to road traffic noise and the incidence of AMI and CHF.

Methods: Our study population comprised people 30-100 years of age who lived in Toronto, Canada, from 2001 to 2015 and were free of AMI (referred to as the AMI cohort) or CHF (the CHF cohort) at baseline.

Traffic-Related Air Pollution and Carotid Plaque Burden in a Canadian City With Low-Level Ambient Pollution.

Background The association between fine particulate matter and cardiovascular disease has been convincingly demonstrated. The role of traffic-related air pollutants is less clear. To better understand the role of traffic-related air pollutants in cardiovascular disease development, we examined associations between NO, carotid atherosclerotic plaque, and cardiometabolic disorders associated with cardiovascular disease.

Association Between Road Traffic Noise and Incidence of Diabetes Mellitus and Hypertension in Toronto, Canada: A Population-Based Cohort Study.

Background Exposure to road traffic noise has been linked to cardiometabolic complications, such as elevated blood pressure and glucose dysregulation. However, epidemiologic evidence linking road traffic noise to diabetes mellitus and hypertension remains scarce. We examined associations between road traffic noise and the incidence of diabetes mellitus and hypertension in Toronto, Canada.

Comparison of land use regression and random forests models on estimating noise levels in five Canadian cities.

Chronic exposure to environment noise is associated with sleep disturbance and cardiovascular diseases. Assessment of population exposed to environmental noise is limited by a lack of routine noise sampling and is critical for controlling exposure and mitigating adverse health effects. Land use regression (LUR) model is newly applied in estimating environmental exposures to noise.

"People like us": spatialised notions of health, stigma, power and subjectivity among women in street sex work.

Most spatially-oriented studies about health, safety and service provision among women in street sex work have taken place in large urban cities and document how the socio-legal and moral surveillance of geographical spaces constrain their daily movements and compromise their ability to care for themselves. Designed to contribute new knowledge about the broader socio-cultural and environmental landscape of sex work in smaller urban centres, we conducted qualitative interviews and social mapping activities with thirty-three women working in a medium-sized Canadian city. Our findings demonstrate a socio-spatial convergence regarding service provision, violence, and stigma, which is common in sex trading spaces that double as service landscapes for poor populations.

Capturing the spatial variability of noise levels based on a short-term monitoring campaign and comparing noise surfaces against personal exposures collected through a panel study.

Environmental noise can cause important cardiovascular effects, stress and sleep disturbance. The development of appropriate methods to estimate noise exposure within a single urban area remains a challenging task, due to the presence of various transportation noise sources (road, rail, and aircraft). In this study, we developed a land-use regression (LUR) approach using a Generalized Additive Model (GAM) for LA (equivalent noise level) to capture the spatial variability of noise levels in Toronto, Canada.

A combined emission and receptor-based approach to modelling environmental noise in urban environments.

The state of practice for noise assessment utilizes established standards for emission and propagation modelling of linear and point sources. Recently, land use regression (LUR) modelling has emerged as an alternative method due to relatively low data and computing resource demands. However, a limitation of LUR modelling is that is does not account for noise attenuation and reflections by features of the built environment.

Cumulative effects of noise and odour annoyances on environmental and health related quality of life.

Noise and odour annoyances are important considerations in research on health effects of air pollution and traffic noise. Cumulative exposures can occur via several chemical hazards or a combination of chemical and stressor-based hazards, and related health outcomes can be generalized as manifestations of physiological and/or psychological stress responses. A major research challenge in this field is to understand the combined health effects of physiological and psychological responses to exposure.

Assessing traffic and industrial contributions to ambient nitrogen dioxide and volatile organic compounds in a low pollution urban environment.

Land use regression (LUR) modeling is an effective method for estimating fine-scale distributions of ambient air pollutants. The objectives of this study are to advance the methodology for use in urban environments with relatively low levels of industrial activity and provide exposure assessments for research on health effects of air pollution. Intraurban distributions of nitrogen dioxide (NO2) and the volatile organic compounds (VOCs) benzene, toluene and m- and p-xylene were characterized based on spatial monitoring and LUR modeling in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.

Extricating sex and gender in air pollution research: a community-based study on cardinal symptoms of exposure.

This study investigated sex and gender differences in cardinal symptoms of exposure to a mixture of ambient pollutants. A cross sectional population-based study design was utilized in Sarnia, ON, Canada. Stratified random sampling in census tracts of residents aged 18 and over recruited 804 respondents.

Assessing the spatial distribution of nitrogen dioxide in London, Ontario.

Land use regression (LUR) models have been widely used to characterize the spatial distribution of urban air pollution and estimate exposure in epidemiologic studies. However, spatial patterns of air pollution vary greatly between cities due to local source type and distribution. London, Ontario, Canada, is a medium-sized city with relatively few and isolated industrial point sources, which allowed the study to focus on the contribution of different transportation sectors to urban air pollution.

A geographical analysis of breast cancer clustering in southern Ontario: generating hypotheses on environmental influences.

This article presents the results of spatial analysis of breast cancer clustering in southern Ontario. Data from the Cancer Care Ontario were analyzed using the Scan Statistic at the level of county, with further analysis conducted within counties that were identified as primary clusters at the dissemination area level. The results identified five counties as primary clusters of women diagnosed with breast cancer between 1986 and 2002: Essex (relative risk [RR] =1.

Air pollution and general practitioner access and utilization: a population based study in Sarnia, 'Chemical Valley,' Ontario.

Background: Health impacts of poor environmental quality have been identified in studies around the world and in Canada. While many of the studies have identified associations between air pollution and mortality or morbidity, few have focused on the role of health care as a potential moderator of impacts. This study assessed the determinants of health care access and utilization in the context of ambient air pollution in Sarnia, Ontario, Canada.