The last 12 months have been tough. I think everyone could do with a mental health boost. So let’s build transport infrastructure that gives us commuting experiences that are good for the soul.

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Is your commute having a positive or negative effect on your mental health? Odds are, if your commute is a gentle stroll or wheel alongside your friends and neighbours on a safe pathway, you’re in a better head space than someone stuck behind someone who just did something unbelievably dangerous to get one car-length further ahead in the grid lock. If you have tamariki giggling and running alongside you, you’ve probably got a bigger smile than the driver next to you listening to the same jingle on the radio they’ve heard 4 times a day for the last 20 years.

We all know mental health is at crisis level in Aotearoa. So why are we still investing in the infrastructure contributing to the problem? The Shared Path presents evidence that some of the big ways we can improve urban mental health is through improving commutes. Making sure everyone has a safe, short, low stress, social commute involving a bit of light exercise. They recommend doing this through improving neighbourhood walkability, reducing long commutes, increasing active commuting, and reducing the cost and improving the comfort of public transport. Transport is something constantly being invested in anyway, we may as well align it with other goals like improving mental health, rather than hindering them by investing in things that damage it, like new car dependent suburbs more than 10km away from where people work, learn, and play.

This post was inspired by “The Shared Path” an excellent report about building back better post-pandemic.

Check out the other posts inspired by The Shared Path –
Out with “Road Safety”, in with “Transport Health”
Low Traffic Neighbourhoods can, and should, benefit us all

Related Articles:
It’s our right: Healthy Streets opens our eyes
These boots were made for walking… active transport for healthy kids (pt 1)

Photo credits:

Cover image: Michael Bruce
Traffic image: James D. Schwartz

Tags: active transport, commute, commuting, infrastructure, mental health, public transport