Abstract
There is growing evidence that present pattern city and transport development, in which private motorized vehicles plays a dominant role, have important health effects through, for example, accidents, emissions of air pollutants and noise and reduced opportunities for physical exercise. However, a methodology for Health Impact Assessment is presently in a beginning stage. The objective of this study is (I) to review situations of Chiangmai City and its transport development, development policies, citizen expectations, current efforts, environments, social and health situations, and (2) to determine scope and guidelines for the evaluation of health issues or impacts identified. The Chiangmai’s policy “ Public Transport is not considered as a public service. PT is provided by individual operator under market mechanism “ is chosen for the study. In addition there are two relating practices involved in the area --- no restriction on private vehicle use and road construction – based policy. Through public participation during the scoping process Chiangmai civic society identifies issues or factors to be considered covering all four dimensions of health. Impact evaluation should include accessibility to activities, accidents, air quality and noise disturbance, supporting health transport modes, feeling unsafe, traffic related diseases, social network and social interactions, social severance, and people behaviors in traffic. Tools and indicators for the impact assessment varies, depending on the impact considered, including scientific measurements, group discussion, questionnaires, in-depth interview, case studies, and their combinations.
