Fast Fact Library

Filters

The first protected bike lane in the US, on 8th and 9th Avenues in Manhattan, led to a 49% increase in retail sales from locally-based businesses along the route, compared to a 3% increase borough-wide.

New York City Department of Transportation. (2012) “Measuring the Street: New Metrics for 21st Century Streets.”

The first protected bike lanes in the US, on 8th and 9th Avenues in Manhattan, led to a 35% decrease in injuries to all users on 8th Avenue and a 58% decrease in injuries to all users on 9th Avenue.

New York City Department of Transportation. (2012) “Measuring the Street: New Metrics for 21st Century Streets.”

A nine-year study determined that a bioinfiltration rain garden clearly removed the pollutant orthophosphate from stormwater. The median orthophosphate concentration decreased from 0.21-0.25 mg/L in the ponded water...

Komlos, John, and Robert G. Traver. (2012). “Long-Term Orthophosphate Removal in a Field-Scale Storm-Water Bioinfiltration Rain Garden.” J. Environ. Eng., 138(10), 991–998.

Judicious use of vegetation can yield rapid and sustained improvements in street-level air quality in dense urban areas. A 2012 study found that planting grass, climbing ivy, and other greenery in urban street...

Pugh, Thomas A. M., A. Robert Mackenzie, J. Duncan Whyatt, and C. Nicholas Hewitt. “Effectiveness of Green Infrastructure for Improvement of Air Quality in Urban Street Canyons.” Environmental Science & Technology 46, no. 14 (2012): 7692–99. https://doi.org/10.1021/es300826w.

Green roofs act as passive filters of airborne particulate matter. This study estimated that 0.21 metric tonnes of PM10 a year could be removed if all flat roofs in an area of Manchester had extensive green roofs...

Speak, Andrew. F., J. J. Rothwell, S. J. Lindley, and C. L. Smith. (2012). Urban particulate pollution reduction by four species of green roof vegetation in a UK city. Atmospheric Environment, 61, 283-293.

This study of 90 large American cities shows that cities with a greater supply of bike paths and lanes (both on- and off-street) have significantly higher bike commute rates, even when controlling for land use...

Buehler, Ralph, and John Pucher. (2012). Cycling to work in 90 large American cities: new evidence on the role of bike paths and lanes. Transportation. 39(2), 409-432.

A study of single-family homes in Portland, Oregon found that trees in the public right of way are associated with lower crime rates. The effect of trees on a house's lot was mixed. Lot trees small enough to block...

Donovan, Geoffrey H., and Jeffrey P. Prestemon. (2012). The effect of trees on crime in Portland, Oregon. Environment and Behavior, 44(1), 3-30.

A review of 14 studies conducted worldwide shows that salt marshes slow waves and stabilize shorelines. Wider marshes with more dense vegetation and higher biomass slow waves to a greater extent and stabilize...

Shepard, Christine C., Caitlin M. Crain, and Michael W. Beck. (2011). The protective role of coastal marshes: a systematic review and meta-analysis. PLoS One, 6(11), e27374.

An analysis of the impact of greening 4,436 vacant lots in Philadelphia from 1999 to 2008 found that vacant lot greening was associated with residents' reporting significantly less stress and more exercise in select...

Branas, Charles C., Rose A. Cheney, John M. Macdonald, Vicky W. Tam, Tara D. Jackson, and Thomas R. Ten Have. “A Difference-in-Differences Analysis of Health, Safety, and Greening Vacant Urban Space.” American Journal of Epidemiology 174, no. 11 (November 2011): 1296–1306. https://doi.org/10.1093/aje/kwr273.

An experiment with 27 simulated wetlands in northern China demonstrated that constructed wetlands planted with macrophytes (large aquatic plants) remove more nutrients than unplanted wetland systems. Nutrient uptake...

Wu, Haiming, Jian Zhang, Peizhi Li, Jinyong Zhang, Huijun Xie, and Bo Zhang. (2011). Nutrient removal in constructed microcosm wetlands for treating polluted river water in northern China. Ecological Engineering, 37(4), 560-568.

Fast Fact Library

Filter Fast Fact Library