Co-benefícios do ciclismo para a saúde e para o ambiente

Abstract

Cycling can improve the environment and reduce emissions of GHG and hazardous gasses like particles as an strategy to mitigating climate change that also have wider impacts on health, improving levels of exercise. The objective of this work was to carry out a systematic review of scientific production on the co-benefits of cycling for health and the environment. PubMed, LILACS and SciELO were the chosen databases used in the research, using the described "bicycling", "environment" and "public health". descriptors were combined with Boolean operators: "bicycling" AND "environment" AND "public health" (and) between January 2012 and March 2017, available in English, Spanish and Portuguese. 17 articles were selected, all in English, about the experiences of bicycle routes and incentives to use bicycles as alternative transportation in countries such as Austria, Australia, Belgium, Colombia, Denmark, Spain, the United States, England, Italy, France, Poland, the Czech Republic, Switzerland and Sweden. The results indicate that the number of studies has been increasing, especially in developed countries. Most common themes addressed were road infrastructure, public policies to encourage cycling and the effects of cycling on health, urban mobility, reduction of public transport and consequently reduction of greenhouse gas emissions. We concluded that cycling has many co benefits for health and environment and increasing cycling as public transport is a result of public policy such as implementation of cycling policy and specific road infrastructure.