Contact:
Ofer Amram, SFU geography, 604.910.8357 (cell), oamram@sfu.ca
Ryan Allen, SFU health sciences, 778.238.7590 (cell), allenr@sfu.ca 
Dixon Tam, SFU media relations, 604.417.0881 (cell), dixont@sfu.ca


A study by Simon Fraser University researchers shows Canadian public schools in low-income neighbourhoods are more likely to be located near major roads, exposing students to elevated levels of air and noise pollution.

“Studies of children who live near major roads have found that traffic-related air pollution is associated with lower lung function, impaired lung growth, asthma, ear infections, and lower cognitive functioning,” says SFU geography grad student Ofer Amram. “Similar studies of traffic-related noise have found links with increased blood pressure, reduced sleep quality, and cognitive deficits.”

Amram, who co-authored the study with SFU health sciences assistant professor Ryan Allen and three University of British Columbia colleagues, adds research also shows that children exposed to higher air pollution and noise at school lead to poorer average academic performance.

The study focused on almost 1,500 public elementary schools in Canada’s 10 biggest cities. Addresses were geocoded and proximity to the nearest major road was calculated for each school. Income and neighbourhood characteristics data came from the 2006 Canadian census.

Based on measurements of nitrogen oxide concentrations, ultrafine particle counts, and noise levels in three Canadian cities, the researchers defined schools that were less than 75 metres from major roads as their zone of primary interest.

The researchers discovered:

• Across Canada’s 10 largest cities, 16.3 per cent of public elementary schools were located with 75 metres of a major road, with a wide variability between cities
• Schools in neighbourhoods with a higher median income were less likely to be near major roads, while schools in densely populated neighbourhoods were more frequently close to major roads
• More than 22 per cent of the schools located in the lowest neighbourhood income quintile were close to major roads, compared to 13 per cent of schools in the highest income quintile

“Our study looked at overall patterns across Canadian cities, and the relationship of closer road proximity for schools in poorer neighborhoods was pretty consistent across the 10 cities we investigated,” Amram says. “Our results don’t necessarily describe the situation at every individual school, but rather the general relationship between proximity and neighbourhood income.”

He hopes his research can assist officials determine where to build new schools, and also serve as a guide for improvements – such as constructing sound barriers or installing filters in ventilation systems – at existing schools.

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