The air pollution contributions of a large-scale suburban development

In 2007, Toronto Public Health found that air pollution from traffic causes as many as 440 premature deaths and 1,700 hospitalizations annually in the city. Many researchers have demonstrated the links between urban design and vehicle use, however little research has been done to address the air pollution contributions of vehicle-dependent, large-scale suburban developments. To address this deficiency, this study estimated the air pollution contributions of a 6,755 unit approved subdivision, to be built in the Town of Richmond Hill, Ontario. Using the Canadian Mortgage and Housing Corporation's Tool for Evaluating Neighbourhood Sustainability and Transporation Canada's urban Transportation Emissions Caculator the quantity of vehicle-produced criteria air contaminants were estimated for the development in the years 2010 and 2030. The quantity of CAC emissions estimated for both 2010 and 2030 suggest that the forecast emissions from the development are non-trivial and that further study should be conducted to estimate the health impacts of this development.