There has been much talk about air pollution and traffic lately, both locally and internationally with major studies being published by the World Health Organisation on the cost of pollution and one, which I co-authored with Philip Von Brockdorff and Frank Bezzina at the University of Malta, with the support of the EC Representation in Malta. Both studies are available online and people have been able to appreciate the implications of air pollution and traffic on our health and the economy.

The annual cost of traffic, including passenger and commercial vehicles, in Malta has been estimated for accidents, air pollution, climate change, noise and congestion, at €274m. Air pollution costs the Maltese economy €550m in disease and death and kills an estimated 230 people a year.

However when we celebrate World Environment Day, what are we really thinking?

We inhabit houses that are found along streets in either narrow, traditionally built environments or wider, modern streets. Some of us live by the coast while others live inland. The reality of a small island state is ubiquitous. The islands are just over 300km2 and we inhabit some 28 per cent of that. In this area we carry out all our activities around specific land uses such as residences, workplaces and shops, and an infrastructure which allows us to get from one activity to another.

Unfortunately we haven’t been careful in planning these land uses to minimise the impact of our movements, leaving us with the current situation of car dependence (as the bus cannot provide for complex lifestyles which spread over relatively large geographic distances) and pollution.

Much has been said about the need for better transport infrastructures, but the reality also lies in the need to rationalise the amount of travel, particularly by car, locate services closer to where people live or work, and increase the cost of private mobility in order to manage demand. The last National Household Travel Survey of 2010 reported that 13.7 per cent of all trips that we do are within the same locality. So it would not be impossible for the majority of Maltese and foreigners who inhabit small towns and villages to reduce car use for those trips. On a smaller scale, we have our streets and localities within which we live. And I think that this is where we need to refocus a bit our priorities to ensure a better environment. In the past, streets provided opportunities for social interaction and community building as adults enjoyed a chat with neighbours, while children played all sorts of outdoor games. The communities thus formed were the basis for physical and social environments within our localities. Local grocers and shops were reached on foot as the street was safe for walking, predominantly because of fewer cars. Now apart from more people using more cars, what has changed in our streets that have deterred people from enjoying the outdoors?

Our urban environment has been suffering for the past three decades from a relentless invasion of the car, to the detriment of spaces for people. Walking on pavements is not possible due to their sub-standard design and condition and more road space is dedicated to cars to enable them to speed down our streets. With speed comes volume and with volume come air and noise pollution, which have all sorts of impact on the environment and public health.

The gradual removal of the person from the street has led to less convivial neighbourhoods, more fear of the road, particularly by children and elderly, and has led to anonymous neighbourhoods which in turn destroy physical and social environments. People don’t care if they don’t know their neighbours or they don’t use the road. And so it becomes a vicious circle of unsustainable communities and polluted environments.

In recent months I have tried to work with local councils among others to help redefine priorities in our urban environment. I have worked hand in hand with an architectural firm to develop a vision of our towns and villages where the priority is the individual and not the car. I found this a challenging task, simply because the car dependence, mostly psychological, is a barrier not easily overcome. The other barrier is the lack of support from politicians who fear rocking the boat too much, and taking difficult decisions in favour of the environment and the common good.

World Environment Day might be an opportunity to instil the seed for change in individuals who have at heart the environment, their communities, their streets, their island. Let World Environment Day raise awareness of where we live, the traffic and the air pollution and how we can contribute to improve that. The best examples from all over the world started from communities not governments. Communities that wanted to take back their streets and improve quality of life through a commitment to contribute to the change even through small efforts.

Traffic and air pollution are a threat to our environment and well-being. Let World Environment Day be an opportunity for us to rethink in what ways we can contribute.

The external costs of transport

Prof. Maria Attard is the director of the Institute for Climate Change and Sustainable Development at the University of Malta. For more information visit www.um.edu.mt/iccsd.