Objective: to provide a synthesis of the state of the art on the effectiveness of local transport policies on improvements in air quality and public health.
Design and setting: we searched published scientific articles focused on the evaluation of the accountability of local transport policies on emissions levels, on air pollutants concentrations, on air pollution-related health outcomes (respiratory and cardiovascular health).
Results: we selected 19 articles and reviews; authors used different methods to define and to monitor environmental and health indicators and data analyses are conducted on different spatio-temporal scales.
Conclusions: the evaluation of the effects of transport policies on air quality and public health is a complex research field. Different factors may influence the assessment of impacts and there is an overlap of many intervention strategies that limit the interpretation of the findings. The use of advanced instruments for environmental monitoring could improve data analyses. Transport policies are a key point for air quality improvements and for the reduction of public health risk; this implies that local interventions planning should have a relevant focus on the assessment of direct and indirect effects on air quality and population health.