Volume 1 – Issue 4 – December 2014
Walking & Cycling: The contributions of health and transport geography
Active transport: Why and where do people (not) walk or cycle?
Seraphim Alvanides
The marginalisation of bicycling in Modernist urban transport planning
Till Koglin, Tom Rye
Highlights
- It is shown that the dominance of motorised transport in urban areas is related to theories of transport.
- Modernism is identified as a key factor that has contributed to an automobile-dependent society.
- Theoretical developments in transport planning are analysed and compared to those in bicycle planning.
- A politics of vélomobility as theoretical concept for planning for cyclists is proposed.
David Lindelöw, Åse Svensson, Catharina Sternudd, Maria Johansson
Highlights
- Walkability research needs to take limitations due to every-day activities into account.
- A conceptual model describing the role of the built environment and of limits due to every-day activities for walking was used as a standpoint for theoretical and empirical analysis.
- Respondents’ perceptions of their walking resembled our theoretical interpretation.
- Perceived limits on walking due to every-day activities were significantly related to walking frequency.
Lucas Harms, Luca Bertolini, Marco te Brömmelstroet
Highlights
- Dutch cycling patterns and trends vary across social and spatial contexts.
- Cycling levels are rising in urban areas and declining in rural areas.
- Cycling is especially increasing amongst the elderly.
- Adults with non-western migrant background cycle less than adults of Dutch origin.
- Cycling policies are often insensitive to these social and spatial differences.
History, risk, infrastructure: perspectives on bicycling in the Netherlands and the UK
Malcolm J. Wardlaw
Open Access
Highlights
- This Viewpoint compares the histories of bicycle use in the Netherlands and the UK since 1950.
- Reasons for differences in political attitudes towards bicycling are proposed.
- Bicycle safety in NL and UK has been compared over time, and by age group.
- The effects of infrastructure, or the lack of it, on the use and safety of bicycling have been reviewed.
- The comparison yields lessons that are relevant to the UK situation of stagnation at low levels of bicycle use.
Chance Pistoll, Anna Goodman
Highlights
- Local densities of cycling infrastructure in Melbourne predict cycle modal share.
- Richer areas have more off-road cycle paths, but not more on-road cycle lanes.
- Even among poorer areas, some enjoy much better infrastructure and funding than others.
- The successful local cycling policies in these areas may hold valuable wider lessons.
‘You feel unusual walking’: The invisible presence of walking in four English cities
Colin G Pooley, Dave Horton, Griet Scheldeman, Caroline Mullen, Tim Jones, Miles Tight
Highlights
- Attitudes to walking in urban areas were researched using qualitative methods.
- Many people are discouraged from walking for everyday journeys.
- This is mainly due to concerns about safety and lack of time.
- A major factor is the lack of visibility of walking in the urban environment.
- The needs of pedestrians should be more fully incorporated into urban planning.
Alison Carver, Jenny Veitch, Shannon Sahlqvist, David Crawford, Clare Hume
Highlights
- Active transport to school (ATS) is a low-cost source of physical activity (PA).
- A dose–response association existed between weekly durationof ATS and PA.
- Only a third of children were allowed to roam more than 15 mins’ walk from home.
- Accessible destinations are important for promoting children׳s territorial range.
Catherine B. Woods, Norah M. Nelson
Highlights
- Many adolescents are inactive and could gain health benefits from actively commuting to school.
- Perceptions of distance are a barrier to choosing to actively commute for this age group.
- Adolescents who walk to school accurately estimate the distance they travel each day.
- Adolescents who are driven to school inaccurately over-estimate their trip distance.
- Teaching accurate estimation of walking distance and trip time may help reduce inactivity.
Cody R. Evers, Deb Johnson-Shelton
Christine Voss, Meghan Winters, Amanda D. Frazer, Heather A. McKay
George Mammen, Michelle R. Stone, Ron Buliung, Guy Faulkner
Highlights
- This novel study examined child, family, and school-level characteristics associated with mode change from driving to active school travel one-year after a school travel planning intervention.
- 17% of parents reported that their child was being driven less to and from school as a result of the intervention.
- Students in higher elementary grades, living less than 3 km from school, attending urban and suburban schools and attending schools situated in a medium income neighborhood were more likely to change mode from driving to active school travel.
Nick Bearman, Alex D. Singleton
Open Access Article
Highlights
- Active travel for the home to school commute is crucial for pupils’ health.
- Criterion distances usefully quantify how far pupils are expected to travel.
- Three scenarios of increased uptake of active travel are evaluated.
- Impact on criterion distances, mean distance and CO2emissions are discussed.
Marguerite Nyhan, Aonghus McNabola, Bruce Misstear
Highlights
- We develop a model to predict cyclist minute ventilation in an urban outdoor setting.
- We measure breathing rate, weather, air pollution, cycling style and road topography.
- We compared the artificial neural network (ANN) to four other models.
- Results show the ANN model best predicts cyclist minute ventilation.
- Lung deposited doses were determined using modelled minute ventilation.
Variations in active transport behavior among different neighborhoods and across adult life stages
Lars B. Christiansen, Thomas Madsen, Jasper Schipperijn, Annette K. Ersbøll, Jens Troelsen
Highlights
- European based research with high level of active transport.
- Self-selection preferences across three adult life stage are presented.
- Associations between neighborhood walkability and transport modes.
- Higher level of active transport in high walkable neighborhoods after adjusting.
- Young adults and respondents with lower income was less affected by walkability.
Community design, street networks, and public health
Wesley E. Marshall, Daniel P. Piatkowski, Norman W. Garrick
Highlights
- We test the link between community design and public health via a multilevel model.
- We include a more robust evaluation of street networks than used in health research.
- Outcomes include: obesity, diabetes, high blood pressure, heart disease, and asthma.
- We control for the food environment, land uses, commute, SES, and street design.
- More compact street networks with smaller major roads are correlated with better health.
A transport and health geography perspective on walking and cycling
Lisa Davison, Angela Curl
Highlights
- Explores the geographical understanding of the health benefits of active travel.
- Critiques for health and transport geographer contribution to a conference session.
- Critiques for health and transport geographer contribution to a conference session.
- Emphasises the potential contributions of geographers to the field of study.