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"U.S. School Travel, 2009 An Assessment of Trends" (2011)

• The White House Task Force on Childhood Obesity has set a goal of increasing walking and biking to school by 50% within 5 years. Meeting the goal requires a detailed understanding of the current patterns of school travel.
• Nationally representative estimates of the amount of school travel and the modes used to access school in 2009 were compared with 1969, 1995, and 2001.
• The National Household Travel Survey collected data on the travel patterns of 150,147 households in 2008 and 2009. Analyses, conducted in 2010, documented the time, vehicle miles traveled, and modes used by American students to reach school. A binary logit model assessed the influence of trip, child, and household characteristics on the decision to walk to school.
• In 2009, 12.7% of K– 8 students usually walked or biked to school compared with 47.7% in 1969. Rates of walking and biking to school were higher on the trip home from school in each survey year. During the morning peak period, school travel accounted for 5%–7% of vehicle miles traveled in 2009 and 10%–14% of all private vehicles on the road.
• There have been sharp increases in driving children to school since 1969 and corresponding decreases in walking to school. This increase is particularly evident in the number of vehicle trips generated by parents dropping children at school and teens driving themselves. The NHTS survey provides a unique opportunity to monitor school travel mode share.

Noreen C. McDonald, PhD, Austin L. Brown, MRP, MPH, Lauren M. Marchetti, BA, Margo S. Pedroso, BA. (2011). U.S. School Travel, 2009 An Assessment of Trends.  Am J Prev Med, 41(2), 146-151.

“A Systematic Review of Interventions for Promoting Active Transportation to School” (2011)

• Active transportation to school is an important contributor to the total physical activity of children and adolescents. However, active school travel has declined over time, and interventions are needed to reverse this trend. The purpose of this paper is to review intervention studies related to active school transportation to guide future intervention research.
• A systematic review was conducted to identify intervention studies of active transportation to school published in the scientific literature through January 2010. Five electronic databases and a manual search were conducted. Detailed information was extracted, including a quantitative assessment comparing the effect sizes, and a qualitative assessment using an established evaluation tool.
• The authors identified 14 interventions that focused on active transportation to school. These interventions mainly focused on primary school children in the United States, Australia, and the United Kingdom. Almost all the interventions used quasi-experimental designs (10/14), and most of the interventions reported a small effect size on active transportation (6/14).
• Study findings: (1) Existing interventions to promote active transportation to and from school are heterogeneous, due to the size, scope, and focus of the intervention and measurements. (2) Interventions with appropriate school, parent, and community involvement and that work toward a specific goal (i.e., increasing active transportation) seemed to be more effective than interventions that were broader in focus. (3) Intervention quality was often low as measured by the EPHPP tool. (4) Interventions evidenced a small but promising effectiveness in increasing active transportation to school.

Chillon P., Evenson, K.R., Vaughnm A., Ward, D.S. (2011). A Systematic Review of interventions for Promoting Active Transportation to School. The International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity 8:10.

“Built environment, physical activity, and obesity: What have we learned from reviewing the literature?” (2011)

• This study evaluated the growing literature on the built environment and physical activity and obesity by conducting a review of review papers. They analyzed research gaps and areas of improvement identified by previous reviews and propose a research agenda.
• Through a systematic search, the authors identified 36 reviews that met the inclusion criteria; 26 focused on physical activity as the outcome, five on obesity, and five on both.
• The reviews targeted youth, of which four separated adolescents from children, five reviews targeted adults, two seniors, one separately included youth and adults, and 17 reviews either combined all age groups or did not specify the age of the target population.
• One review targeted African Americans, one focused on the disadvantaged (operationalized as low SES, black race, and Hispanic ethnicity), and one targeted rural adults.
• Twenty reviews reported the measurement mode of built environmental attributes, only four stratified reviewed papers/associations based on objective and perceived measures. Five studies only focused on objectively assessed environments. Of the 31 reviews that included a physical activity outcome, nine reported the measurement mode of physical activity, and five stratified by measurement mode.
• Ten reviews focused on reported physical activity outcomes only (e.g. active transportation, walking) therefore further stratification was not applicable. Of the ten reviews that included an obesity outcome, five reported measurement modes, only one stratified by measurement modes.

Ding, D. and K. Gebel (2011). "Built environment, physical activity, and obesity: What have we learned from reviewing the literature?" Health & Place 18(1): 100-105.

“Liability Concerns and Shared Use of School Recreational Facilities in Underserved Communities” (2011)

• In underserved communities, schools can provide the physical structure and facilities for informal and formal recreation as well as after-school, weekend, and summer programming. The importance of community access to schools is acknowledged by authoritative groups; however, fear of liability is believed to be a key barrier to community access.
• The purpose of this study was to investigate perceptions of liability risk and associated issues among school administrators in underserved communities.
• A national survey of school administrators in underserved communities (n=360, response rate of 21%) was conducted in 2009 and analyzed in 2010. Liability perceptions in the context of community access were assessed through descriptive statistics.
• The majority of respondents (82.2%) indicated concern for liability should someone be injured on school property after hours while participating in a recreational activity. Among those that did not allow community access, 91% were somewhat to very concerned about liability and 86% believed that stronger legislation was needed to better protect schools from liability for after-hours recreational use. Among those who claimed familiarity with a state law that offered them limited liability protection, nearly three fourths were nevertheless concerned about liability.
• Liability concerns are prevalent among this group of school administrators, particularly if they had been involved in prior litigation, and even if they indicated they were aware of laws that provide liability protection where use occurs after hours. Reducing these concerns will be important if schools are to become locations for recreational programs that promote physical activity outside of regular school hours.

Spengler, J. O., D. P. Connaughton, et al. (2011). "Liability Concerns and Shared Use of School Recreational Facilities in Underserved Communities." American Journal of Preventive Medicine 41(4): 415-420.

“Installation of bicycle lanes and increased ridership in an urban, mixed-income setting in New Orleans, Louisiana.” (2011)

• People are more physically active in neighborhoods that are well designed for walking and bicycling. Building infrastructure for safer cycling is one way to promote physical activity. On-road bike lanes are one type of infrastructure hypothesized to positively impact levels of cycling. The first on-street bike lane was painted in New Orleans, LA during the spring of 2008.
• In November of 2007 and again in November 2008, trained observers conducted manual counts of cyclists riding on St. Claude Avenue in New Orleans, LA.
• The data collected included the number of men, women, adults, and children riding a bicycle with traffic, against traffic, and on sidewalks.
• Data showed a 57% increase in the average number of riders per day (P < .001). There was a 133% increase among adult female riders (P < .001) and a 44% increase among adult male riders (P < .001). The percentage of cyclists riding in the correct direction, with the flow of traffic, increased from 73% to 82% (P < .001).
• Bike lanes can have a positive impact in creating a healthy physical environment. Future research should include other streets for comparison purposes and surveys to determine whether riders are substituting biking for non-active forms of transportation

Parker, K. M., J. Gustat, et al. (2011). "Installation of bicycle lanes and increased ridership in an urban, mixed-income setting in New Orleans, Louisiana." Journal of Physical Activity and Health 8(1): S98-S102.

“Correlates of Walking to School and Implications for Public Policies: Survey Results from Parents of Elementary School Children in Austin, Texas” (2011)

• Walking can be a healthy, sustainable, and equitable mode of transportation, but is not widely used for children’s school travel. This study identifies multi-level correlates of walking to/from school and relevant policy implications.
• The authors surveyed parents/guardians of 2,695 students from 19 elementary schools in Austin, Texas, which featured diverse sociodemographic and environmental characteristics.
• Among the personal and social factors, negative correlates were parents’ education, car ownership, personal barriers, and school bus availability; positive correlates were parents’ and children’s positive attitude and regular walking behavior, and supportive peer influences.
• Of physical environmental factors, the strongest negative correlates were distance and safety concerns, followed by the presence of highways/freeways, convenience stores, office buildings, and bus stops en route.
• This study’s findings suggest that society should give high priority to lower socioeconomic status populations and to multi-agency policy interventions that facilitate environmental changes, safety improvements, and educational programs targeting both parents and children.

Zhu, X. and C. Lee (2009). "Correlates of walking to school and implications for public policies: survey results from parents of elementary school children in Austin, Texas." Journal of Public Health Policy: S177-S202.

“Neighborhood And PA: Neighborhood Factors and Physical Activity in African American Public Housing Residents” (2011)

• In the US, public housing developments are typically located in lower socioeconomic status neighborhoods that may have poorer quality street level conditions, placing residents in neighborhoods that are less supportive for physical activity (PA).
• This study investigated the relationship of detailed, objectively assessed street-level pedestrian features with self-reported and measured PA in African American public housing residents.
• Every street segment (N = 2093) within an 800 m radius surrounding each housing development (N = 12) was systematically assessed using the Pedestrian Environment Data Scan (PEDS). Participants completed an interviewer administered International Physical Activity Questionnaire (IPAQ) Short Form and wore a pedometer for 1 week.
• Women reported significantly less vigorous (mean = 1955 vs. 2896 METs), moderate (mean = 733 vs. 1309 mets), walking (mean = 1080 vs. 1376 METs), and total (mean = 3768 vs. 5581 METs) PA on the IPAQ compared with men (all P <.05). Women took fewer pedometer steps per day (M = 3753 vs. 4589) compared with men, but this was not statistically significant. Regression analyses showed that for women, lower speed limits were associated with vigorous; higher street segment density was associated with more moderate PA; lower speed limits, fewer crossing aids, and more lanes were associated with more walking; and, fewer lanes was associated with more overall PA.
• For men, fewer sidewalk connections were associated with more moderate PA; lower speed limits were associated with more walking; and, lower speed limits was associated with more overall PA.
• Neighborhood factors influence physical activity; in particular, lower speed limits appear most commonly linked with increased physical activity in both men and women.

Lee, R. E., S. K. Mama, et al. (2011). “Neighborhood And PA: Neighborhood Factors And Physical Activity In African American Public Housing Residents.” Journal Of Physical Activity & Health 8 Suppl 1: S83-90.

“Disconnections of African American Public Housing Residents: Connections to Physical Activity, Dietary Habits and Obesity” (2011)

• African American (AA) and low SES populations report poor health behaviors and outcomes. This study aimed to increase understanding of barriers to participating in healthful behaviors and programs in AA residents of public housing.
• Twenty two apparently healthy, AA residents (50% female, M = 43.9 years) completed in depth interviews, which were taped, transcribed and analyzed using a constant comparison approach.
• Residents demonstrated some awareness of health recommendations, but described limited adherence. Physical activity for recreation was reported as primarily for youth, with adults engaging in limited physical activity (primarily incidental to other activities).
• Barriers reported by residents were both personal and environmental. Few residents were aware of local neighborhood opportunities for physical activity or healthful eating.
• Future efforts should focus on increasing understanding of health promoting behaviors and awareness and efficacy of residents to connect with the resources of their surrounding communities.

Eugeni, M., M. Baxter, et al. (2011). "Disconnections of African American Public Housing Residents: Connections to Physical Activity, Dietary Habits and Obesity." American Journal of Community Psychology 47(3): 264-276.

“The Walking School Bus and Children’s Physical Activity: A Pilot Cluster Randomized Controlled Trial” (2011)

• This study evaluates the impact of a walking school bus program on children’s rates of active commuting to school and physical activity.
• In this study, a pilot cluster randomized controlled trial is conducted among 4th-graders from 8 schools in Houston, Texas (N = 149). Random allocation to treatment or control conditions was at the school level. Study staff walked with children to and from school up to 5 days/week. Outcomes were measured the week before (time 1) and during weeks 4 and 5 of the intervention (time 2).
• The main outcome was the weekly rate of active commuting, and a secondary outcome was moderate-to-vigorous physical activity. Covariates included sociodemographics, distance from home to school, neighborhood safety, child BMI z-score, parent self-efficacy/outcome expectations, and child self-efficacy for active commuting. A mixed-model repeated measures regression accounted for clustering by school, and stepwise procedures with backward elimination of non-significant covariates were used to identify significant predictors.
• Intervention children increased active commuting (mean ± SD) from 23.8% ± 9.2% (time 1) to 54% ± 9.2% (time 2), whereas control subjects decreased from 40.2% ± 8.9% (time 1) to 32.6% ± 8.9% (time 2) (P < .0001). Intervention children increased their minutes of daily moderate-to-vigorous physical activity from 46.6 ± 4.5 (time 1) to 48.8 ± 4.5 (time 2), whereas control children decreased from 46.1 ± 4.3 (time 1) to 41.3 ± 4.3 (time 2) (P = .029).
• The program improved children’s active commuting to school and daily moderate-to-vigorous physical activity.

Mendoza, J. A., K. Watson, et al. (2011). "The Walking School Bus and Children’s Physical Activity: A Pilot Cluster Randomized Controlled Trial." Pediatrics.

“Reliability and Validity of the Safe Routes to School Parent and Student Surveys” (2011)

• This study assesses the reliability and validity of the U.S. National Center for Safe Routes to School’s in-class student travel tallies and written parent surveys. Over 65,000 tallies and 374,000 parent surveys have been completed, but no published studies have examined their measurement properties.
• Students and parents from two Charlotte, NC elementary schools participated in this study. A total of 542 students participated in the in-class student travel tally reliability assessment and 262 parent-student dyads participated in the validity assessment.
• Tallies were conducted on two consecutive days using a hand-raising protocol; on day two students were also asked to recall the previous days’ travel. The recall from day two was compared with day one to assess 24-hour test-retest reliability. Convergent validity was assessed by comparing parent-reports of students’ travel mode with student-reports of travel mode. Two-week test-retest reliability of the parent survey was assessed by comparing within-parent responses. Reliability and validity were assessed using kappa statistics.
• Reliability was high for travel to and from school (kappa > 0.8); convergent validity was lower but still high (kappa > 0.75). There were no differences by student grade level. Two-week test-retest reliability of the parent survey (n = 112) ranged from moderate to very high for objective questions on travel mode and travel times (kappa range: 0.62 - 0.97) but was substantially lower for subjective assessments of barriers to walking to school (kappa range: 0.31 - 0.76).
• The student in-class student travel tally exhibited high reliability and validity at all elementary grades. The parent survey had high reliability on questions related to student travel mode, but lower reliability for attitudinal questions identifying barriers to walking to school. Parent survey design should be improved so that responses clearly indicate issues that influence parental decision making in regards to their children’s mode of travel to school.

McDonald, N. C., A. E. Dwelley, et al. (2011). "Reliability and validity of the Safe Routes to school parent and student surveys." International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity 8(1): 56.

“Walking Routes to School in New Urban and Suburban Neighborhoods: An Environmental Walkability Analysis of Blocks and Routes” (2011)

• This study assesses the environmental and perceptual correlates of walking and walkability for fifth graders from three communities attending two schools: A new urban/LEED-ND pilot community, mixed, and standard suburban community.
• Irvine-Minnesota Inventory (IMI) walkability audits showed that new urban blocks provided more traffic safety, pleasurability, crime safety, density, and diversity. New urban routes offered greater traffic safety, accessibility, pleasurability, crime safety, and diversity, but suburban routes had greater housing density, net of controls (parental education, rooms in the home, home ownership, parent preference for child to walk to school).
• Parents and children perceived new urban routes to be more walkable and children walked more when they lived on more walkable routes. The suburban hierarchical street design exposed children to varied traffic safety conditions by funneling their walks from cul-de-sacs to arterials. The new urban routes to a centrally located school passed by pleasant open spaces, suggesting how community organization can create better walking conditions.

Gallimore, J. M., B. B. Brown, et al. (2011). "Walking routes to school in new urban and suburban neighborhoods: An environmental walkability analysis of blocks and routes." Journal of Environmental Psychology.

“The US Pedestrian Plan: Linking Practice and Research” (2011)

• This paper examines the relationship between research and practice in pedestrian planning, focusing on the pedestrian plan in the United States.
• A preliminary review of plans and research was used to identify 17 aspects of pedestrian planning. These were ranked in importance through a survey of pedestrian planners at the local and metropolitan levels.
• A qualitative comparison of the importance attributed these features in planning research, the planners’ rankings of these features, and presence and use of these features in plans was conducted.
• Areas of considerable discrepancy were analyzed more thoroughly, indicating areas where planning practice can benefit from present research, and where planning research could be informed by planning practice.

Stangl, P. (2011). "The US Pedestrian Plan: Linking Practice and Research." Planning Practice and Research 26(3): 289-305.

“GIS measured environmental correlates of active school transport: A systematic review of 14 studies” (2011)

• Emerging frameworks to examine active school transportation (AST) commonly emphasize the built environment (BE) as having an influence on travel mode decisions.
• Objective measures of BE attributes have been recommended for advancing knowledge about the influence of the BE on school travel mode choice.
• An updated systematic review on the relationships between GIS-measured BE attributes and AST is required to inform future research in this area. The objectives of this review are: i) to examine and summarize the relationships between objectively measured BE features and AST in children and adolescents and ii) to critically discuss GIS methodologies used in this context.
• Six electronic databases, and websites were systematically searched, and reference lists were searched and screened to identify studies examining AST in students aged five to 18 and reporting GIS as an environmental measurement tool. Fourteen cross-sectional studies were identified. The analyses were classified in terms of density, diversity, and design and further differentiated by the measures used or environmental condition examined.
• Only distance was consistently found to be negatively associated with AST. Consistent findings of positive or negative associations were not found for land use mix, residential density, and intersection density. Potential modifiers of any relationship between these attributes and AST included age, school travel mode, route direction (e.g., to/from school), and trip-end (home or school). Methodological limitations included inconsistencies in geocoding, selection of study sites, buffer methods and the shape of zones (Modifiable Areal Unit Problem [MAUP]), the quality of road and pedestrian infrastructure data, and school route estimation.
• The inconsistent use of spatial concepts limits the ability to draw conclusions about the relationship between objectively measured environmental attributes and AST.
• Future research should explore standardizing buffer size, assess the quality of street network datasets and, if necessary, customize existing datasets, and explore further attributes linked to safety.

Wong, B. Y. M., G. Faulkner, et al. (2011). "GIS measured environmental correlates of active school transport: A systematic review of 14 studies." International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity 8(1): 39.

“School Travel Plans: Preliminary Evidence for Changing School-Related Travel Patterns in Elementary School Children” (2011)

• The purpose of this study was to determine the effectiveness of New Zealand’s School Travel Plan (STP) program in changing school travel modes in children.
• Effectiveness was assessed by determining the difference between pre-STP and follow-up travel mode data in schools. The differences were assessed using multi-linear regression analysis, including decile (measure of socioeconomic status), school roll at baseline, and STP year of implementation as predictors.
• Thirty-three elementary schools from the Auckland region participated in the study. School size ranged from 130 to 688 students.
• The final 2006 sample consisted of 13,631 students.
• On a set day (pre- and post-STP), students indicated their mode of transport to school and intended mode for returning home that day.
• Differences are reported as percentage points: there was an increase in active transport by 5.9% ± 6.8% when compared to baseline travel modes. School roll, STP year of implementation, and baseline values predicted engagement with active transport.
• Preliminary findings suggest that the STP program may be successful in creating mode shift changes to favor school-related active travel in elementary-school children.

Hinckson, E. A. and H. M. Badland (2011). "School Travel Plans: Preliminary Evidence for Changing School-Related Travel Patterns in Elementary School Children." American Journal of Health Promotion 25(6): 368-371.

“Neighborhood Incivilities, Perceived Neighborhood Safety, and Walking to School among Urban-Dwelling Children” (2011)

• Walking to school is an important source of physical activity among children. There is a paucity of research exploring environmental determinants of walking to school among children in urban areas.
• A cross-sectional secondary analysis of baseline data (2007) from 365 children in the "Multiple Opportunities to Reach Excellence" (MORE) Study (8 to 13 years; Mean 9.60 years, SD 1.04). Children and caregivers were asked about walking to school and perceived safety. Objective measures of the environment were obtained using a validated environmental neighborhood assessment.
• Over half (55.83%) of children reported walking to school most of the time. High levels of neighborhood incivilities were associated with lower levels of perceived safety (OR: 0.39, 95% CI: 0.21 to 0.72). Living on a block above the median in incivilities was associated with a 353% increase in odds of walking to school (OR: 3.53; 95% CI: 1.68 to 7.39).
• Children residing in neighborhoods high in incivilities are more likely to walk to school, in spite of lower levels of perceived safety. As a high proportion of children residing in disadvantaged neighborhoods walk to school, efforts should be directed at minimizing exposure to neighborhood hazards by ensuring safe routes to and from school.

Rossen, L., K. Pollack, et al. (2011). "Neighborhood incivilities, perceived neighborhood safety, and walking to school among urban-dwelling children." Journal of physical activity & health 8(2): 262.

“Bicycling Renaissance in North America? An Update and Re-appraisal of Cycling Trends and Policies.” (2011)

• This paper reviews trends in cycling levels, safety, and policies in Canada and the USA over the past two decades.
• It analyzes aggregate data for the two countries as well as city-specific case study data for nine large cities (Chicago, Minneapolis, Montréal, New York, Portland, San Francisco, Toronto, Vancouver, and Washington). Cycling levels have increased in both the USA and Canada, while cyclist fatalities have fallen.
• There is much spatial variation and socioeconomic inequality in cycling rates. The bike share of work commuters is more than twice as high in Canada as in the USA, and is higher in the western parts of both countries.
• Cycling is concentrated in central cities, especially near universities and in gentrified neighborhoods near the city center.
• Almost all the growth in cycling in the USA has been among men between 25–64 years old, while cycling rates have remained steady among women and fallen sharply for children.
• Cycling rates have risen much faster in the nine case study cities than in their countries as a whole, at least doubling in all the cities since 1990. They have implemented a wide range of infrastructure and programs to promote cycling and increase cycling safety: expanded and improved bike lanes and paths, traffic calming, parking, bike-transit integration, bike sharing, training programs, and promotional events.
• The paper describes the specific accomplishments of the nine case study cities, focusing on each city’s innovations and lessons for other cities trying to increase cycling. For instance, Portland’s comprehensive package of cycling policies has succeeded in raising cycling levels 6-fold and provides an example that other North American cities can follow.

Pucher J., Buehler, R., Seinen, M. “Bicycling Renaissance in North America? An Update and Re-appraisal of Cycling Trends and Policies.” Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice. 45.6 (2011): 451–475.

“The Regional Response to Federal Funding for Bicycle and Pedestrian Projects” (2011)

• The purpose of this article is to identify factors that explain differences in the spending of federal funds for bicycle and pedestrian projects across MPOs. In addition, we consider whether federal support for bicycle and pedestrian projects has led to increased attention to these modes within the transportation planning process. With the next federal transportation authorization bill now under consideration, understanding the efficacy of federal funding for nonmotorized modes is of critical importance.
• This article explores these questions through case studies of bicycle and pedestrian spending and policies in six metropolitan regions.
• Making federal funding available for nonmotorized modes has clearly increased bicycle and pedestrian projects across the United States, although more so in some regions than others. Support from local governments and advocacy groups is a key driver of MPO-level support for bicycle and pedestrian investments.
• State policy also plays a role in encouraging and supporting bicycle and pedestrian spending at the regional level, both directly and through its influence on local governments. Other unique regional factors have also influenced spending.
• Although the effectiveness of federal funding for bicycle and pedestrian projects has so far depended on state policy and local support, the next federal transportation authorization bill offers an opportunity to reduce this dependence. If the intent of the federal government is to increase spending on bicycle and pedestrian infrastructure, it can provide more direction and stronger leadership in promoting nonmotorized modes.

Handy, S. and McCann, B. "The Regional Response to Federal Funding for Bicycle and Pedestrian Projects." Journal of the American Planning Association. 77.1 (2011): 23-38.

“A Systematic Review of Interventions for Promoting Active Transportation to School” (2011)

• The purpose of this paper is to review intervention studies related to active school transportation to guide future intervention research. A systematic review was conducted to identify intervention studies of active transportation to school published in the scientific literature through January 2010. Five electronic databases and a manual search were conducted. Detailed information was extracted, including a quantitative assessment comparing the effect sizes, and a qualitative assessment using an established evaluation tool.
• The study identified 14 interventions that focused on active transportation to school. These interventions mainly focused on primary school children in the United States, Australia, and the United Kingdom.
• The findings of this study include:
  • Existing interventions to promote active transportation to and from school are heterogeneous, due to the size, scope, and focus of the intervention and measurements.
  • Interventions with appropriate school, parent, and community involvement and that work toward a specific goal (i.e., increasing active transportation) seemed to be more effective than interventions that were broader in focus.
  • Intervention quality was often low as measured by the EPHPP tool.
  • Interventions evidenced a small but promising effectiveness in increasing active transportation to school.
• More research with higher quality study designs and measures should be conducted to further evaluate interventions and to determine the most successful strategies for increasing active transportation to school.

Chillón, P, Evenson, KR, Vaughn, A, and Ward, DS. "A Systematic Review of Interventions for Promoting Active Transportation to School." International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity. 8.1 (2011): 10.

“Costs and Benefits of Bicycling Investments in Portland, Oregon” (2011)

• This study is reportedly the first of its kind cost-benefit analysis of investments in bicycling in a US city.
• Costs of investment plans are compared with 2 types of monetized health benefits, healthcare cost savings and value of statistical life savings. Levels of bicycling are estimated using past trends, future mode share goals, and a traffic demand model.
• By 2040, bicycling investments in the range of $138 to $605 million will result in health care cost savings of $388 to $594 million, fuel savings of $143 to $218 million, and savings in value of statistical lives of $7 to $12 billion. The benefit-cost ratios for health care and fuel savings are between 3.8 and 1.2 to 1, and an order of magnitude larger when value of statistical lives is used.
• The study shows that bicycling investments are cost-effective, even when only a limited selection of benefits is considered.
• The author suggests that there is a causal relationship between investments and the observed exponential growth in bicycling. What remains unknown is how much investment is needed to maintain this growth and at what point it will begin to taper off.”

Gotschi, Thomas. “Costs and Benefits of Bicycling Investments in Portland, Oregon.” Journal of Physical Activity and Health. 8.Suppl1 (2011): S49-S58.

“Public Support for Street-Scale Urban Design Practices and Policies to Increase Physical Activity” (2011)

• Street-scale urban design policies are recommended to increase physical activity in communities; thus, this study examines U.S. public support for such policies.
• The percentages of people rating neighborhood features as having high importance were higher in people aged 65 years or older versus those less than 65 and minority racial/ethnic groups versus non-Hispanic whites.
• Two-thirds of adults were willing to take civic action to support local street-scale urban design policy. The odds of being willing to take any action versus none was higher in non-Hispanic blacks and Hispanics versus non-Hispanic whites; was higher in those with household incomes greater than $60,000 versus less than $15,000 per year; and increased as education and perceived importance of neighborhood features increased.

Carlson, Susan A., Guide, Roxanna, Schmid, Thomas L., Moore, Latetia V., Barradas, Danielle T., and Fulton, Janet E. “Public Support for Street-Scale Urban Design Practices and Policies to Increase Physical Activity.” Journal of Physical Activity and Health. 8.Suppl1 (2011): S125-S134.

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