Sociodemographic and Built Environment Associates of Travel to School by Car among New Zealand Adolescents: Meta-Analysis

Sandra Mandic,Erika Ikeda,Melody Smith,El Shadan Tautolo,Jennifer S Mindell,Nicholas Garrett,Tom Stewart,Debbie Hopkins

doi:10.3390/ijerph17239138

Abstract

Travelling to school by car diminishes opportunities for physical activity and contributes to traffic congestion and associated noise and air pollution. This meta-analysis examined sociodemographic characteristics and built environment associates of travelling to school by car compared to using active transport among New Zealand (NZ) adolescents. Four NZ studies (2163 adolescents) provided data on participants’ mode of travel to school, individual and school sociodemographic characteristics, distance to school and home-neighbourhood built-environment features. A one-step meta-analysis using individual participant data was performed in SAS. A final multivariable model was developed using stepwise logistic regression. Overall, 60.6% of participants travelled to school by car. When compared with active transport, travelling to school by car was positively associated with distance to school. Participants residing in neighbourhoods with high intersection density and attending medium deprivation schools were less likely to travel to school by car compared with their counterparts. Distance to school, school level deprivation and low home neighbourhood intersection density are associated with higher likelihood of car travel to school compared with active transport among NZ adolescents. Comprehensive interventions focusing on both social and built environment factors are needed to reduce car travel to school.

Highlights

The pervasiveness and resilience of private, motorised vehicles as the dominant mode of transportation has been well documented [1,2]
This paper extends a previous meta-analysis of the built environment correlates of active transport to school in New Zealand (NZ) children and adolescents conducted using individual-level data from five studies [32]
The key findings are that in addition to greater distance to school, both school level deprivation and low intersection density in home neighbourhoods are associated with higher likelihood of NZ adolescents travelling to school by car compared with active transport

Summary

Introduction

The pervasiveness and resilience of private, motorised vehicles as the dominant mode of transportation has been well documented [1,2]. The system of automobility [1] has a complex relationship with the built environment, social norms and expectations, policy and regulation [3]. Dependence on motorised transport contributes to numerous environmental and health-related issues. Despite increasing numbers of electric vehicles, fossil fuels remain the main energy source for road-based transport [4]. Road-transport accounts for 73% of transport-related greenhouse gas emissions, producing approximately a quarter of direct carbon emissions from fuel combustion [5,6], with little change over time [7]. Motorised vehicles have replaced shared, public travel modes (e.g., buses, trams, trains) and active travel modes (e.g., walking, cycling) even for short distances

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Discussion

Conclusion