Travel Walking Research Articles

Assessing the role of the built environment and sociodemographic characteristics on walking travel distances in Bogotá

Planning for more sustainable mobility is an important goal for public authorities worldwide. Setting better conditions for pedestrians and cyclists has been related to many social benefits, such as less pollution and congestion. Local authorities, aware of the relationship between transport and land-use, are adopting planning tools to analyze growth in cities and their impacts using multiple indicators. This paper develops an econometric trip length model that correlates socioeconomic characteristics and built environment conditions with walking travel distances in the city of Bogotá, Colombia. A log-linear regression model was estimated using information for 2015 of Bogotá's household travel survey, along with data of employment and population by block obtained from official sources. The built environment component of the model serves to evaluate the effect of land-use patterns. A proof of concept was developed using land-use information extracted from a Cellular Automata Land-Use model calibrated for the city. From its results, some factors of the built environment were estimated and two scenarios were tested in this study. One depicts the average walking distance for households surveyed in 2015, and the other takes a simulation of land-use policy in developing a new urban area as an input. The results indicate that people living in areas were the land-use mix and job/population ratio are low, tend to have longer walking distances, suggesting the need to implement special policies that reallocate some activities and encourage higher land-use mix in the urban periphery where low-income households tend to be located. The proposed method can identify the impact of land-use policies in the distances traveled by walking, facilitating the impact assessment of land-use regulations.

Association Of Household Food Security And Physical Activity Among Youth And Young Adults With Diabetes

Physical activity (PA) is so essential in diabetes management that it is usually prescribed as a lifestyle change in addition to medications. Food insecurity may cause youth and young adults (YYAs) with diabetes to be more fatigued, thereby negatively impacting their PA. PURPOSE: The purpose of this study is to examine the association between household food security and PA in YYAs with diabetes. METHODS: Data from 2,195 YYAs with diabetes (1,855 type 1, 340 type 2, mean age: 21.4 years) were analyzed from the SEARCH for Diabetes in Youth Study. Household food security status was measured with the 18-item U.S. Household Food Security Survey Module by adult participants or parents of minors. Households that affirmed ≥3 food insecure conditions or behaviors were considered food insecure. PA was measured with the International Physical Activity Questionnaire Short Form. Walking, moderate (excluding walking) intensity physical activity (MPA), and vigorous intensity physical activity (VPA) minutes/week were multiplied by 3.3, 4.0, and 8.0, respectively, to obtain metabolic equivalent minutes (MET min/wk), and summed to calculate total PA MET min/wk. We conducted median regression analyses, adjusting for socioeconomic, demographic and clinical covariates, for both the full sample and by diabetes type. RESULTS: 20% of the sample (15% type 1, 5% type 2) was food insecure. The median amount of walking, MPA, VPA, and total PA were 991, 481, 955, and 2,967 MET min/wk, respectively. In the unadjusted analysis, food insecurity was significantly associated with less VPA (β: -480; p=0.0067) and more walking (β: 399; p-value=0.0006) MET min/wk. The effect for walking persisted after covariate adjustment (β: 242; p=0.0238). There was no significant difference observed by diabetes type. CONCLUSION: Household food security was not associated with MPA, VPA, or total PA MET min/wk in adjusted analyses. Food insecurity was associated with more walking MET min/wk. Future research should consider walking for travel vs. walking for leisure among food insecure YYAs with diabetes. Future research should also consider use of an objective measure of PA in contrast to the present study which relied on subjective recall. Supported by NIH Grant R01DK117461.

GIS-modelled built-environment exposures reflecting daily mobility for applications in child health research

BackgroundInaccurately modelled environmental exposures may have important implications for evidence-based policy targeting health promoting or hazardous facilities. Travel routes modelled using GIS generally use shortest network distances or Euclidean buffers to represent journeys with corresponding built-environment exposures calculated along these routes. These methods, however, are an unreliable proxy for calculating child built-environment exposures as child route choice is more complex than shortest network routes.MethodsWe hypothesised that a GIS model informed by characteristics of the built-environment known to influence child route choice could be developed to more accurately model exposures. Using GPS-derived walking commutes to and from school we used logistic regression models to highlight built-environment features important in child route choice (e.g. road type, traffic light count). We then recalculated walking commute routes using a weighted network to incorporate built-environment features. Multilevel regression analyses were used to validate exposure predictions to the retail food environment along the different routing methods.ResultsChildren chose routes with more traffic lights and residential roads compared to the modelled shortest network routes. Compared to standard shortest network routes, the GPS-informed weighted network enabled GIS-based walking commutes to be derived with more than three times greater accuracy (38%) for the route to school and more than 12 times greater accuracy (92%) for the route home.ConclusionsThis research advocates using weighted GIS networks to accurately reflect child walking journeys to school. The improved accuracy in route modelling has in turn improved estimates of children’s exposures to potentially hazardous features in the environment. Further research is needed to explore if the built-environment features are important internationally. Route and corresponding exposure estimates can be scaled to the population level which will contribute to a better understanding of built-environment exposures on child health and contribute to mobility-based child health policy.

Research on the Regional Revitalization Using Cultural Resource

본 연구에서는 지역 문화 자원을 기반으로 한 축제와 축제 내 콘텐츠에 대한 관광객 만족도를 통한 이점을 분석하였다. 제 11회 강화군 고려산 진달래 축제 자료를 참고로 하여 분석하고 연구자가 직접 관광객들에게 설문조사를 진행해서 얻은 통계 자료를 바탕으로 연구에 임하였다. 지역 문화 자원을 활용한 콘텐츠는 기존의 일반적인 콘텐츠보다 방문객의 참여도와 만족도, 그에 따른 경제적 효과가 훨씬 높은 고부가가치를 창출할 수 있었다. 연구자가 관광객을 대상으로 한 설문조사를 통해 여행 목적과 방문객의 선호도가 높은 지역을 파악하고 분석하여 프로그램을 연구 개발하는데 큰 도움이 되었다. 특히 여행 목적에 관한 문항의 통계치를 보면 축제 참여 외에 강화군 내 다른 관광지도 함께 방문할 목적을 가졌다는 통계치가 높은 것으로 조사되었다. 그 중 ‘강화 나들길 도보여행’에 관심이 많은 것으로 나타났으며 여행 목적지와 연계시킬 수 있는 숙박체험형 테마여행 등 관광 상품이 개발되었을때 참여의사가 있는지에 대한 물음에 긍정적인 대답이 많은 것으로 조사되어졌다. 이를 근거로 하여 연구한 결과 ‘나들길 도보여행’ 코스 중에 진달래 축제장이 포함되어있는 제 5코스인 ‘고비고개길’ 코스를 연계한 새로운 관광상품을 강화군 문화관광과와 협의하여 시범 운영에 관한 사항을 협의할 계획이다. 볼거리가 많은 강화군 지역 특성상 관광코스와 연계를 할 수 있는 프로그램의 연구를 통하여 다채로운 관광 상품을 개발함으로서 지역 경제 활성화 및 지역 특성화가 이루어질 수 있다는 사실을 발견할 수 있었다. 또한 요즈음 추세에 맞는 새로운 내용의 다양한 프로그램을 준비하여 해마다 재방문하는 관광객들의 만족도를 높이고 욕구를 충족 시켜줄 수 있는 다른 지역과의 차별화된 전략을 위하여 연구가 필요하다. 또한 교통수단이나 참신한 프로그램의 부재 등으로 관광객들의 불만족 사항들을 개선하기 위한 노력으로 ‘강화군 내 지역 간 관광 셔틀버스 운영’은 교통수단의 불편에 따른 대응책으로 매우 긍정적인 효과를 기대할 수 있으며 지역경제 활성화 방안에도 한몫을 할 것이다. 향후 지속적인 연구에 있어 이번 연구 중에 실시한 설문조사 뿐 아니라 방문객을 대상으로 한 심층 인터뷰를 통해 밀도 있게 문제점을 파악하고 개선하면서 확고한 방향성을 가지고 심도 있는 연구를 계속해 나갈 것이다.This study analyzes the benefits of festival-based tourism on the local cultural resources and the satisfaction of tourists regarding the contents of the festival. I referred to the resources on the 11th Ganghwagun Koryo Mountain Azalea Festival, and analyzed and studied the information based on the data derived from the survey conducted by the researcher. Capitalizing on local cultural resources could assist in creating valueadded travel opportunities with higher economic impact, better visitor participation, and satisfaction as compared to general contents. The researcher could understand and analyze the a reas that visitors have a stronger preference for and the purpose of travel through the survey conducted with them, and could study and develop the program. Focusing on the statistics regarding the purpose of travel, it is evident that tourists, besides participating in the festival, usually intend to visit other areas located in Ganghwa-gun. They were specifically interested in the Ganghwa Nadeul-gil walking trip. It was observed that if other tourist attractions are connected with the travel destination, for example, theme travel, tourists had a higher motivation to travel. They also gave a positive response to the question, that are they willing to travel. Based on this, for the Nadeul-gil walking travel test operation, we plan to discuss the new tour package linking the Gobi gogae gil, which is the fifth course that includes the Jindalae festival venue, with the Ganghwa-gun Culture and Tourism Ministry. Through research on programs that are associated with tourism courses that can be developed based on the characteristics of Ganghwa-gun area that has a lot of places that can be tourist attractions, it was found that regional economic revitalization and regional characterization can be achieved by developing diverse tourism products. Research is also needed to develop differentiated strategies for other regions that can enhance the satisfaction and meet the needs of tourists who revisit every year by offering a variety of new programs that meet current trends. In an attempt to address the complaints of tourists arising from the lack of means of transportation or fresh programs, the operation of cross-regional tourist shuttle buses in Ganghwagun is expected to have a positive impact. This is a countermeasure to the inconveniences faced with respect to transportation, and will also play a role in revitalizing the local economy. For further sustainable study, not only the survey conducted for this study but in-depth interviews with tourists would help in understanding and resolving the problems, and would provide a welldefined direction to conduct further studies.

Correlates of Walking for Travel in Seven European Cities: The PASTA Project.

Background:Although walking for travel can help in reaching the daily recommended levels of physical activity, we know relatively little about the correlates of walking for travel in the European context.Objective:Within the framework of the European Physical Activity through Sustainable Transport Approaches (PASTA) project, we aimed to explore the correlates of walking for travel in European cities.Methods:The same protocol was applied in seven European cities. Using a web-based questionnaire, we collected information on total minutes of walking per week, individual characteristics, mobility behavior, and attitude (). Characteristics of the built environment (the home and the work/study addresses) were determined with geographic information system (GIS)-based techniques. We conducted negative binomial regression analyses, including city as a random effect. Factor and principal component analyses were also conducted to define profiles of the different variables of interest.Results:Living in high-density residential areas with richness of facilities and density of public transport stations was associated with increased walking for travel, whereas the same characteristics at the work/study area were less strongly associated with the outcome when the residential and work/study environments were entered in the model jointly. A walk-friendly social environment was associated with walking for travel. All three factors describing different opinions about walking (ranging from good to bad) were associated with increased minutes of walking per week, although the importance given to certain criteria to choose a mode of transport provided different results according to the criteria.Discussion:The present study supports findings from previous research regarding the role of the built environment in the promotion of walking for travel and provides new findings to help in achieving sustainable, healthy, livable, and walkable cities. https://doi.org/10.1289/EHP4603

Age, sex and other correlates with active travel walking and cycling in England: Analysis of responses to the Active Lives Survey 2016/17

Active travel (walking or cycling for transport) can generate personal and environmental benefits. We determined the frequency of participation in walking or cycling active travel by age and sex, as well as used multivariate analysis to find correlations with many other factors using a large cross-sectional 2016/17 survey of people living in England. Walking and cycling active travel were explored separately. Most respondents reported no active travel, but at least 25% of people under age 45 met activity recommendations only from active travel. Otherwise, (unlike other types of physical activity) active travel declined consistently with increased age. Men reported much more cycling active travel than women, who were more likely to do any active travel walking and therefore more likely to meet activity guidelines from just active travel walking. Lower levels of disability, fewer children in household, and working full time increased active travel. Season was sometimes relevant. BMI, personal-effectiveness, deprivation and rurality had mixed relationships with types of active travel. Understanding differences in correlates for cycling vs. walking active travel could help tailor local promotion programmes for each. The analysis suggests that motivators and barriers for active travel greatly by age.

Factors affecting mode choice for the home–elementary school journey: Evidence from Halifax, Canada

AbstractThis research investigates personal, school, neighbourhood, and weather characteristics that are associated with travel mode choices for children's direct journeys between home and school. Travel diary and socio‐demographic data were collected from elementary school students aged 5 to 11 years in Halifax, Nova Scotia, and were joined with characteristics about their respective school, neighbourhood, and weather. Multinomial and mixed logistic regression were used to examine the relationships between these characteristics and choices between car, bus, and walk travel modes. Results indicate that personal, school, neighbourhood, and weather characteristics all impact mode choice decisions, yet distance between home and school is among the most significant. To promote active travel between home and school, our findings suggest that smaller elementary schools should be sited centrally within compact, high‐density neighbourhoods that are designed for active travel, thereby minimizing school travel distances and maximizing the practicality of active travel modes.

Cycling and walking for transport and their associations with diabetes and risk factors for cardiovascular disease

IntroductionActive travel is recommended and promoted to increase physical activity and reduce the risk of several non-communicable diseases. The health effects of active travel in populations of low socioeconomic status (SES) are unclear. This study was performed to investigate the associations of cycling and walking for travel with diabetes and other risk factors for cardiovascular disease (CVD) in a multi-ethnic, low-SES population. MethodsCross-sectional data from 2445 adults (age, 48.0 ± 9.8 years; 43.6% men) in two multi-ethnic, low-SES districts in Oslo, Norway, were collected. The data included objective measurements (blood pressure, weight, height, blood parameters), questionnaire data (physical activity, diabetes, use of medication, working status, education, smoking), sex, age, and country of origin. Associations were analyzed by multiple logistic regression models. ResultsCycling and walking for travel were performed by 26.5% and 80.1% of adults, respectively. Self-reported diabetes (OR, 0.47; 95% CI 0.23–0.94) high-density lipoprotein cholesterol level of <1.3 mmol/L (OR, 0.77; 95% CI, 0.62–0.95) and obesity (OR, 0.71; 95% CI, 0.55–0.92) were inversely associated with cycling after adjustment for SES, smoking, leisure-time physical activity, walking for travel, age, and sex. Systolic blood pressure of >140 mmHg (OR, 0.74; 95% CI, 0.57–0.97) was inversely associated with walking for travel. ConclusionIn the current multi-ethnic low SES population, those engaged in active travel and cycling for travel in particular had lower odds of diabetes and lower risk factors for cardiovascular disease compared to those not engaged in active travel.

The ovine variety “Merino de los Montes Universales” and its good adaptation to traditional transhumant breeding system

The “Merino de los Montes Universales” (MMU) is a variety still involved in traditional long distance transhumance: these herds walk for 24 days to complete a 580 km journey, twice a year, between the summering province of Teruel (Aragón, Northern Spain) and Jaén (Andalucía, Southern Spain), where they spend the winter. MMU morphology is adapted to this breeding system: for instance, the mean weight is limited to 81.5 kg in rams and 56. 62 kg in ewes while they present short longitudinal diameter (83.44 cm in rams and 68.81 cm in ewes) and large height at withers (80.55 cm and 65.21 cm for rams and ewes, respectively). In all, this morphology ensures MMU ability to carry out the long walking journeys. The walking transhumance allows MMU feeding by extensive grazing throughout the year, promotes natural lactation, protects the animals from extreme temperatures, and keeps the herds in close contact with the environment. It therefore promotes an existence similar to that of wild small ruminants in the Iberian Peninsula, while not requiring high annual replacement rates (15%, compared to 16–18% in stationary flocks in the same region). It also reduces stress by avoiding mechanical transport and by making claws trimming unnecessary, since claws growth and wastage cancel each other along the year. The changes in the claws associated to the walk have been directly measured in a set of 18 ewes: even if some modifications are statistically significant in the forelimb, they are not associated to lameness or discomfort in the animals.

My Travel Log - Measuring Travel Behaviour... Continuously ( breakout presentation )

Background Walking is an essential mode of travel and has the potential to provide a wide range of health benefits. However, measuring walk activity has been difficult due to inconsistencies in measurement tools. A common method of collecting walk information is through household travel surveys. These studies are typically conducted to develop travel demand models which often focus at a regional level on auto and transit travel modes with limited data on walk activity. Program Description In 2015, the City of Calgary launched My Travel Log, a continuous household travel survey program that collects information from Calgary area residents on almost every day of the year. This enables The City to conduct trend analysis, travel related studies, and reduce susceptibility to risks inherent in episodic surveys. Further, My Travel Log has the potential to provide a consistent set of data that can measure all modes of travel, including walking. My Travel Log collects data from approximately 1,500 household every year. Households are randomly selected based on their address and each household is assigned a specific travel day. Travel days occur almost every day of the year, including summer months which are usually excluded from typical household travel studies. Households provide detailed demographic and travel information that can be used to support a wide variety of analysis. Outcomes My Travel Log has been in the field for almost two years and is expected to continue until at least 2022. Initial findings indicate that My Travel Log collects more walk trips than previous studies. Results from My Travel Log have been used for City of Calgary corporate performance indicators, such as transportation mode split, and will be used as a population performance metric for the City of Calgary Age Friendly Strategy. Implications My Travel Log collects demographic and travel information that can be used measure changes in travel behaviour. This could include analysis on how walk travel is influenced by age, income, auto ownership, travel purpose, and infrastructure. My Travel Log has the potential to be a key tool to measure changes in walk activity.

Measuring spatial proportionality between service availability, accessibility and mobility: Empirical evidence using spatial equity approach in Iran

Spatial proportionality plays an important role in recognizing inequities, the quality of actions to reduce them, and halting complicated and unclear cycle of inequities and even reversing their increasing trend. The aim of this study is to measure spatial equity based on spatial proportionalities (SESP), taking into account three-fold factors including service availability, accessibility and mobility. The SESP identifies proportionality between the quality of service distribution and allocating opportunities and the quality of getting access to locations and people's selections according to status quo. Thus, it examines the balance between supply and demand, optimization of distance and the number of choices people make out of total services and the role of move ability to use in compensating for shortages either in terms of service capacity or the level of human deprivation and reduction of effects of distance from services and etc. Gorgan as an old and intermediate city in northern Iran was selected as the case study. The results indicated that the study area does not enjoy suitable proportionality, revealing that the central and northern districts have much more enjoyment than the southern, eastern and western districts. Thus, there is disproportionality between supply and demand, high difference in provided choices and disproportionality between less enjoyed areas and their move ability to use services and inability to create walking travel pattern in Gorgan. Understanding of spatial proportionality can help the planners and policy makers to change their passive role into active in order to reduce inequities, adding to their knowledge on the underlying factors of inequity as well as the factors that hinder and reverse the cycle of inequity.

Spatial variations in active mode trip volume at intersections: a local analysis utilizing geographically weighted regression

Geographically weighted regression (GWR) models have been employed in previous studies regarding vehicular travel demands, but few studies have locally modeled walking travel demands at intersections to address the issue of spatially varying relationships. Harnessing a comprehensive collection of walking and bicycling traffic counts over 10years in Chittenden County, Vermont, US, along with socioeconomic characteristics, transit accessibility indices, land use attributes and characteristics of intersections and roadway networks, this study utilizes GWR models to identify whether there are spatially varying relationships between active mode travel demands and ambient built-environment attributes. One Ordinary Least Square (OLS) model and two GWR models were parametrically calibrated: a full GWR model of all local variables and a mixed GWR model of both global and local variables. K-fold cross-validation method is used to select variables that significantly influence the volume of active travel modes in the OLS model. The uniform set of variables is investigated in two GWR models. Only residuals of the mixed GWR model exhibit spatial independence. The prediction accuracy of the three models is respectively compared by means of the k-fold cross-validation method. Results show that the mixed GWR model has higher prediction accuracy, while the other two models have roughly the same level of performance. We find that not all independent variables possess a spatially varying relationship with active mode volumes. The flexibility of the mixed GWR model that allows some independent variables to be global strengthens its prediction power. With these findings, transportation planners can dynamically estimate bicycle and pedestrian volumes at widespread intersections, and this geographical realism would facilitate local transportation planning, facility design, safety enhancement and operation analysis, as well as instilling new insights into interdisciplinary spatial research domain.

The mismatch between observational measures and residents' perspectives on the retail food environment: a mixed-methods approach in the Heart Healthy Hoods study.

To gain a deeper understanding of the retail food environment by investigating similarities and differences between objective measures and residents' perspectives. The study incorporated Geographic Information System (GIS)-based measures, in-store surveys and the results from a larger photovoice project. We combined these data using a convergent parallel mixed-methods approach. We conducted this study in a low-income neighbourhood in Madrid (Spain) in 2016. We assessed healthy food availability, accessibility and affordability using GIS-based measures and in-store audits. We also analysed the photographs and discussions from twelve participants who engaged in a photovoice project on their food environment. Quantitative results depicted a widely served and highly accessible retail food environment, in which supermarkets scored highest in terms of healthy food availability (36·5 out of 39) and 98·9 % of residents could access a healthy food store within a walking travel distance of less than 15 min. Qualitative results showed that participants preferred small local businesses over supermarkets, and revealed built environment obstacles for elderly residents. They also highlighted how the socio-economic context constrained residents' food choices. People's experienced retail food environment is different from the one quantitatively analysed. Results show the potential of using a mixed-methods approach to enrich food environment research and enhance public health interventions.

Community deprivation, walkability, and public health: Highlighting the social inequalities in land use planning for health promotion

International land use planners tend to focus on walkability that could shape both residential behaviors and health outcomes. Understanding the relationships among community deprivation, walkability, and health outcomes will provide insights into appropriate land use planning that supports public health promotion. This paper develops a revised Walk Score tool for measuring community walkability in China. Under the original Walk Score methodological framework, (1) 6 principle amenities (19 items) and their weight (utilization frequency) are first selected by expert panel evaluation and questionnaire survey; (2) a tolerance time approach is then employed to determine the decay function, and the walking travel time from community to each amenity is calculated by using the Baidu Map; and (3) three pedestrian characteristic factors (intersection density, block length, and slope) are considered to adjust the score. We apply the proposed methodology to the case of Shenzhen and discover great variations in walkability among the 8117 communities within it. The high–high clusters are located in the central blocks, while the low–low clusters emerge in the outskirts. Using spatial regression, we observe significant negative associations between community walkability and three health indicators (cardiopathy, hypertension, and liver cancer). It suggests that better health outcomes would be observed in more walkable communities. We further find that children concentrated and socioeconomically disadvantaged communities exhibit lower walkability. These results evidence the significant social inequalities in walkability among the communities of Shenzhen. Path analysis identifies complex linkages among community deprivation, walkability, and public health. For cadiopathy and hypertension, three categories of significant paths are identified: (1) residents in deprived community have worse health outcomes due to lower walkability; (2) poorer health outcomes occur in deprived communities as a result of higher PM2.5 exposure; and (3) less walkable communities are exposed to greater PM2.5 concentration and deprived communities are generally characterized by lower walkability and consequently have worse health outcomes. We argue that social inequalities in walkability should attract the attention of land use planners. In order to address this pressing issue, three areas should be given priorities in future land use planning: (1) adopting urban form-based zoning schemes; (2) economic inputs for streetscape improvements; and (3) formulating affordable and low-renting housing policies. Findings of this case should generate more generalized knowledge that enhances public health promotion within the land use planning context.

The health and economic benefits of active transport policies in Barcelona

Background Since the first Road Safety Plan was approved in Barcelona in 2000, other plans followed and were integrated into the overall mobility plans of the city. Actions stimulating active transportation included increasing pedestrian priority areas, implementation of zones 30, audits of crosswalks, bike lanes, public bicycle program, reduction of car use by limiting parking for residents, increasing public transport, etc. This paper aims to estimate the health and economic benefits of these policies that promoted walking and cycling. Methods We conducted a pre-post evaluation study, comparing walking and cycling trips in 2009 to 2013. We used the HEAT (Health Economic Assessment Tool) developed by WHO. The study population are persons older than 14 who made a trip walking or cycling in Barcelona city during the period of study. Data on the number of trips walking or cycling and the duration of the trips were obtained from the annual daily travel survey carried out in Barcelona (EMEF). It collects information on all trips carried out on the previous working day. We used the value of statistical life provided by HEAT for Spain: 3.203.000€. We estimated the number of deaths per year that were prevented due to changes in the level of walking and cycling from 2009 to 2013 and the economic benefit resulting from prevented deaths. Results The number of people reporting walking for travel increased from 783,518 in 2009 to 862,021 in 2013: This gives an increase in average daily time spent walking per person from 47.5 min to 49.6 min per day. Taking this into account, 86.1 deaths per year are prevented by this change in walking. The current value of the average annual benefit averaged across 5 years of this level of walking is: 47.355 million €. The number of people reporting cycling for travel the day before increased from 40,430 in 2009 to 60,274 in 2013: The average daily time spent cycling per person was 51,8 min in 2009 and 49,8 min in 2013. Taking this into account, 8,2 deaths per year are prevented by this change in cycling. The current value of the average annual benefit averaged across 5 years of this level of cycling is: 4.492 million €. Conclusions Changes in transport policies in Barcelona city, which promoted active transportation, produced a clear impact on health benefits related to physical activity. Language: en

Understanding Pedestrians’ Travel Behavior in Large Chinese Cities, A Case Study of Shanghai Central City

Abstract This research aims to better understand pedestrians’ travel behavior in large Chinese cities. Researchers investigated pedestrians’ travel characteristics in 21selected neighborhoods in Shanghai central city. They were classified into five different categories: A. Li Nong, B. Old Worker Village, C. Old Residential Neighborhood, D. Market Rate Residential Neighborhood, and E. International Neighborhood. The data were collected through stratified random samplings using questionnaires and interviews from January 2012 to January 2013. Researchers distributed 2,940 samples and 2,861 of them were valid with a survey return rate of 97.3%. Among all respondents, 59% were female, with an average age of 43, full time employed(57%), part-time (6%), retired/unemployed (35%), and students(2%). The average car ownership was 0.3per household.71% of respondents were from a carless household, 24% had one car, and 4% had 2 or more cars. The results showed that in terms of travel objective, 36.8% of overall walking trips were exercise/relax-based travel,35.6% were work-based commute travel and 29.7% were non-work-based travel. The study also showed that walking travel was definitely shrinking in China. However, walking is still a major travel mode, especially for the working class. Age and car ownership were positively and negatively correlated with travel distance and time. People generally agreed that walking was very important for their health and were generally satisfied with the walking environment they lived in.

Adults' Daily Walking for Travel and Leisure: Interaction Between Attitude Toward Walking and the Neighborhood Environment.

Studies on how the interaction of psychological and environmental characteristics influences walking are limited, and the results are inconsistent. Our aim is to examine how the attitude toward walking and neighborhood environments interacts to influence walking. Cross-sectional phone and mail survey. Participants randomly sampled from 6 study sites including Los Angeles, Chicago, Baltimore, Minneapolis, Manhattan, and Bronx Counties in New York City, and Forsyth and Davidson Counties in North Carolina. The final sample consisted of 2621 persons from 2011 to 2012. Total minutes of walking for travel or leisure, attitude toward walking, and perceptions of the neighborhood environments were self-reported. Street Smart (SS) Walk Score (a measure of walkability derived from a variety of geographic data) was obtained for each residential location. Linear regression models adjusting for age, gender, race/ethnicity, education, and income. Attitude toward walking was positively associated with walking for both purposes. Walking for travel was significantly associated with SS Walk Score, whereas walking for leisure was not. The SS Walk Score and selected perceived environment characteristics were associated with walking in people with a very positive attitude toward walking but were not associated with walking in people with a less positive attitude. Attitudes toward walking and neighborhood environments interact to affect walking behavior.

Operationalization of path walkability for sustainable transportation

ABSTRACTMost walking travel behavior research thus far has tested area-based neighborhood walkability, which is measured with meso-level urban form attributes. In need of micro-level walkability analyses that focus on individual travelers and their routes, we propose a route-oriented linear walkability concept named “path walkability.” It is defined and measured by 42 path walkability indicators that can collectively represent an individual traveler's micro-level walkability. A graphic measurement instrument for an objective and efficient on-field walkability measurement is developed. This study also sets the protocol for quantitatively integrating the walkability data measured at the segment level into path walkability indicators that are comparable at the route level. To test the applicability of the proposed path walkability, a pilot case study is conducted within a station area. A user survey is administered to collect transit users' access mode choices and walking routes to the station. The survey results help identify two groups of street segments: one used by regular walkers and the other selected by habitual auto users/occasional walkers. The routes chosen by the two groups are quantitatively and graphically compared for walkability. The analyses show a physically measurable and quantitatively comparable difference between the routes' walkability and suggest criteria for walking-conducive transit walkability for station users. Specific design recommendations for improving street-level micro-walkability for future transit-oriented developments (TODs) are added along with a future research agenda.

Minimizing operators’ walking times into a linear system layout

This paper deals with the assignment of stations to operators into flexible manufacturing systems by minimizing the operators’ walking times over a given planning horizon. The manufacturing system is supposed to present a linear layout where the stations are aligned along a longitudinal axis. Stations are flexible (so that different jobs can be scheduled on the same station along the planning horizon) and may differ from each other in terms of degree of automation and, consequently, in terms of amount of human labor involved. Thus, two or more stations might share the same operator within the working shift and, consequently, the assignment of the optimal subset of stations to each operator is anything but trivial. Hence, a mixed-integer linear programming model is proposed which takes into account (and minimizes) the travel walking distances of the operators according to the assigned subset of stations. Other realistic constraints, such as the actual availability of the operators and the requirement stating that each scheduled job has to be assigned to a single operator for its entire duration, are included in the model.The validity of the model is proved by discussing a real-world case study from the plastic industry.

Quantifying the physical activity energy expenditure of commuters using a combination of global positioning system and combined heart rate and movement sensors

BackgroundActive commuting may help to increase adults' physical activity levels. However, estimates of its energy cost are derived from a small number of studies which are laboratory-based or use self-reported measures. MethodsAdults working in Cambridge (UK) recruited through a predominantly workplace-based strategy wore combined heart rate and movement sensors and global positioning system (GPS) devices for one week, and completed synchronous day-by-day travel diaries in 2010 and 2011. Commuting journeys were delineated using GPS data, and metabolic intensity (standard metabolic equivalents; MET) was derived and compared between journey types using mixed-effects linear regression. Results182 commuting journeys were included in the analysis. Median intensity was 1.28 MET for car journeys; 1.67 MET for bus journeys; 4.61 MET for walking journeys; 6.44 MET for cycling journeys; 1.78 MET for journeys made by car in combination with walking; and 2.21 MET for journeys made by car in combination with cycling. The value for journeys made solely by car was significantly lower than those for all other journey types (p<0.04). On average, 20% of the duration of journeys incorporating any active travel (equating to 8min) was spent in moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA). ConclusionsWe have demonstrated how GPS and activity data from a free-living sample can be used simultaneously to provide objective estimates of commuting energy expenditure. On average, incorporating walking or cycling into longer journeys provided over half the weekly recommended activity levels from the commute alone. This may be an efficient way of achieving physical activity guidelines and improving population health.