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Electric scooters (e-scooters) are an increasingly popular form of transportation in urban areas. While research on this topic has focused primarily on injuries, there are multiple mechanisms by which e-scooter share programs may impact health. The aim of this study is to explore the health-related behaviors of e-scooter users and to discuss their implications for public health. Data were collected using an online survey emailed to registered e-scooter users. A total of 1070 users completed the survey. Descriptive variable statistics and chi-squared analysis were performed to determine variable dependent relationships and equality of proportions. The most common destinations reported were “just riding around for fun”, home, and dining/shopping. The two most common modes of transportation that would have been used if e-scooters were not available were walking (43.5%) and using a personal vehicle (28.5%). Riding behavior was equally mixed between on the street, on the sidewalk, and equal amounts of both. e-Scooters in Provo are likely having both positive (e.g., air pollution) and negative impacts on health (e.g., injuries, physical inactivity). Future research should further explore patterns of e-scooter use and explicitly examine the linkages between e-scooters and areas of health beyond just injuries.

Recent research has underscored the potential for public green spaces to influence individual and societal health outcomes, but empirical measurements of such influences have yielded mixed results to date, with particular disagreement surrounding how access to parks ought to be defined while controlling for alternate explanations. In this paper, we apply a comprehensive measure of park accessibility drawn from random utility choice theory, which avoids arbitrary assertions of proximity while incorporating potentially numerous amenities and attributes of both the parks and the population. We apply this utility-based accessibility measure to correlate Census tract-level obesity and physical activity rate estimates from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s 500 Cities project with tract-level American Community Survey socioeconomic data in New York City, paired with geographic open space data from New York City. Controlling for the socioeconomic variables and spatially correlated error terms, we show a positive and significant relationship between park access and physical activity rates. The data also suggest a negative relationship between park access and obesity rates, beyond what is expected through physical activity and socioeconomics. In doing so, this research contributes a more comprehensive modeling approach for measuring the impact of park access on health, and may improve our understanding of the role parks and access to them can serve in furthering public health objectives.

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