An ecological analysis of environmental correlates of active commuting in urban U.S.

Abstract

We conduct a cross-sectional ecological analysis to examine environmental correlates of active commuting in 39,660 urban tracts using data from the 2010 Census, 2007-2011 American Community Survey, and other sources. The five-year average (2007-2011) prevalence is 3.05% for walking, 0.63% for biking, and 7.28% for public transportation to work, with higher prevalence for all modes in lower-income tracts. Environmental factors account for more variances in public transportation to work but economic and demographic factors account for more variances in walking and biking to work. Population density, median housing age, street connectivity, tree canopy, distance to parks, air quality, and county sprawl index are associated with active commuting, but the association can vary in size and direction for different transportation mode and for higher-income and lower-income tracts.

A multi-level analysis of the association between built environmental factors and childhood overweight in the city of Hannover, Germany

“…These measures examine that a place is more walkable if more amenities are available within certain area which could better represent from the pedestrian choice. However, this emphasis can be double-edged, as it may be failing to differentiate between amenities and overlooking various walking purpose (12,13). Here in our study, we decided to choose the former one which is building a walkability index based on data availability.…”

The Relationship between the Neighborhood Built Environment and Active Transportation among Adults: A Systematic Literature Review

“…Furthermore, neighborhood aesthetics showed no relationship with walking for transport but did show a convincing negative relationship with cycling for transport. It is possible that green space or parks might lead to a long travel distance [67] and unsafe perception of cyclists [55].…”

“…Regarding the seven studies [63][64][65][66][67][68][69] that examined both walking and cycling for transport, two studies [65,69] found inconsistent results. Christiansen and colleagues [69] conducted an international comparative study, and they found that intersection density was linearly positively related to cycling for transport, but not linearly related to walking for transport.…”

“…Even so, we found that more and more studies on cycling were conducted in North America. While only five [53,55,58,60,67] out of 28 studies that took place in North America examined cycling, four [55,58,60,67] out of the five were published since 2014.…”

Built Environment and Childhood Weight Status: A Multi-Level Study Using Population-Based Data in the City of Hannover, Germany

“…These measures examine that a place is more walkable if more amenities are available within certain area, which could better represent from the pedestrian choice. However, this emphasis can be double-edged, as it may be failing to differentiate between amenities and overlooking various walking purpose [12,13]. Here in our study, we decided to choose the former one which is building a Walkability Index based on data availability.…”