Modal Shift from Cars and Promotion of Walking by Providing Pedometers in Yokohama City, Japan

Abstract

Mobility management is a transportation policy aiming to change travel behavior from car use to sustainable transportation modes while increasing people’s physical activity. Providing pedometers and visualizing step counts, popular interventions in public health practice, may constitute a mobility management program. However, the ease of modal shifts and changeability of walking habits differ across neighborhood environments. Using questionnaire data from 2023 middle-aged and older participants from Yokohama, Japan, in May 2017, this study examined (1) the relationship between the physical and social environments of Yokohama Walking Point Program participants who volunteered to use free pedometers and their modal shifts from cars to walking and public transport, and (2) whether participants’ modal shifts were associated with increases in step counts. Multivariate categorical regression analyses identified the frequency of greetings and conversations with neighbors as well as health motivation as important explanatory variables in both analyses. Participants living in neighborhoods far from railway stations and in neighborhoods with a high bus stop density tended to shift to walking and public transport, a modal shift that was highly associated with increased step counts. These results suggest that mobility management should be promoted in collaboration with public health and city planning professionals.

Change in walking steps and association with built environments during the COVID-19 state of emergency: A longitudinal comparison with the first half of 2019 in Yokohama, Japan

“…In previous studies that used step count data of YWPP participants ( Hino et al, 2019 , Hino et al, 2020 ), population density and average distance to the nearest railway station were associated with participants’ step counts, whereas distance to the nearest park did not show an association in any sex or age subgroup, which is not consistent with the above-mentioned previous studies and shows the uniqueness of our study participants.…”

mHealth interventions targeting movement behaviors in Asia: A scoping review

“…Of these 17 countries/territories, eight are classified as high‐income, six are upper middle‐income, and three are lower middle‐income countries/territories. In total, 52 studies were conducted in high‐income (65.0% 54,55,57–81,90–108,113–116,129,131 ), 23 in upper middle‐ (28.7% 82–84,86–89,109–112,117–124,128,132,133 ), and five in lower middle‐income countries/territories (6.3% 51,125–127,130 ). There were no studies from low‐income countries.…”

“…Most were randomized (31/80, 38.8% 56,57,59–63,65,68,73–75,89,93,94,96,98–100,105,109,111,114,115,117–119,126,129,130,132,134 ) or quasi‐experimental trials (22/80, 27.5% single group pre–post 51,67,70,71,77–79,81,86,87,91,97,103,106,108,112,113,120–123,133 ; 10/80, 12.5% non‐randomized control trials 54,58,64,72,80,84,90,102,110,125 ); usability studies using mixed methods (8/80, 10.0% 69,76,92,104,107,127,128,131 ) or qualitative usability studies (4/80, 5.0% 82,83,85,88 ); three cross‐sectional (3/80, 3.8% 66,95,124 ); and one qualitative study 101 . Studies targeted adults (56/80, 70.0% 51,54,57,59,60,66–68,70–78,80,84–86,88,89,91,92,95,96,98,99,101–105,107–110,112–114,117,119,120,122–133 ), older adults (12/80, 15.0% 58,61–65,79,81,87,94,116,118 ), and children/adolescents (5/80, 6.3% 56,90,93,115,121 ); four recruited child–parent dyads (4/80, 5....…”

Three-Year Longitudinal Association Between Built Environmental Factors and Decline in Older Adults’ Step Count: Gaining insights for Age-Friendly Urban Planning and Design

“…The accumulation of a certain number of points made participants eligible to win prizes. The scanned data were transferred to an online data server, and this allowed participants to monitor their step count and ranking among all of the program participants on the website [ 28 ].…”