Which environmental factors most strongly influence a street's appeal for bicycle transport among adults? : a conjoint study using manipulated photographs

BACKGROUND: Micro-environmental factors (specific features within a streetscape), instead of macro-environmental factors (urban planning features), are more feasible to modify in existing neighborhoods and thus more practical to target for environmental interventions. Because it is often not possible to change the whole micro-environment at once, the current study aims to determine which micro-environmental factors should get the priority to target in physical environmental interventions increasing bicycle transport. Additionally, interaction effects among micro-environmental factors on the street's appeal for bicycle transport will be determined. METHODS: In total, 1950 middle-aged adults completed a web-based questionnaire consisting of a set of 12 randomly assigned choice tasks with manipulated photographs. Seven micro-environmental factors (type of cycle path, speed limit, speed bump, vegetation, evenness of the cycle path surface, general upkeep and traffic density) were manipulated in each photograph. Conjoint analysis was used to analyze the data. RESULTS: Providing streets with a cycle path separated from motorized traffic seems to be the best strategy to increase the street's appeal for adults' bicycle transport. If this adjustment is not practically feasible, micro-environmental factors related to safety (i.e. speed limit, traffic density) may be more effective in promoting bicycle transport than micro-environmental factors related to comfort (i.e. evenness of the cycle path surface) or aesthetic (i.e. vegetation, general upkeep). On the other hand, when a more separated cycle path is already provided, micro-environmental factors related to comfort or aesthetic appeared to become more prominent. CONCLUSIONS: Findings obtained from this research could provide advice to physical environmental interventions about which environmental factors should get priority to modify in different environmental situations

Using an audit tool (MAPS Global) to assess the characteristics of the physical environment related to walking for transport in youth : reliability of Belgian data

Background: The aim was to examine inter-rater and alternate-form reliability of the Microscale Audit of Pedestrian Streetscapes (MAPS) Global tool to assess the physical environment along likely walking routes in Belgium. Methods: For 65 children participating in the BEPAS-children study, routes between their individual homes and the nearest pre-defined destination were defined. Using MAPS Global, physical environmental characteristics of the routes were audited by 4 trained auditors (2 on-site, 2 online using Google Street View). Inter-rater reliability was studied for on-site and online ratings separately. Alternate-form reliability was examined by comparing on-site with online ratings. Results: Inter-rater reliability for on-site ratings was acceptable for 68% of items (kappa range 0.03–1.00) and for online ratings for 60% of items (kappa range −0.03 to 1.00). Acceptable alternate-form reliability was reported for 60% of items (kappa range −0.01 to 1.00/r range 0.31–1.00). Conclusions: MAPS Global can be used to assess the physical environment of potential walking routes. For areas where Google Street View imagery is widely covered and often updated, MAPS Global can be completed online

Changes in children’s television and computer time according to parental education, parental income and ethnicity: A 6-year longitudinal EYHS study

Objectives : To investigate changes in children's television and computer time according to three socioeconomic status (SES) indicators. Design : Prospective cohort study. Methods : Data were drawn from the European Youth Heart Study and included longitudinal data collected in 1997 and 2003 in Denmark. Television and computer time were self-reported by children. Parental education, income and ethnicity were parent-reported. Baseline data were available for 549 children (47.0% boys, 9.6 years). Generalized linear mixed models analyzed whether changes in television and computer time from baseline to follow-up differed according to the SES-indicators. Result : TV viewing time increased with 25% over time (ExpB = 1.25, 95% CI = 1.04-1.50). At both time points, children with two higher educated parents viewed 25% less hours of television than children with no higher educated parents (ExpB = 0.75, 95% CI = 0.60-0.94) and one higher educated parent (ExpB = 0.75, 95% CI = 0.59-0.97). Among children with no higher educated parents the odds of being in a higher category of computer time increased with 80% over time (OR = 1.80, 95% CI = 1.24-2.60). Among children with two higher educated parents the odds of being in a higher category of computer time decreased with 45% over time (OR = 0.55, 95% CI = 0.32-0.94). The association with ethnicity showed that white children had 42% lower odds (OR = 0.58; 95% CI = 0.34-1.00) of being in a higher category of computer time than non-white children. No significant associations were found for parental income. Conclusions : The most important SES measure of screen-based behaviors in children was parental education. Ethnicity was only associated with computer time. Financial resources were less relevant for changes in television viewing and computer use

Subgroups of adolescents differing in physical and social environmental preferences towards cycling for transport : a latent class analysis

In order to be able to tailor environmental interventions to adolescents at risk for low levels of physical activity, the aim of the present study is to identify subgroups of adolescents with different physical and social environmental preferences towards cycling for transport and to determine differences in individual characteristics between these subgroups. In this experimental study, 882 adolescents (12-16 years) completed 15 choice tasks with manipulated photographs. Participants chose between two possible routes to cycle to a friend's house which differed in seven physical micro-environmental factors, cycling distance and co-participation in cycling (i.e. cycling alone or with a friend). Latent class analysis was performed. Data were collected from March till October 2016 across Flanders (Belgium). Three subgroups could be identified. Subgroup 1 attached most importance to separation of the cycle path and safety-related aspects. Subgroup 2 attached most importance to being able to cycle together with a friend and had the highest percentage of regular cyclists. In subgroup 3, the importance of cycling distance clearly stood out. This subgroup included the lowest percentage of regular cyclists. Results showed that in order to stimulate the least regular cyclists, and thus also the subgroup most at risk for low levels of active transport, cycling distances should be as short as possible. In general, results showed that providing well-separated cycle paths which enable adolescents to cycle side by side and introducing shortcuts for cyclists may encourage different subgroups of adolescents to cycle for transport without discouraging other subgroups

Critical environmental factors for transportation cycling in children: a qualitative study using bike-along interviews

Environmental factors are found to influence transport-related physical activity, but have rarely been studied in relation with cycling for transport to various destinations in 10-12 yr old children. The current qualitative study used \u27bike-along interviews\u27 with children and parents to allow discussion of detailed environmental factors that may influence children\u27s cycling for transport, while cycling in the participant\u27s neighborhood

Does sleep mediate the association between school pressure, physical activity, screen time, and psychological symptoms in early adolescents? : a 12-country study

This study examines the mediating role of sleep duration and sleep onset difficulties in the association of school pressure, physical activity, and screen time with psychological symptoms in early adolescents. Data were retrieved from 49,403 children (13.7 +/- 1.6 years old, 48.1% boys) from 12 countries participating in the World Health Organization (WHO) Health Behaviour in School-aged Children 2013/2014 study. A validated self-report questionnaire assessed psychological symptoms (feeling low, irritability or bad temper, feeling nervous), school pressure, physical activity (number of days/week 60 min moderate-to-vigorous), screen time, sleep duration on week- and weekend days, and perceived difficulties in getting asleep. Multilevel mediation analyses were conducted. School pressure and screen time were positively associated with psychological symptoms, whereas physical activity was negatively associated. With the exception of sleep duration in the association between physical activity and psychological symptoms, all associations were significantly mediated by sleep duration on week- and weekend days and sleep onset difficulties. Percentages mediated ranged from 0.66% to 34.13%. This study partly explains how school pressure, physical activity, and screen time are related to adolescents' psychological symptoms. Future interventions improving adolescents' mental well-being could target schoolwork, physical activity, and screen time, as these behaviours are directly and indirectly (through sleep) related to psychological symptoms

Does the effect of micro-environmental factors on a street's appeal for adults' bicycle transport vary across different macro-environments? : an experimental study

Background : Characteristics of the physical environment can be classified into two broad categories: macro-("raw" urban planning features influenced on a regional level) and micro-(features specifically within a streetscape influenced on a neighborhood level) environmental factors. In urban planning applications, it is more feasible to modify conditions at the neighborhood level than at the regional level. Yet for the promotion of bicycle transport we need to know whether relationships between micro-environmental factors and bicycle transport depend on different types of macro-environments. This study aimed to identify whether the effect of three micro-environmental factors (i.e., evenness of the cycle path surface, speed limits and type of separation between cycle path and motorized traffic) on the street's appeal for adults' bicycle transport varied across three different macro-environments (i.e., low, medium and high residential density street). Methods : In total, 389 middle-aged adults completed a web-based questionnaire consisting of socio-demographic characteristics and a series of choice tasks with manipulated photographs, depicting two possible routes to cycle along. Conjoint analysis was used to analyze the data. Results : Although themagnitude of the overall effects differed, in each macro-environment (i.e., low, medium and high residential density), middle-aged adults preferred a speed limit of 30 km/h, an even cycle path surface and a hedge as separation between motorized traffic and the cycle path compared to a speed limit of 50 or 70 km/h, a slightly uneven or uneven cycle path surface and a curb as separation or no separation between motorized traffic and the cycle path. Conclusions : Our results suggest that irrespective of the macro-environment, the same micro-environmental factors are preferred in middle-aged adults concerning the street's appeal for bicycle transport. The controlled environment simulations in the experimental choice task have the potential to inform real life environmental interventions and suggest that micro-environmental changes can have similar results in different macro-environments

Reliability of streetscape audits comparing on‐street and online observations : MAPS-Global in 5 countries

Background: Microscale environmental features are usually evaluated using direct on-street observations. This study assessed inter-rater reliability of the Microscale Audit of Pedestrian Streetscapes, Global version (MAPS-Global), in an international context, comparing on-street with more efficient online observation methods in five countries with varying levels of walkability. Methods: Data were collected along likely walking routes of study participants, from residential starting points toward commercial clusters in Melbourne (Australia), Ghent (Belgium), Curitiba (Brazil), Hong Kong (China), and Valencia (Spain). In-person on the street and online using Google Street View audits were carried out by two independent trained raters in each city. The final sample included 349 routes, 1228 street segments, 799 crossings, and 16 cul-de-sacs. Inter-rater reliability analyses were performed using Kappa statistics or Intraclass Correlation Coefficients (ICC). Results: Overall mean assessment times were the same for on-street and online evaluations (22 ± 12 min). Only a few subscales had Kappa or ICC values < 0.70, with aesthetic and social environment variables having the lowest overall reliability values, though still in the "good to excellent" category. Overall scores for each section (route, segment, crossing) showed good to excellent reliability (ICCs: 0.813, 0.929 and 0.885, respectively), and the MAPS-Global grand score had excellent reliability (ICC: 0.861) between the two methods. Conclusions: MAPS-Global is a feasible and reliable instrument that can be used both on-street and online to analyze microscale environmental characteristics in diverse international urban settings