Making children’s lives more active

Children are becoming fatter which has serious implications for their health. One reason is their decreasing levels of physical activity. This is related to their lifestyles and reductions in the amount of walking. This note illustrates these effects and draws conclusions about children’s physical activity and car use

Increasing children's volume of physical activity through walk and play

This document looks at the contribution of walking and playing outside the home to children’s volume of physical activity. The document draws on research carried out at University College London (UCL) in which 200 children were fitted with three-dimensional motion sensors and asked to keep travel and activity diaries over a period of four days. From these it is possible to establish what the children did, how they travelled and how much energy they used. Using these data, the contributions of unstructured out-of-home events (playing) and walking to children’s volume of physical activity are demonstrated. It is also shown that these unstructured events tend to be associated with walking rather than use of the car, unlike structured out-of-home events. It is also shown that children who walk to events tend to be more active when they arrive than those who travel by car. The effect of an initiative to promote walking is considered. Conclusions are drawn about the need to remove various barriers to enable children to spend more time out of the home where they will be more active and so lead healthier lives, and the value of facilitating opportunities for walking

A methodology for the incorporation of social inclusion into transport policy

4-8 July 2004. Istanbul, Turke

Overcoming the barriers to walking for children

This paper is an output from the project CAPABLE (Children?s Activities,Perceptions and Behaviour in the Local Environment) being carried out at UCL,jointly between the Centre for Transport Studies, the Department of Psychology, theBartlett School of Planning and the Centre for Advanced Spatial Analysis. The overallaim of the project, which runs from 1 August 2004 to 31 July 2006, is to examine theinteraction between children and the local environment, including identifying howchildren use open space and streets, and why they go to some places but not others.This paper draws on results from questionnaires completed by children about theextent to which they are allowed out unaccompanied by an adult. The surveys werecarried out in four schools, two in Hertfordshire, the area immediately north ofLondon, and two in the London Borough of Lewisham. The purpose is to establish theextent to which the children are allowed by their parents to go out unaccompanied byadults. The issues covered include whether the children go out walking or cyclingwithout an adult, whether they are allowed out alone to visit friends houses, go outafter dark or to cross main roads. The results are considered in terms of the children?sage and gender, and in terms of the households? car ownership level and the strengthof its local social networks. It is found that more of the children in Hertfordshire areallowed out alone, despite the fact that the factors that seem to correlate with beingallowed out unaccompanied are stronger in Lewisham. It is concluded that this maywell be due to environmental factors, real and perceived

From footway design to the street environment: removing the barriers to walking

7-9 October 200

Improving accessibility for older people - investing in a valuable asset

This paper explores the contribution of older people to society, the role of mobility in the quality of life of older people, and whether making it easier for older people to travel would enable them to increase their contribution. The paper commences by considering evidence on the economic value of older people to society. This shows that older people make a net contribution through expenditure in shops, employment, voluntary work, childcare and taxation which exceeds their cost to the taxpayer. The assumptions underlying the calculations are examined and found to be robust. The patterns of travel of older people are examined and found to be consistent with the estimates of the economic contribution of older people. Mobility provides many intrinsic benefits for older people, facilitating independence, reducing social isolation and physical activity. Evidence from the examples of the ability to drive and providing free bus travel is considered. Then the contribution of older people to society in future is examined and how travel contributes to this. It is shown that changes in older people׳s mobility would affect their contribution to society. Ways in which the mobility of older people could be increased are identified