24 research outputs found
Planning and Designing Walkable Cities: A Smart Approach
Walking may be considered one of the most sustainable and democratic
ways of travelling within a city, thus providing benefits not only to pedestrians but
also to the urban environment. Besides, walking is also one of the means of transport
most likely subjected to factors outside an individual\u2019s control, like social or physical
abilities to walk and the presence of comfortable and safe street infrastructures and
services. Therefore, improving urban conditions provided to pedestrians has positive
impacts on walkability. At the same time technological solutions and innovations
have the power to encourage and support people to walk by overcoming immaterial
barriers due to a lack of information or boring travel and they give to decision makers
the possibility to gain data to understand how and where people travel. Merging
these two dimensions into a unique approach can drastically improve accessibility,
attractiveness, safety, comfort and security of urban spaces. In this context, this paper
aims to draw a more multifaceted context for walkability, where new technologies
assume a key role for introducing new approaches to pedestrian paths planning
and design and thus for enhancing this mode of transport. Indeed, by combining
more traditional spatial-based and perceptual analysis of the urban environment with
technological applications and social media exploitation there will be room to better
support the decision on and to enhance satisfaction of walking as well as to easier
plan and design more walkable cities
Changes in mode of travel to work: a natural experimental study of new transport infrastructure
Background: New transport infrastructure may promote a shift towards active travel, thereby improving population health. The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of a major transport infrastructure project on commuters' mode of travel, trip frequency and distance travelled to work. Methods: Quasi-experimental analysis nested within a cohort study of 470 adults working in Cambridge, UK. The intervention consisted of the opening of a guided busway with a path for walking and cycling in 2011. Exposure to the intervention was defined as the negative of the square root of the shortest distance from home to busway. The outcome measures were changes in commute mode share and number of commute trips - both based on a seven-day travel-to-work record collected before (2009) and after (2012) the intervention - and change in objective commute distance. The mode share outcomes were changes in the proportions of trips (i) involving any active travel, (ii) involving any public transport, and (iii) made entirely by car. Separate multinomial regression models were estimated adjusting for commute and sociodemographic characteristics, residential settlement size and life events. Results: Proximity to the busway predicted an increased likelihood of a large (>30 %) increase in the share of commute trips involving any active travel (relative risk ratio [RRR] 1.80, 95 % CI 1.27, 2.55) and a large decrease in the share of trips made entirely by car (RRR 2.09, 95 % CI 1.35, 3.21), as well as a lower likelihood of a small (<30 %) reduction in the share of trips involving any active travel (RRR 0.47, 95 % CI 0.28, 0.81). It was not associated with changes in the share of commute trips involving any public transport, the number of commute trips, or commute distance. Conclusions: The new infrastructure promoted an increase in the share of commuting trips involving active travel and a decrease in the share made entirely by car. Further analysis will show the extent to which the changes in commute mode share were translated into an increase in time spent in active commuting and consequent health gain
Ambiente construido y ambiente social: asociaciones con el exceso de peso en adultos
The aim of this study was to assess associations
between the built environment and social environment
and excess weight in an urban population.
Participants were selected from the Surveillance
System for Risk Factors for Chronic Diseases
(VIGITEL). The study used data from the city of
Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais State, Brazil. A total
of 3,425 interviews from the years 2008 and 2009
were used. Georeferenced data on parks, squares,
and locations for physical exercise, population
density, and food stores were used to assess the
built environment. Description of the social environment
used income and homicide rate for
the neighborhood. Environmental variables associated
independently with excess weight were
population density, presence of parks, squares,
and locations for physical exercise, and self-reported
presence of locations for physical exercise.
The findings show that residential neighborhood
characteristics are associated with excess weight
in urban adults.
Os participantes foram selecionados com
base no Sistema de VigilĂąncia de Fatores de Risco
para Doenças CrÎnicas (VIGITEL). O trabalho
foi realizado com dados da cidade de Belo Horizonte,
Minas Gerais, Brasil. Foram utilizadas
3.425 entrevistas referentes aos anos de 2008 e
2009. InformaçÔes georreferenciadas de parques,
praças, lugares para a prĂĄtica de atividade fĂsica,
densidade populacional e estabelecimentos
alimentares foram usadas para avaliar o ambiente
construĂdo. Para caracterizar o ambiente
social foi utilizada renda e taxa de homicĂdio da
vizinhança. As variåveis ambientais associadas
independentemente com excesso de peso foram
densidade populacional, presença de parques,
praças e locais para a prĂĄtica de atividade fĂsica
e o autorrelato de locais para a prĂĄtica de atividade
fĂsica. As evidĂȘncias deste estudo mostram
que as caracterĂsticas das vizinhanças onde as
pessoas residem estĂŁo associadas ao excesso de
peso de adultos do meio urbano.O objetivo deste estudo foi avaliar as associaçÔes
das variĂĄveis do ambiente construĂdo e social
com o excesso de peso em uma população urbana.
Os participantes foram selecionados com
base no Sistema de VigilĂąncia de Fatores de Risco
para Doenças CrÎnicas (VIGITEL). O trabalho
foi realizado com dados da cidade de Belo Horizonte,
Minas Gerais, Brasil. Foram utilizadas
3.425 entrevistas referentes aos anos de 2008 e
2009. InformaçÔes georreferenciadas de parques,
praças, lugares para a prĂĄtica de atividade fĂsica,
densidade populacional e estabelecimentos
alimentares foram usadas para avaliar o ambiente
construĂdo. Para caracterizar o ambiente
social foi utilizada renda e taxa de homicĂdio da
vizinhança. As variåveis ambientais associadas
independentemente com excesso de peso foram
densidade populacional, presença de parques,
praças e locais para a prĂĄtica de atividade fĂsica
e o autorrelato de locais para a prĂĄtica de atividade
fĂsica. As evidĂȘncias deste estudo mostram
que as caracterĂsticas das vizinhanças onde as
pessoas residem estĂŁo associadas ao excesso de
peso de adultos do meio urbano.The authors wish to thank FAPEMIG, CNPq, and the
Brazilian Ministry of Health for funding the research
project
Can a motivational intervention overcome an unsupportive environment for walking: Findings from the Step-by-Step Study
Background Interventions to promote walking have rarely examined how their effects varied by the attributes of the physical environment. Purpose The purpose of this study is to examine whether perceptions of environmental walkability predicted change in walking behavior following an individual-based intervention to promote walking and whether the intervention buffered the effects of unsupportive environment for walking. Methods Inactive adults (aged 30â65 years, 85% women) who completed a 3-month randomized control trial comparing the effect of a single mail-out of a theoretically based self-help walking program (WP, nâ=â102); the same program plus a pedometer (WPP, nâ =â105); and a âno-treatmentâ control group (C, nâ=â107). Measures included change in self-reported walking time for all purposes and in the proportion of people reporting regular walking (i.e., â„150 min/week and â„5 sessions/wk). Perceptions of environmental esthetics, safety from crime, proximity to destinations, access to walking facilities, traffic, streetlights, connectivity, and hilliness were assessed at baseline and dichotomized into âlowâ or âhighâ by the median score. Covariates were social support, self-efficacy, intention to change behavior, and sociodemographic characteristics. Results Adjusting for baseline walking, significant covariates, and study groups, walking time at follow-up was lower if streetlights or esthetics were perceived to be âlowâ (â24% and â22%, respectively) compared with âhighâ (p