Design of Urban Public Spaces: Intent vs. Reality.

This study investigated how two public spaces for sport and recreation were utilized by different user groups, and how this aligned with the initial design objectives for these spaces. Two newly built urban spaces situated in Copenhagen, Denmark, provided the context for this investigation. The System for Observing Play and Recreation in Communities (SOPARC) was used to examine the physical activity of users in these two urban spaces. The architects responsible for designing each space were interviewed to ascertain the intended target group of each space and to unravel the reasons behind the design decisions. The SOPARC observations revealed that males were more vigorously active than females when using the recreation facilities, and the observed users did not align with the intended target groups. The interviews suggested that design decisions were based on minimal interdisciplinary knowledge, and that expert knowledge was chosen randomly. These findings point to a systematic lack of evidence-based practice when designing sport and recreational facilities. This article has implications for landscape architects and urban planners; a new method must be developed to embed interdisciplinary knowledge in the planning process of future sport and recreation projects. This must be done in a systematic way to make the design process transparent

Byen - forum for fysisk aktivitet

The town – a forum for physical activity In recent years there has been increasing recognition both among health professionals and politicians that physical inactivity is a significant health problem. Attention has, therefore, been directed towards making the population more physically active in everyday life. Attempts have been made to do this directly by setting up campaigns and by setting in motion actual action plans for inactive individuals. Indirectly, however, there have also been attempts to increase physical activity by establishing frameworks which invite people to be physically active. It is examples of these indirect measures that form the central focus of this article. The majority of the world’s population live in urban communities, and there will, therefore, be substantial health gains in organising urban space in ways that appeal to physical activity. In Denmark the demo project “Odense – The National Cycle City of Denmark” is a good example of the ways in which it is possible indirectly to stimulate Danes to increased physical activity in their everyday lives. Over a fouryear period Odense has managed to increase the number of its cycle trips by 20% so that by the close of the project every fourth trip took place by bike. Half of the new trips were made by former car drivers, so that in a real sense for this group of drivers physical activity has become a prerequisite in meeting their day-to-day transport needs. In the transportation area alone the potential for increasing physical activity in urban areas is enormous. In a European context half of all trips of less than 5 km take place by car. It has to be assumed, then, that what prevents drivers from cycling is not the extent of the transport need but to a degree at least the infra-structural framework that favours the car. If urban space is organised so that, among other things, it is inviting for the walker or the cyclist – and there are Danish, Italian and Dutch examples of this – then the urban population will in all probability also choose to be more physically active in their daily lives. This article makes the assessment that public health would be given a boost if the town were to a larger extent made a foru

Byen - forum for fysisk aktivitet

The town – a forum for physical activity In recent years there has been increasing recognition both among health professionals and politicians that physical inactivity is a significant health problem. Attention has, therefore, been directed towards making the population more physically active in everyday life. Attempts have been made to do this directly by setting up campaigns and by setting in motion actual action plans for inactive individuals. Indirectly, however, there have also been attempts to increase physical activity by establishing frameworks which invite people to be physically active. It is examples of these indirect measures that form the central focus of this article. The majority of the world’s population live in urban communities, and there will, therefore, be substantial health gains in organising urban space in ways that appeal to physical activity. In Denmark the demo project “Odense – The National Cycle City of Denmark” is a good example of the ways in which it is possible indirectly to stimulate Danes to increased physical activity in their everyday lives. Over a fouryear period Odense has managed to increase the number of its cycle trips by 20% so that by the close of the project every fourth trip took place by bike. Half of the new trips were made by former car drivers, so that in a real sense for this group of drivers physical activity has become a prerequisite in meeting their day-to-day transport needs. In the transportation area alone the potential for increasing physical activity in urban areas is enormous. In a European context half of all trips of less than 5 km take place by car. It has to be assumed, then, that what prevents drivers from cycling is not the extent of the transport need but to a degree at least the infra-structural framework that favours the car. If urban space is organised so that, among other things, it is inviting for the walker or the cyclist – and there are Danish, Italian and Dutch examples of this – then the urban population will in all probability also choose to be more physically active in their daily lives. This article makes the assessment that public health would be given a boost if the town were to a larger extent made a foru

Byen - forum for fysisk aktivitet

The town – a forum for physical activity In recent years there has been increasing recognition both among health professionals and politicians that physical inactivity is a significant health problem. Attention has, therefore, been directed towards making the population more physically active in everyday life. Attempts have been made to do this directly by setting up campaigns and by setting in motion actual action plans for inactive individuals. Indirectly, however, there have also been attempts to increase physical activity by establishing frameworks which invite people to be physically active. It is examples of these indirect measures that form the central focus of this article. The majority of the world’s population live in urban communities, and there will, therefore, be substantial health gains in organising urban space in ways that appeal to physical activity. In Denmark the demo project “Odense – The National Cycle City of Denmark” is a good example of the ways in which it is possible indirectly to stimulate Danes to increased physical activity in their everyday lives. Over a fouryear period Odense has managed to increase the number of its cycle trips by 20% so that by the close of the project every fourth trip took place by bike. Half of the new trips were made by former car drivers, so that in a real sense for this group of drivers physical activity has become a prerequisite in meeting their day-to-day transport needs. In the transportation area alone the potential for increasing physical activity in urban areas is enormous. In a European context half of all trips of less than 5 km take place by car. It has to be assumed, then, that what prevents drivers from cycling is not the extent of the transport need but to a degree at least the infra-structural framework that favours the car. If urban space is organised so that, among other things, it is inviting for the walker or the cyclist – and there are Danish, Italian and Dutch examples of this – then the urban population will in all probability also choose to be more physically active in their daily lives. This article makes the assessment that public health would be given a boost if the town were to a larger extent made a foru

Implementeringen af motion og bevægelse i skolen – et review af hæmmende og fremmende faktorer set i et lærerperspektiv

Implementeringen af den ny skolereform inkluderer 45 minutters daglig motion og bevægelse for alle elever. Formålet med artiklen er at præsentere en oversigt over eksisterende videnskabelige studier, der har undersøgt faktorer, som påvirker læreres oplevelse af og villighed til at implementere motion og bevægelse. Vi har søgt i 6 databaser (2000-2016) og inkluderet 24 studier. Vi har brugt en socio-økologisk model i præsentationen af resultaterne og Rogers’ diffusion of innovation teori i diskussionen af hæmmende og fremmende faktorer. Mangel på tid som følge af akademisk pres, og mangel på viden, kompetencer og support er blandt de hæmmende faktorer.

En god (om)vej til mere rekreativ fysisk aktivitet i hverdagen

A circuitous way to more recreational physical activityBackground: The scientific evidence available supports the overall conclusion that sedentary behavior is a threat to public health. The population in the western societies is far from meeting the global guidelines for physical activity (PA). However, supportive built environment for PA has proven to be way to prevent the incidence of physical inactivity. The Danish intervention study “En God Omvej” was initiated to investigate how the construction of different types of activating facilities influences PA behavior in a local arena. The knowledge gained will help understand how to optimize development of physical interventions to promote recreational PA. Levels of recreational PA are primarily associated with motivation, timing, and physical, mental and social resources. The built environment has a vital part to play in encouraging and supporting healthy active living. The “En God Omvej” study has shown the importance of accessible locations, simple functionality and maintenance. These aspects must be prioritized in planning, especially with the ambition to attract and sustain a regular, everyday use. For more in-depth knowledge studies identifying facilitators and barriers related to recreational PA are important in the effort to develop activating facilities in interaction with the specific location and the local residents

En god (om)vej til mere rekreativ fysisk aktivitet i hverdagen

A circuitous way to more recreational physical activityBackground: The scientific evidence available supports the overall conclusion that sedentary behavior is a threat to public health. The population in the western societies is far from meeting the global guidelines for physical activity (PA). However, supportive built environment for PA has proven to be way to prevent the incidence of physical inactivity. The Danish intervention study “En God Omvej” was initiated to investigate how the construction of different types of activating facilities influences PA behavior in a local arena. The knowledge gained will help understand how to optimize development of physical interventions to promote recreational PA. Levels of recreational PA are primarily associated with motivation, timing, and physical, mental and social resources. The built environment has a vital part to play in encouraging and supporting healthy active living. The “En God Omvej” study has shown the importance of accessible locations, simple functionality and maintenance. These aspects must be prioritized in planning, especially with the ambition to attract and sustain a regular, everyday use. For more in-depth knowledge studies identifying facilitators and barriers related to recreational PA are important in the effort to develop activating facilities in interaction with the specific location and the local residents

Developing Suitable Buffers to Capture Transport Cycling Behavior

The association between neighborhood built environment and cycling has received considerable attention in health literature over the last two decades, but different neighborhood definitions have been used and it is unclear which one is most appropriate. Administrative or fixed residential spatial units (e.g., home-buffer-based neighborhoods) are not necessarily representative for environmental exposure. An increased understanding of appropriate neighborhoods is needed. GPS cycling tracks from 78 participants for 7 days form the basis for the development and testing of different neighborhood buffers for transport cycling. The percentage of GPS points per square meter was used as indicator of the effectiveness of a series of different buffer types, including home-based network buffers, shortest route to city center buffers, and city center-directed ellipse-shaped buffers. The results show that GPS tracks can help us understand where people go and stay during the day, which can help us link built environment with cycling. Analysis showed that the further people live from the city center, the more elongated are their GPS tracks, and the better an ellipse-shaped directional buffer captured transport cycling behavior. In conclusion, we argue that in order to be able to link built environment factors with different forms of physical activity, we must study the most likely area people use. In this particular study, to capture transport cycling, with its relatively large radius of action, city center-directed ellipse-shaped buffers yielded better results than traditional home-based network buffer types. The ellipse-shaped buffer types could therefore be considered an alternative to more traditional buffers or administrative units in future studies of transport cycling behavior