The Transportation Needs of Seniors

Over 208,000 residents of Hennepin County, Minnesota are over the age of 55, a number that is sure to rise. This paper examines the transportation needs of the elderly in Hennepin County through a mail out-mail back survey of their existing travel behavior and their unmet needs. The survey had both demographic and attitude questions as well as a travel diary for recording actual trips and desired but untaken trips. We found that 87% of the sampled population feel they are independent travelers. Around 51% of the surveyed population indicated that they are transit users, 25% of them revealed their concerns about difficulties they are facing when using public transit. About 16% of transit users were concerned about waiting time for transit, while only 8% were concerned about the travel time. Only 15% of the surveyed population use paratransit. A large number of comments were received, which add qualitative flavor to the analysis that was conducted. Seniors recognize even if they are currently independent, that will not always be the case, and acknowledge they should plan.Transportation needs, Elderly, Seniors, Disadvantaged Populations, Transportation Disadvantaged, Equity, Distribution, Minnesota

Bike sharing schemes can have a positive impact on nearby house prices.

Homes and neighborhoods are generally more attractive when they are located close to transport links. Is this also the case for bike sharing schemes? In new research which uses Montreal’s Bixi scheme as a case study, Ahmed El-Geneidy, Dea van Lierop, & Rania Wasfi examine the influence of bike sharing stations on the attractiveness of nearby housing. They find that a home which has 12 stations within 800 meters can be expected to sell for nearly 3 percent more compared to those which have no nearby bike sharing stations. They also find that bike sharing stations give municipalities the opportunity to profit from higher property taxes

A new digital signature scheme with message recovery using hybrid problems

We present a new digital signature scheme with message recovery and its authenticated encryption based on elliptic curve discrete logarithm and quadratic residue. The main idea is to provide a higher level of security than all other techniques that use signatures with single hard problem including factoring, discrete logarithm, residuosity, or elliptic curves. The proposed digital signature schemes do not involve any modular exponentiation operations that leave no gap for attackers. The security analysis demonstrates the improved performance of the proposed schemes in comparison with existing techniques in terms of the ability to resist the most common attack

Chasing sustainability: Do new TOD residents adopt more sustainable modes of transportation?

It is suggested that one of the solutions for mitigating the detrimental effect of motor vehicles on 3 society is to implement Transit-Oriented Development (TOD). This type of development is 4 intended to reduce automobile use and urban sprawl as well as to provide communities with more 5 socially, environmentally, and economically sustainable neighborhoods that offer a variety of 6 mobility choices. This paper attempts to find out whether new TOD residents adopt more 7 sustainable modes of transportation after their relocation. The analysis determines which factors 8 influence travel mode switching decisions by specifying a multilevel multinomial logistic 9 regression model. Data for the analysis are drawn from a travel behavior survey conducted on 10 residents in seven different North American TODs in 2013. Our results show that TOD 11 newcomers adopt more sustainable travel modes for amenities and leisure trips, whereas they are 12 less likely to do so for work and shopping trips. To encourage more sustainable travel modes, our 13 findings suggest that transit incentives coupled with workplace parking charges need to be 14 considered. Awareness of the environmental impact of each travel mode, walkability of the 15 neighborhood and availability of various destinations as well as proximity to transit stops are 16 factors that increase the probability of switching to a more sustainable mode of transportation for 17 new TOD residents. However, larger household size and becoming a homeowner, as well as the 18 addition of a new car, have a negative impact. Findings from this research provide new insights 19 into TOD planning and its link to travel behavior that can be of benefit to planners, engineers and 20 policy makers adopting this approach of development with the goal of mitigating car usage. 21 2

Understanding the role of contrasting urban contexts in healthy aging: an international cohort study using wearable sensor devices (the CURHA study protocol).

BACKGROUND: Given the challenges of aging populations, calls have been issued for more sustainable urban re-development and implementation of local solutions to address global environmental and healthy aging issues. However, few studies have considered older adults' daily mobility to better understand how local built and social environments may contribute to healthy aging. Meanwhile, wearable sensors and interactive map-based applications offer novel means for gathering information on people's mobility, levels of physical activity, or social network structure. Combining such data with classical questionnaires on well-being, physical activity, perceived environments and qualitative assessment of experience of places opens new opportunities to assess the complex interplay between individuals and environments. In line with current gaps and novel analytical capabilities, this research proposes an international research agenda to collect and analyse detailed data on daily mobility, social networks and health outcomes among older adults using interactive web-based questionnaires and wearable sensors. METHODS/DESIGN: Our study resorts to a battery of innovative data collection methods including use of a novel multisensor device for collection of location and physical activity, interactive map-based questionnaires on regular destinations and social networks, and qualitative assessment of experience of places. This rich data will allow advanced quantitative and qualitative analyses in the aim to disentangle the complex people-environment interactions linking urban local contexts to healthy aging, with a focus on active living, social networks and participation, and well-being. DISCUSSION: This project will generate evidence about what characteristics of urban environments relate to active mobility, social participation, and well-being, three important dimensions of healthy aging. It also sets the basis for an international research agenda on built environment and healthy aging based on a shared and comprehensive data collection protocol

The influence of the urban built environment on utilitarian walking and body mass index: Trip diary and longitudinal studies of Canadians

There is growing interest in developing livable cities with neighbourhoods that encourage active living. The urban built environment including land use, amenities and transportation systems is increasingly expected to provide a variety of benefits including neighborhood walking-friendliness. To date, there have been few long term studies with large population samples that have assessed the relationships between walking-friendliness of places and the level of utilitarian walking (i.e., walking for a specific purpose such as to go to work or to school) in people. Most research to date has relied on cross-sectional study designs and the conclusions of many existing studies are invariably limited owing to problems of self-selection of motivated walkers into walking-friendly neighbourhoods. This dissertation addresses some of the methodological limitations in this research area by measuring utilitarian walking using geographic information system-based estimates in a cross-sectional approach, and by geocoding respondents of a population-based longitudinal survey for quasi-experimental designs to assess the role of urban built environments on utilitarian walking and body weight. My dissertation has produced three key findings: 1. Montreal residents were able to achieve the recommended 30 minutes of physical activity each working day by commuting to work using public transportation. This benefit was greatest for suburban residents who walked approximately 35 to 50 minutes per day to and from commuter train stations, the majority of whom were affluent. Transportation system characteristics had greater influences on walking to public transport than did neighbourhood physical characteristics. 2. Canadians who were exposed over time to highly walkable urban neighbourhoods were more likely to engage in moderate and high utilitarian walking than Canadians with less exposure to highly walkable neighbourhoods. A unit increase in the probability of spending more time in the fourth Walk Score® quartile neighborhoods increased the probability of moderate (increase of 4.0%, 95% C.I. 2.9%, 5.1%) and high utilitarian walking (increase of 7.7%, 95% C.I. 5.8%, 9.7%) compared to those spending the same time in low walkable neighbourhoods (first Walk Score® quartile neighbourhoods). Canadians who moved from neighbourhoods that were less walking-friendly to neighbourhoods of a higher walkability, were 59% (95% CI 3 %-146%) more likely to increase their utilitarian walking than those who moved to neighbourhoods with a similar walkability level. 3. Trajectories of body mass index (BMI - a measure of body weight adjusted for height) of Canadian men varied according to the friendliness of the urban built environment for walking, even after controlling for individual characteristics that influence body weight. Moving to more walkable neighbourhoods (2 Walk Score® quartiles higher), was associated with approximately a one unit (kg/m2) decrease in BMI for men (95% C.I. -1.7,-0.3). There was no detectable influence of neighbourhood walkability on body weight for women. Improving public transport service reliability and neighbourhood walkability have potential to increase utilitarian walking and decrease body mass index in populations, even for those who are otherwise inactive in their leisure time. Planning to construct walkable communities supported by reliable public transport should be considered among public health policies to promote utilitarian walking and reduce overweight and obesity.L'intérêt pour le développement de quartiers urbains viables encourageant une vie active va grandissant. On s'attend de plus en plus à ce que l'environnement bâti urbain, qui inclut l'utilisation du terrain, les services et les systèmes de transport, offre une variété d'avantages incluant la marche conviviale du quartier. À ce jour, peu d'études à long terme sur de vastes échantillons de population ont évalué le lien entre la possibilité de marche conviviale des lieux et le niveau de marche à des fins utilitaires (c.-à-d. marcher pour une raison particulière comme aller au travail ou à l'école). La plupart des recherches menées à ce jour reposent sur des études transversales. Les conclusions de plusieurs études existantes sont quant à elles invariablement limitées en raison de l'auto sélection de marcheurs motivés dans des quartiers propices à la marche. Cette thèse aborde certaines des limites méthodologiques dans ce domaine de recherche, en mesurant la marche à des fins utilitaires en utilisant des estimations basées sur l'information géographique dans une technique transversale, et par géocodage des répondants d'une étude longitudinale représentative de la population pour un modèle quasi-expérimental afin d'évaluer le rôle de l'environnement bâti urbain sur la marche à des fins utilitaires et le poids corporel. Ma thèse a tiré trois conclusions principales: 1. Les Montréalais ont réussi à atteindre les 30 minutes recommandées d'activité physique chaque jour de travail en utilisant les transports en commun pour s'y rendre. Ceux qui en ont tiré le plus d'avantages sont les résidents de banlieue qui marchaient de 35 à 50 minutes par jour à destination et en provenance des stations de train. Les caractéristiques du système de transport ont eu plus d'influence sur le fait de marcher vers le transport en commun que les caractéristiques physiques du quartier. 2. Sur la durée, les Canadiens vivant dans des quartiers urbains très propices à la marche étaient plus susceptibles de marcher à des fins utilitaires à intensité modérée à élevée que les Canadiens vivant dans des quartiers moins propices à la marche. Une augmentation d'unité dans la probabilité de passer plus de temps dans les quartiers du quatrième quartile Walk Score® augmentait la probabilité de marche à des fins utilitaires modérée (augmentation de 4 %, 95 % I.C. 2,9 %, 5,1 %) et élevée (augmentation de 7,7 %, 95 % I.C. 5,8 %, 9,7 %) par rapport à ceux qui ont passé le même temps dans des quartiers peu propices à la marche (quartiers du premier quartile Walk Score®). Les Canadiens ayant déménagé de quartiers moins propices à des quartiers plus propices ont été plus susceptibles à 59 % (95 % I.C. 3 %-146 %) d'augmenter leur marche à des fins utilitaires par rapport à ceux qui ont déménagé dans des quartiers ayant un potentiel piétonnier similaire. 3. Les trajectoires de l'indice de masse corporelle (mesure du poids corporel ajusté à la taille) des hommes canadiens ont varié selon la convivialité de l'environnement urbain bâti pour la marche, même en tenant compte des caractéristiques individuelles ayant une influence sur le poids corporel. Le fait de déménager dans un quartier propice à la marche (2 quartiles Walk Score® plus haut), était approximativement associé à une unité (kg/m2) de baisse de l'IMC chez les hommes (95 % I.C.-1,7, -0,3). Le potentiel piétonnier d'un quartier n'avait pas d'influence décelable sur le poids corporel chez les femmes. L'amélioration de la fiabilité du transport en commun et le potentiel piétonnier d'un quartier peuvent faire augmenter la marche à des fins utilitaires et diminuer l'IMC des populations, même chez ceux qui sont inactifs dans leur temps de loisirs. Prévoir la construction de communautés propices à la marche en combinaison avec à un transport en commun fiable devrait être pris en considération dans les politiques de santé publique afin de promouvoir la marche à des fins utilitaires et de réduire l'embonpoint et l'obésité

5. FUNDING NUMBERS

OMB No. 0704-0188 Public reporting burden for this collection of information is estimated to average 1 hour per response, including the time for reviewing instructions, searching existing data sources, gathering and maintaining the data needed, and completing and reviewing the collection of information. Send comments regarding this burden estimate or any other aspect of this collection of information, including suggestions fo