Children's active travel and independent mobility in four countries: Development, social contributing trends and measures

Fyhri, Aslak; Hjorthol, Randi; Mackett, Roger; Fotel, Trine; Kyttä, Marketta

doi:10.1016/j.tranpol.2011.01.005

Cited by 309 publications

(209 citation statements)

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“…7 Despite the many benefits of independent mobility, studies from various countries report a rapid decline in the 1970s to 1980s to the current low levels. 2,[8][9][10] For example, since 2002 only about 40% of UK children 7 to 13 years have been allowed to commute to school unaccompanied. 11 Children are increasingly now driven to school and leisure activities.…”

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confidence: 99%

“…11 Children are increasingly now driven to school and leisure activities. 8,11 This trend is partly attributed to more cars in households, a rise in households where both parents work, increased distances between home and school, and a shift from free play in the neighborhood to organized activities outside the neighborhood where children are escorted, predominantly by car. 8 A number of demographic, social and physical environment factors are associated with children's independent mobility.…”

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confidence: 99%

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The Effect of the Social and Physical Environment on Children’s Independent Mobility to Neighborhood Destinations

Christian¹,

Klinker²,

Villanueva³

et al. 2015

Journal of Physical Activity and Health

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Background:Relationships between context-specific measures of the physical and social environment and children’s independent mobility to neighborhood destination types were examined.Methods:Parents in RESIDE’s fourth survey reported whether their child (8–15 years; n = 181) was allowed to travel without an adult to school, friend’s house, park and local shop. Objective physical environment measures were matched to each of these destinations. Social environment measures included neighborhood perceptions and items specific to local independent mobility.Results:Independent mobility to local destinations ranged from 30% to 48%. Independent mobility to a local park was less likely as the distance to the closest park (small and large size) increased and less likely with additional school grounds (P < .05). Independent mobility to school was less likely as the distance to the closest large park increased and if the neighborhood was perceived as unsafe (P < .05). Independent mobility to a park or shops decreased if parenting social norms were unsupportive of children’s local independent movement (P < .05).Conclusions:Independent mobility appears dependent upon the specific destination being visited and the impact of neighborhood features varies according to the destination examined. Findings highlight the importance of access to different types and sizes of urban green space for children’s independent mobility to parks.

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confidence: 99%

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confidence: 99%

The Effect of the Social and Physical Environment on Children’s Independent Mobility to Neighborhood Destinations

Christian¹,

Klinker²,

Villanueva³

et al. 2015

Journal of Physical Activity and Health

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…These trends mirror the large decreases in children's independent mobility -that is the degree of freedom of children and youth to move around in public spaces without adult supervision -that occured concurently (Fyhri et al, 2011;. For example, Hillman and colleagues (1990) reported that in 1971, 80% of British 7-8 years olds were allowed to go to school without adult supervision, but this proportion decreased to only 9% by 1990.…”

Section: The Mode Share Of Active Transportationmentioning

confidence: 97%

Assessing the health-related outcomes and correlates of active transportation in children and youth

Larouche

2014

Appl. Physiol. Nutr. Metab.

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“…Part of this decline may be explained by a change in parental attitudes toward children's mobility, potentially leading to the current parenting model wherein adult supervision and surveillance are often considered to be essential practices (Fotel and Thomsen 2004;Fyhri et al 2011;Mitra 2013;Shaw et al 2013). However, the neighborhood built environment (or rather, the perception of it) may also have contributed to this decline, and this remains the particular focus of our study.…”

Section: Research Questionsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Past and Present of Active School Transportation: An Exploration of the Built Environment Effects in Toronto, Canada from 1986 to 2006

Mitra

Papaioannou

Habib

2015

JTLU

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Abstract:The health benefits of walking and cycling to and from school, also called active school transportation (AST), are well documented. In the context of a declining trend in AST across the Western world, this paper examines school-travel behavior of 11-year-old children in Toronto, using multiple cross-sectional data from 1986, 1996, and 2006 Transportation Tomorrow Surveys. Results from binomial logit models suggest that school-travel distance and neighborhood built environment indeed explain some variation in the odds of AST between 1986 and 2006, and that the correlates of AST may have changed over time. Higher neighborhood block density correlated with walking/cycling in 1986. In contrast, household automobile ownership was negatively associated with AST in 2006; the effect of the built environment was relatively weak for that year. In addition, fewer children walked/cycled in 2006 compared to 1986, even when distance to school was short (<0.8 kilometers). Policy and programs should recognize the potentially changing role of travel distance to school and automobile ownership on a child's school travel outcome. Interventions in neighborhoods with high automobile ownership should specifically focus on education and encouragement to increase AST rates.

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Children's active travel and independent mobility in four countries: Development, social contributing trends and measures

Cited by 309 publications

References 22 publications

The Effect of the Social and Physical Environment on Children’s Independent Mobility to Neighborhood Destinations

The Effect of the Social and Physical Environment on Children’s Independent Mobility to Neighborhood Destinations

Assessing the health-related outcomes and correlates of active transportation in children and youth

Past and Present of Active School Transportation: An Exploration of the Built Environment Effects in Toronto, Canada from 1986 to 2006

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