Natural and built environmental exposures on children's active school travel: A Dutch global positioning system-based cross-sectional study

Physical inactivity among children is on the rise. Active transport to school (ATS), namely walking and cycling there, adds to children's activity level. Little is known about how exposures along actual routes influence children's transport behavior. This study examined how natural and bui...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Health & place 2016-05, Vol.39, p.101-109
Main Authors: Helbich, Marco, Emmichoven, Maarten J. Zeylmans van, Dijst, Martin J., Kwan, Mei-Po, Pierik, Frank H., Vries, Sanne I. de
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Active and passive transport
Bicycling
Building-roughness index
Child
Cross-Sectional Studies
Elementary school children
Environment Design
Environmental exposures
Female
Geographic Information Systems - utilization
Global positioning system
Health technology assessment
Humans
Male
Netherlands
Residence Characteristics
Schools
Space syntax
The Netherlands
Transportation - methods
Walking
Weather, natural and built environment
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Summary:Physical inactivity among children is on the rise. Active transport to school (ATS), namely walking and cycling there, adds to children's activity level. Little is known about how exposures along actual routes influence children's transport behavior. This study examined how natural and built environments influence mode choice among Dutch children aged 6–11 years. 623 school trips were tracked with global positioning system. Natural and built environmental exposures were determined by means of a geographic information system and their associations with children's active/passive mode choice were analyzed using mixed models. The actual commuted distance is inversely associated with ATS when only personal, traffic safety, and weather features are considered. When the model is adjusted for urban environments, the results are reversed and distance is no longer significant, whereas well-connected streets and cycling lanes are positively associated with ATS. Neither green space nor weather is significant. As distance is not apparent as a constraining travel determinant when moving through urban landscapes, planning authorities should support children's ATS by providing well-designed cities. •Natural and built environmental exposures en route to school are explored.•Weather and green space are not associated with mode choice.•Not adjusting for built environments, distance is inversely related to active commuting.•Distance does not appear a constraint when actively travelling through urban landscapes.•Street connectivity and transport safety stimulate walking and cycling.
ISSN:1353-8292
1873-2054
DOI:10.1016/j.healthplace.2016.03.003