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Introduction: Geographical positioning systems (GPS) have the capacity to provide further context around where physical activity (PA) and sedentary time (ST) are accrued especially when overlaid onto objectively measured movement. The objective of this rapid review was to summarize evidence from location-based studies which employed the simultaneous use of GPS and objective measures of PA and/or ST. Methods: Six databases were searched to identify studies that employed the simultaneous use of GPS and objective measures of PA or ST to quantify location of movement. Risk of bias was assessed, and a qualitative synthesis completed. Results: Searching identified 3446 articles; 59 were included in the review. A total of 22 studies in children, 17 in youth and 20 in adults were captured. The active transportation environment emerged as an important location for moderate-to-vigorous intensity physical activity (MVPA) in children, youth and adults. In children and youth, the school is an important location for MVPA, especially the schoolyard for children. Indoor locations (e.g., schools, homes) appear to be greater sources of lighter intensities of PA and ST. The review was limited by a lack of standardization in the nomenclature used to describe the locations and methods, as well as measures of variance. Conclusion: Evidence suggests that the active transportation environment is a potentially important contributor of MVPA across an individual’s lifespan. There is a need for future location-based studies to report on locations of all intensity of movement (including minutes and proportion) using a whole-day approach in larger representative samples.

There is no standard naming convention for cycling infrastructure across cities. Our aim was to develop a common nomenclature for cycling infrastructure in Canada, relevant to the context of public health practice. We drew on transportation engineering design guides and public health guidance to develop a bicycle facility classification system: the Canadian Bikeway Comfort and Safety (Can-BICS) classification system, a three-tiered classification scheme that groups five bicycle facilities based on safety performance and user comfort. Adopting consistent nomenclature as per the Can-BICS system will support regional and national surveillance efforts in public health, planning and sustainability.

Active commuting to and from school (ACS) is a strategy to enhance physical activity levels in youths. To promote ACS, it is important to understand the factors that lead to this behaviour. With this in mind, an adaptation of the Basic Psychological Needs in Exercise Scale for ACS was developed, named the Basic Psychological Need Satisfaction in Active Commuting to and from School (BPNS-ACS) scale. This study aimed to translate and evaluate the psychometric properties of the BPNS-ACS scale in young Portuguese students. A cross-sectional study was designed. A total of 338 students (212 girls, 126 boys), aged between 11 and 19 years old from 31 Portuguese cities participated in this study. To provide validity evidence based on the questionnaire's internal structure, confirmatory factor analyses were performed to test the three dimensions of the BNPS-ACS scale. The results of the confirmatory factor analysis indicated an acceptable fit to the data. The internal consistency of the measures was accepted as the composite reliability values ranged from 0.78 to 0.94. The evaluation of psychometric properties provided evidence of the adequacy of this questionnaire among Portuguese youth aged 11 to 19 years old.

This study estimates a random parameter (mixed) logit model for active transportation (walk and bicycle) choices for work trips in the New York City (using 2010–2011 Regional Household Travel Survey Data). We explored the effects of traffic safety, walk–bike network facilities, and land use attributes on walk and bicycle mode choice decision in the New York City for home-to-work commute. Applying the flexible econometric structure of random parameter models, we capture the heterogeneity in the decision making process and simulate scenarios considering improvement in walk–bike infrastructure such as sidewalk width and length of bike lane. Our results indicate that increasing sidewalk width, total length of bike lane, and proportion of protected bike lane will increase the likelihood of more people taking active transportation mode This suggests that the local authorities and planning agencies to invest more on building and maintaining the infrastructure for pedestrians. Further, improvement in traffic safety by reducing traffic crashes involving pedestrians and bicyclists, will increase the likelihood of taking active transportation modes. Our results also show positive correlation between number of non-motorized trips by the other family members and the likelihood to choose active transportation mode. The model would be an essential tool to estimate the impact of improving traffic safety and walk–bike infrastructure which will assist in investment decision making.

The literature on children’s active transportation has shown the influence of the built environment characteristics on walking and crashes. Various reviews have examined those two questions. One influence on walking is the perception of traffic safety. However, it is not clear how, or even if, the built environment affects such perceptions. This research aims to understand which traffic and built environment characteristics influence objective and subjective/perceived traffic safety for children based on the analysis of previous studies in the field. Two types of research were used: the first examines the association between traffic and built environment characteristics and child pedestrian and/or cyclist collisions/injuries; the second relates to the perception of safety by parents and children for active transportation and, where studied, its relationship with built environment characteristics. A systematic review was conducted using five electronic databases. The total number of articles retrieved was reduced to 38 following the eligibility criteria and quality assessment, where 25 articles relate to injuries among children and 13 articles pertain to perception of safety. The results showed that high traffic volume and high vehicle speed are the main reasons children and parents feel unsafe when children use active travel, which matches the main findings on objective safety. Few articles on perception of safety related to the objective built environment were found. However, consistent findings exist. The presence of sidewalk was related to the safety of children. The presence of a crossing guard was positively related to perceived safety but was associated with higher rates of injuries among children. Intersection density was related to unsafe perceptions but was not statistically associated with objective traffic safety. Additionally, population density was found to be positively related to injuries among children, but not to perception of safety. The results help policy strategy to enhance the safety of children when using active transport modes.

More and more cities worldwide are striving for sustainability and livability. Measuring the service or performance of local-scale spaces for pedestrians and bicyclists to better understand how to provide “walkable” and “bikeable” environments is key in this endeavor to enhance active transportation. These pedestrian and bicycle service or performance indicators, such as Level of Traffic Stress or Level of Service, relate measurable characteristics with a perceived proxy of the performance or service, such as comfort, satisfaction, or quality of service (QoS). The purpose of this study is to propose and validate a framework that integrates user-oriented inputs to the existing traditional supply-oriented variables to explain the QoS in segment roadways in urban environments for active modes. The conceptual framework underlying this study considers the contribution of individual perceptions, in addition to the traditionally considered operational and geometry variables, to explain the perceived QoS of pedestrian and bicyclist infrastructure. The framework is tested via two separate and independent surveys for pedestrians and bicyclists. Evidence determined the relative importance of these supply-oriented and user-oriented factors to explain the QoS. The superior explanatory power of the perception variables and in terms of the variables that explain the individuals’ perceived QoS justify the framework for both pedestrians and bicyclists.

Despite the growing popularity and benefits of shared dockless e-scooters, there is controversy over whether this is an affordable travel mode for everyone. This paper explores the nonlinear relationship between shared dockless e-scooters and the location affordability of neighborhoods. By analyzing shared dockless e-scooter trip data collected between April 2019 and March 2020 from 1,886 census block groups in Los Angeles, we used a random forest model to investigate this nonlinear relationship. The variable importance plot revealed that economic variables (cost versus income) have greater explanatory power than other variables. In the partial dependency plots, neighborhoods spending more than 35% of their income on housing costs were more inclined to use e-scooters. On the other hand, when transportation represents more than 9% of household income, the e-scooter trip density decreases. Location affordability appears to be serving as a proxy for compactness, with compact areas having higher housing costs and lower transportation costs. The two together are lower in compact areas. The market for e-scooters is thus higher in compact areas where there are many potential users, trips are shorter, and users have more discretionary income due to lower h + t costs. The results of this study highlight the importance of location-specific planning in promoting the effective use of shared dockless e-scooters as a sustainable and active transportation mode beyond simply focusing on costs and incentive programs.

Encouraging the integration of active transportation with transit is increasingly being pursued as a strategy by transit agencies to boost alternative means to access transit services. Using the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Areas’ GO Transit as a case study, we conduct an investigation into the land-use and socioeconomic variables influencing the use of active transportation to access commuter rail stations. The percentage of transit users that arrive by active modes is explored using a binomial logit model. Population density, proportion of residential land, population age, low automobile ownership and median income are found to be positively associated with the integration of active transportation and transit. The proportion of commercial/institutional land, street density, and the amount of car parking at stations are negatively associated with access by active transport. The research helps to identify several policies that may increase the level of integration between active transport and public transit in the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area.

Background The impact of urban transportation on human health is a critical area of study in public health. The COVID-19 pandemic created a need to re-imagine urban public spaces and trial built environment interventions under expedited timelines and physical distancing requirements. By expanding street space for active transportation during the pandemic, cities intended to enable access to essential destinations through ‘street reallocation’ interventions, with potential implications on physical and mental health. Using the RE-AIM framework, our aim is to evaluate the COVID-19 pandemic street reallocations in the cities of Vancouver, Toronto, and Montréal in Canada. Methods Using a mixed methods approach, we evaluated street reallocation implementation across RE-AIM dimensions (Reach, Effectiveness, Adoption, Implementation, and Maintenance). We conducted a socio-spatial analysis using publicly available data, including cycling infrastructure, area-level sociodemographic characteristics, and measures of accessibility to destinations. To identify barriers and enablers of street reallocation implementation and to add nuance to the socio-spatial analysis, we conducted semi-structured interviews with municipal practitioners in 2022. We coded and analyzed the data using framework analysis. Reach : In Vancouver, Toronto, and Montréal, 39.9%, 21.0%, and 32.9% of the population had access to street reallocations in their census tract. Effectiveness : In Vancouver, most street reallocations were in areas with high accessibility to (i.e., spatial proximity to) employment, and in Toronto and Montréal in areas with high accessibility to parks. Adoption : The majority of street reallocations were implemented near pre-existing cycling infrastructure. Though not targeted as users of the street reallocations, local business owners were important in the decision-making process. Implementation : A facilitator of street reallocation implementation was communication between municipal practitioners and community members, and continuous feedback cycles. Maintenance : Temporary materials used to initially construct street reallocations were high maintenance which resulted in high costs. Sustainability of street reallocation interventions hinges on community support. Conclusions Our findings help to inform the work of municipal practitioners, public health professionals, and researchers looking to build healthier and more equitable transportation systems. A focus of future implementation science research may be on developing consistent metrics for built environment intervention evaluation.

Active commuting to and from school can be an important contribution to improving health in adolescents. This study aimed to analyze the influence of multilevel variables of the ecological model in the active commuting of a representative sample of Portuguese adolescents. The 2018 Health Behaviour in School-Aged Children questionnaire was applied to 5695 adolescents with an average age of 15.5 years old (SD ± 1.8), 53.9% of whom were girls. The associations were studied by applying chi-square tests and multivariate logistic regression models. In this study, 36.5% of the participants reported walking or cycling to school. Active commuting to school was directly associated with age (OR = 1.2; p < 0.05), strong family support (OR = 1.2; p < 0.05), a moderate to low financial level of the family (OR = 1.3; p < 0.05) and living near the school (OR = 2.4; p < 0.05). The results revealed that an adolescent's choice to travel to and from school using an active mode of transportation increased with strong family support. As a result, promotion campaigns should consider the adolescent's family context.