Correlates of walking for travel in seven European cities: The PASTA project.
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Published version
Author(s)
Type
Journal Article
Abstract
BACKGROUND: Although walking for travel can help in reaching the daily recommended levels of physical activity, we know relatively little about the correlates of walking for travel in the European context. OBJECTIVE: Within the framework of the European Physical Activity through Sustainable Transport Approaches (PASTA) project, we aimed to explore the correlates of walking for travel in European cities. METHODS: The same protocol was applied in seven European cities. Using a web-based questionnaire, we collected information on total minutes of walking per week, individual characteristics, mobility behavior, and attitude (
N
=
7,875
). Characteristics of the built environment (the home and the work/study addresses) were determined with geographic information system (GIS)-based techniques. We conducted negative binomial regression analyses, including city as a random effect. Factor and principal component analyses were also conducted to define profiles of the different variables of interest. RESULTS: Living in high-density residential areas with richness of facilities and density of public transport stations was associated with increased walking for travel, whereas the same characteristics at the work/study area were less strongly associated with the outcome when the residential and work/study environments were entered in the model jointly. A walk-friendly social environment was associated with walking for travel. All three factors describing different opinions about walking (ranging from good to bad) were associated with increased minutes of walking per week, although the importance given to certain criteria to choose a mode of transport provided different results according to the criteria. DISCUSSION: The present study supports findings from previous research regarding the role of the built environment in the promotion of walking for travel and provides new findings to help in achieving sustainable, healthy, livable, and walkable cities. https://doi.org/10.1289/EHP4603.
N
=
7,875
). Characteristics of the built environment (the home and the work/study addresses) were determined with geographic information system (GIS)-based techniques. We conducted negative binomial regression analyses, including city as a random effect. Factor and principal component analyses were also conducted to define profiles of the different variables of interest. RESULTS: Living in high-density residential areas with richness of facilities and density of public transport stations was associated with increased walking for travel, whereas the same characteristics at the work/study area were less strongly associated with the outcome when the residential and work/study environments were entered in the model jointly. A walk-friendly social environment was associated with walking for travel. All three factors describing different opinions about walking (ranging from good to bad) were associated with increased minutes of walking per week, although the importance given to certain criteria to choose a mode of transport provided different results according to the criteria. DISCUSSION: The present study supports findings from previous research regarding the role of the built environment in the promotion of walking for travel and provides new findings to help in achieving sustainable, healthy, livable, and walkable cities. https://doi.org/10.1289/EHP4603.
Date Issued
2019-09
Date Acceptance
2019-08-22
Citation
Environmental Health Perspectives, 2019, 127 (9), pp.097003-1-097003-13
ISSN
0091-6765
Publisher
The National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS)
Start Page
097003-1
End Page
097003-13
Journal / Book Title
Environmental Health Perspectives
Volume
127
Issue
9
Copyright Statement
© 2019 Owner. This an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0, which permits redistribution and copy for non-commercial use, provided the original article is not altered, and the author(s) and source is credited. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/
Sponsor
Commission of the European Communities
Identifier
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/31532248
Grant Number
602624
Subjects
Toxicology
11 Medical and Health Sciences
05 Environmental Sciences
Publication Status
Published
Coverage Spatial
United States
Date Publish Online
2019-09-18