IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jijerp/v17y2020i11p3847-d364275.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Active School Transport among Children from Canada, Colombia, Finland, South Africa, and the United States: A Tale of Two Journeys

Author

Listed:
  • Silvia A. González

    (School of Medicine, Universidad de los Andes, Bogota 111711, Colombia
    Healthy Active Living and Obesity Research Group, Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario Research Institute, Ottawa, ON K1H 8L1, Canada
    School of Epidemiology and Public Health, Faculty of Medicine, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, ON, K1G 5Z3, Canada)

  • Olga L. Sarmiento

    (School of Medicine, Universidad de los Andes, Bogota 111711, Colombia)

  • Pablo D. Lemoine

    (Centro Nacional de Consultoría, Bogota 110221, Colombia)

  • Richard Larouche

    (Healthy Active Living and Obesity Research Group, Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario Research Institute, Ottawa, ON K1H 8L1, Canada
    Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Lethbridge, 4401 University Drive, Lethbridge, AB, T1K 3M4, Canada)

  • Jose D. Meisel

    (Facultad de Ingeniería, Universidad de Ibagué, Ibagué 730001, Colombia)

  • Mark S. Tremblay

    (Healthy Active Living and Obesity Research Group, Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario Research Institute, Ottawa, ON K1H 8L1, Canada
    School of Epidemiology and Public Health, Faculty of Medicine, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, ON, K1G 5Z3, Canada)

  • Melisa Naranjo

    (School of Medicine, Universidad de los Andes, Bogota 111711, Colombia)

  • Stephanie T. Broyles

    (Pennington Biomedical Research Center, Baton Rouge, LA 70808, USA)

  • Mikael Fogelholm

    (Department of Food and Nutrition, University of Helsinki, 00100 Helsinki, Finland)

  • Gustavo A. Holguin

    (School of Medicine, Universidad de los Andes, Bogota 111711, Colombia)

  • Estelle V. Lambert

    (Research Centre for Health through Physical Activity, Lifestyle and Sport, Division of Exercise Science and Sports Medicine, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Cape Town, Rondebosch, Cape Town 7700, South Africa)

  • Peter T. Katzmarzyk

    (Pennington Biomedical Research Center, Baton Rouge, LA 70808, USA)

Abstract

Walking and biking to school represent a source of regular daily physical activity (PA). The objectives of this paper are to determine the associations of distance to school, crime safety, and socioeconomic variables with active school transport (AST) among children from five culturally and socioeconomically different country sites and to describe the main policies related to AST in those country sites. The analytical sample included 2845 children aged 9–11 years from the International Study of Childhood Obesity, Lifestyle and the Environment. Multilevel generalized linear mixed models were used to estimate the associations between distance, safety and socioeconomic variables, and the odds of engaging in AST. Greater distance to school and vehicle ownership were associated with a lower likelihood of engaging in AST in sites in upper-middle- and high-income countries. Crime perception was negatively associated to AST only in sites in high-income countries. Our results suggest that distance to school is a consistent correlate of AST in different contexts. Our findings regarding crime perception support a need vs. choice framework, indicating that AST may be the only commuting choice for many children from the study sites in upper-middle-income countries, despite the high perception of crime.

Suggested Citation

  • Silvia A. González & Olga L. Sarmiento & Pablo D. Lemoine & Richard Larouche & Jose D. Meisel & Mark S. Tremblay & Melisa Naranjo & Stephanie T. Broyles & Mikael Fogelholm & Gustavo A. Holguin & Estel, 2020. "Active School Transport among Children from Canada, Colombia, Finland, South Africa, and the United States: A Tale of Two Journeys," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(11), pages 1-22, May.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:17:y:2020:i:11:p:3847-:d:364275
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/17/11/3847/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/17/11/3847/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Stewart, Orion & Vernez Moudon, Anne & Claybrooke, Charlotte, 2012. "Common ground: Eight factors that influence walking and biking to school," Transport Policy, Elsevier, vol. 24(C), pages 240-248.
    2. Jacob J de Vries & Peter Nijkamp & Piet Rietveld, 2009. "Exponential or Power Distance-Decay for Commuting? An Alternative Specification," Environment and Planning A, , vol. 41(2), pages 461-480, February.
    3. Raktim Mitra, 2013. "Independent Mobility and Mode Choice for School Transportation: A Review and Framework for Future Research," Transport Reviews, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 33(1), pages 21-43, January.
    4. World Bank, 2017. "World Development Indicators 2017," World Bank Publications - Books, The World Bank Group, number 26447.
    5. Cleveland, William S. & Devlin, Susan J. & Grosse, Eric, 1988. "Regression by local fitting : Methods, properties, and computational algorithms," Journal of Econometrics, Elsevier, vol. 37(1), pages 87-114, January.
    6. Iacono, Michael & Krizek, Kevin J. & El-Geneidy, Ahmed, 2010. "Measuring non-motorized accessibility: issues, alternatives, and execution," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 18(1), pages 133-140.
    7. Zhang, Rui & Yao, Enjian & Liu, Zhili, 2017. "School travel mode choice in Beijing, China," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 62(C), pages 98-110.
    8. World Bank, 2011. "World Development Indicators 2011," World Bank Publications - Books, The World Bank Group, number 2315.
    9. M. J. Aranda-Balboa & F. J. Huertas-Delgado & M. Herrador-Colmenero & G. Cardon & P. Chillón, 2020. "Parental barriers to active transport to school: a systematic review," International Journal of Public Health, Springer;Swiss School of Public Health (SSPH+), vol. 65(1), pages 87-98, January.
    10. Buliung, R.N. & Larsen, K. & Faulkner, G.E.J. & Stone, M.R., 2013. "The "path" not taken: Exploring structural differences in mapped-versus shortest-network-path school travel routes," American Journal of Public Health, American Public Health Association, vol. 103(9), pages 1589-1596.
    11. Mitra, Raktim & Buliung, Ron N., 2012. "Built environment correlates of active school transportation: neighborhood and the modifiable areal unit problem," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 20(1), pages 51-61.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Broberg, Anna & Sarjala, Satu, 2015. "School travel mode choice and the characteristics of the urban built environment: The case of Helsinki, Finland," Transport Policy, Elsevier, vol. 37(C), pages 1-10.
    2. Mitra, Raktim & Buliung, Ron N., 2014. "The influence of neighborhood environment and household travel interactions on school travel behavior: an exploration using geographically-weighted models," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 36(C), pages 69-78.
    3. Saad AlQuhtani, 2023. "Factors Affecting Active Commuting to School in Sprawled Cities: The Case of Najran City, Saudi Arabia," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(12), pages 1-17, June.
    4. Khaled J. Assi & Md Shafiullah & Kh Md Nahiduzzaman & Umer Mansoor, 2019. "Travel-To-School Mode Choice Modelling Employing Artificial Intelligence Techniques: A Comparative Study," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(16), pages 1-12, August.
    5. Ikeda, Erika & Mavoa, Suzanne & Hinckson, Erica & Witten, Karen & Donnellan, Niamh & Smith, Melody, 2018. "Differences in child-drawn and GIS-modelled routes to school: Impact on space and exposure to the built environment in Auckland, New Zealand," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 71(C), pages 103-115.
    6. Raktim Mitra & Guy EJ Faulkner & Ron N Buliung & Michelle R Stone, 2014. "Do parental perceptions of the neighbourhood environment influence children’s independent mobility? Evidence from Toronto, Canada," Urban Studies, Urban Studies Journal Limited, vol. 51(16), pages 3401-3419, December.
    7. Aleksandr V. Gevorkyan & Jacob Assa, 2021. "Poverty in “Transition”: 30 Years After and in the Pandemic," American Journal of Economics and Sociology, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 80(4), pages 1233-1258, September.
    8. Karst T. Geurs & Kevin J. Krizek & Aura Reggiani, 2012. "Accessibility analysis and transport planning: an introduction," Chapters, in: Karst T. Geurs & Kevin J. Krizek & Aura Reggiani (ed.), Accessibility Analysis and Transport Planning, chapter 1, pages 1-12, Edward Elgar Publishing.
    9. Vivien Fisch-Romito & Céline Guivarch, 2019. "Transportation infrastructures in a low carbon world: An evaluation of investment needs and their determinants," Post-Print hal-02131954, HAL.
    10. Scheiner, Joachim & Huber, Oliver & Lohmüller, Stefan, 2019. "Children's independent travel to and from primary school: Evidence from a suburban town in Germany," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 120(C), pages 116-131.
    11. Eva Savolainen & Stina Rutberg & Ylva Backman & Anna-Karin Lindqvist, 2020. "Long-Term Perspectives of a School-Based Intervention to Promote Active School Transportation," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(14), pages 1-13, July.
    12. Chica-Olmo, Jorge & Rodríguez-López, Carlos & Chillón, Palma, 2018. "Effect of distance from home to school and spatial dependence between homes on mode of commuting to school," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 72(C), pages 1-12.
    13. Anna Shostya, 2019. "The Global Financial Crisis in Transition Economies: The Role of Initial Conditions," Atlantic Economic Journal, Springer;International Atlantic Economic Society, vol. 47(1), pages 37-51, March.
    14. Dias, Charitha & Abdullah, Muhammad & Lovreglio, Ruggiero & Sachchithanantham, Sumana & Rekatheeban, Markkandu & Sathyaprasad, I.M.S., 2022. "Exploring home-to-school trip mode choices in Kandy, Sri Lanka," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 99(C).
    15. Buliung, Ronald & Hess, Paul & Flowers, Lori & Moola, Fiona J. & Faulkner, Guy, 2021. "Living the journey to school: Conceptual asymmetry between parents and planners on the journey to school," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 284(C).
    16. Leung, Kevin Y.K. & Astroza, Sebastian & Loo, Becky P.Y. & Bhat, Chandra R., 2019. "An environment-people interactions framework for analysing children's extra-curricular activities and active transport," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 74(C), pages 341-358.
    17. Stark, Juliane & Beyer Bartana, Ilil & Fritz, Alexander & Unbehaun, Wiebke & Hössinger, Reinhard, 2018. "The influence of external factors on children's travel mode: A comparison of school trips and non-school trips," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 68(C), pages 55-66.
    18. Nguyen, Minh Hieu & Pojani, Dorina & Nguyen, Thanh Chuong & Ha, Thanh Tung, 2021. "The impact of Covid-19 on children's active travel to school in Vietnam," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 96(C).
    19. Hao, Jingjing & Zhang, Ling & Ji, Xiaofeng & Tang, Jinjun, 2020. "Modeling and analyzing of family intention for the customized student routes: A case study in China," Physica A: Statistical Mechanics and its Applications, Elsevier, vol. 542(C).
    20. Chaoying Yin & Xiaoquan Wang & Chunfu Shao & Jianxiao Ma, 2022. "Exploring the Relationship between Built Environment and Commuting Mode Choice: Longitudinal Evidence from China," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(21), pages 1-15, October.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:17:y:2020:i:11:p:3847-:d:364275. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.