Walking

Corinne Mulley, Klaus Gebel, Ding Ding

• Publisher: Emerald Publishing Limited
• Year: 2017
• ISBN:
  9781787149991
• Topic: Technology & Engineering
• Subtopic: Transportation & Navigation
• Index: Technology & Engineering

This book combines core chapters on different aspects of sustainable transport and health, together with case studies of particular approaches to synthesise walking and health in cities around the globe. Walking as a research area is multifaceted and this book presents chapters which synthesise the current state of research and practice, which will be of interest to readers, both academic and professional, and point to areas that will feature prominently in future research domains.Although the links between transport and health have long been recognised in the transport and health disciplines separately, it is a fairly recent phenomenon that they have been seen as a legitimate inter- and multi-disciplinary area. The areas of intersection have become more obvious with better understanding between the different disciplines with mutual and explicit understanding that great benefits come from recognising synergies between disciplinary approaches to similar problems. The connections between walking and health have benefited from a better understanding of the contributions of different disciplines.This book exploits this multidisciplinary approach.

CHAPTER 1

INTRODUCTION

Corinne Mulley, Klaus Gebel and Ding Ding

Walk 21 came to Sydney, Australia, in October 2014 and provided the inspiration and motivation for this undertaking of a book of themed chapters on ‘Walking: Connecting Sustainable Transport with Health’. Many of the authors of chapters in this book presented at Walk 21 and their contributions have been supplemented by specially commissioned chapters to provide a holistic picture of cutting edge research in this domain. The book, described in more detail below, combines core chapters on different aspects of sustainable transport and health, together with case studies of particular approaches to synthesise walking and health in cities around the globe.

Walking as a research area is multifaceted and this aspect is well reflected in this book. We would of course have preferred to have many more chapters, illustrating even more aspects of the connections between walking and health, but space constraints ensured that we had to choose, and we hope we have chosen wisely. Editors, in particular, are often criticised for what is missed out and for what is included: we are sure this criticism will be levelled at us. Our defence is we hope to have selected and presented chapters which synthesise the current state of research and practice, which will be of interest to readers, both academic and professional, and point to areas that will feature prominently in future research domains.

Although the links between transport and health have long been recognised in the transport and health disciplines separately, it is a fairly recent phenomenon that they have been seen as a legitimate inter- and multi-disciplinary area. On the one hand, highway engineers, for example, have had a long preoccupation with the safety of roads and the impact of traffic on environmental externalities such as noise and pollution. On the other hand, public health researchers looking at the connections between, for example, physical activity and morbidity and mortality have investigated how the built environment could improve physical activity levels and enhance health. More recently, the areas of intersection have become more obvious with better understanding between the different disciplines with mutual and explicit understanding that great benefits come from recognising synergies between disciplinary approaches to similar problems. The connections between walking and health have benefited from a better understanding of the contributions of different disciplines.

This book exploits this multi-disciplinary approach. Chapters have been written by transport, planning and public health specialists. Transport professionals, in particular, tend to have a very multi-disciplinary background covering the disciplines of economics, geography, planning and civil engineering. This variety of backgrounds becomes evident in looking at the chapters compiled here. Public health researchers typically provide quantitative evidence to support or reject hypotheses, often being concerned with population level data. In contrast, planners are more typically concerned with the single case, or a number of cases with which they provide qualitative evidence or ‘word pictures’ of real world examples. This provides greater depth and understanding of the single case which is then, using practice examples, scaled up to provide more generic results. These differences between the disciplinary approaches might be considered conflicting in their contributions. However, we do not see these differences as conflicting, but more as being mutually supportive in providing the evidence to move our world to a more sustainable future and a future in which walking can contribute to the prevention of the lifestyle diseases of obesity, diabetes, cardiovascular disease and related conditions.

The book is presented in a number of sections. Given the multifaceted nature of the topic, ordering the sections was difficult. The book starts with a section on the prevalence and trends which is followed by the benefits of walking, different types of walking and connections between the environment and walking. The book then turns to ways in which walking can be promoted before the case studies showcasing different contexts, continents and objectives in cities linking walking and health. The book concludes with a chapter looking to the future. We have not differentiated the sections by disciplinary approach so that readers can enjoy the outcome of a multi-disciplinary approach to the issues and a synthesis and recognition of the linkages between the sections of the book are explored next.

A prerequisite for accurate monitoring of prevalence and population trends in walking and evaluations of interventions is the application of valid and reliable tools for the measurement of walking. Chapter 2 by Dafna Merom and Robert Korycinski presents this overview in a state of the art in measurement of walking in Section 1. Objective and self-report measures of walking are described and their pros and cons and challenges in their use discussed. As well, recommendations for the most suitable context specific measurement method and for future research are made.

Also in the first section is Chapter 3 by Corinne Mulley and Chinh Ho which looks at the determinants of walking within a city in terms of framing policy to promote greater physical activity. The context is Sydney, New South Wales (NSW), Australia. The Household Travel Survey is used to identify how far Sydneysiders walk and how this might be affected if short trips by car were converted to walking. In common with other developed countries, only a very small proportion of the population (22%) meet the recommended physical activity targets. Modelling of walking time is used to identify policy levers that could be exploited in public health messaging: the outcome suggests it would be better to change the current message of encouraging short trips by walking to a message that promotes more activities on foot.

This first section continues by looking at the health and economic benefits of walking. The health benefits of physical activity are well established in the scientific literature (Bouchard, Blair & Haskell, 2012) and physical activity has been called ‘the best buy in public health and medicine’ (Loprinzi, 2015; Morris, 1994). Moreover, walking is the most popular type of physical activity and is accessible to almost everyone (Frank, Kavage, & Litman, 2006). In Chapter 4, Paul Kelly, Marie Murphy and Nanette Mutrie synthesise the state of the evidence on the physical and mental health benefits of walking from observational and experimental studies. Whilst Chapter 4 acknowledges that the evidence base is growing, Kelly et al. argue more evidence is still needed and, importantly, evidence to underpin our understanding of how to promote long term increases in walking behaviour. For the economic benefits, Todd Litman shows in Chapter 5 how a comprehensive evaluation of the benefits of walking can be used to convince resource-constrained decision-makers to provide funding for the promotion of walking. Chapter 5 thus identifies the economic, social and environmental benefits of walking and walkable environments, describes methods for measuring them and discusses how to apply this information. Providing a method that can be used by planners to promote walkable spaces has the opportunity not only to increase the sustainability of our cities, but also, as Litman argues, for disadvantaged citizens to satisfy their basic mobility needs.

As examples of the variety in walking, Chapter 6 considers walking to and from school and Chapter 7 is about the connections between dog walking and health. Walking to and from school can contribute significantly to meeting the physical activity recommendations for children and adolescents (Cooper, Andersen, Wedderkopp, Page, & Froberg, 2005). However, over the last few decades in many countries around the world the proportion of students that actively travel to school has declined (Fyhri, Hjorthol, Mackett, Fotel, & Kytta, 2011, McDonald, 2007; van der Ploeg, Merom, Corpuz, & Bauman, 2008). In Chapter 6, Jacky Kennedy and George Mammen examine the tools and resources, effectiveness and cost effectiveness of the Canadian School Travel Planning programme which aims to facilitate active travel to school. This chapter aims to inform future practices by highlighting the most crucial factors for implementing successful programmes to promote walking and cycling to school.

Chapter 7 by Hayley E. Christian, Gavin R. McCormack, Kelly E. Evenson and Clover Maitland is about dog walking. The authors provide evidence to show that dog ownership and walking are associated with higher levels of overall walking. Using a social ecological framework, they analyse intra-individual, policy and built environmental factors that are associated with dog walking. The authors conclude that dog walking has the potential to contribute to population levels of walking and that neighbourhood environments should be designed in a way that facilitates dog walking and other physical activity.

Section 2 on Environments and Walking consists of four chapters. This starts in Chapter 8 by examining the connections between the built environment and walking. In some senses this continues the discussions already touched on by Christian et al. in Chapter 7 as to the importance of good neighbourhood design. William Riggs and Ruth L. Steiner in Chapter 8 present primarily a case-based review of the epistemological development of walking and the built environment over time, mentioning the successes of cities which have created better walking environments. They discuss how land use and urban form can influence walking and explore evidence from cross-sectional and relocation studies. This chapter also looks to the future in terms of the potential impacts of new technology, such as autonomous vehicles, and also new mobility paradigms with the intention of providing an evidence base to underpin how the built environment can be used to shape a more walkable world and contribute to population level increases in walking.

Research has shown that using public transport can contribute significantly to achieving the recommended amounts of physical activity for health (Rissel, Curac, Greenaway, & Bauman, 2012). Chapter 9 by Sonia Lavadinho focuses on how to create a public transport infrastructure that produces walking-friendly environments. Using a case study from the French city of Grenoble, Lavadinho examines a real-life experiment to provide a more attractive experience for public transport users using mixed modes of travel. Specifically, this chapter describes an experiment designed to make public space more conducive to lingering. The results show that when users perceive the infrastructure as walking-friendly it is both more visible and more attractive and users are more willing to spend longer waiting for their transport to arrive.

In many countries the twin factors of declining birth rates and increasing life expectancy have led to population ageing and older people and those with disabilities are among the most vulnerable pedestrians (Christensen, Doblhammer, Rau, & Vaupel, 2009). In Chapter 10, through a literature review, Yochai Eisenberg, Erin D. Bouldin, Nancy Gell and Dori Rosenberg describe the key factors in the built environment that can facilitate or impede walking for older adults and individuals with disabilities. They recommend audits of the built environment as a first step towards developing neighbourhoods that are walking-friendly for everyone. As well, housing should be located close to destinations of interest such as stores, workplaces, schools and public transport stops and pedestrian infrastructure should be well-connected, safe and attractive. Last but not least, they highlight the vital role of planners in creating walkable environments.

Safety from traffic is a major determinant for active transport (Owen, Humpel, Leslie, Bauman, & Sallis, 2004; Saelens & Handy, 2008). Chapter 11 by Philip Stoker, Arlie Adkins and Reid Ewing is about pedestrian safety and public health. The authors write about the global prevalence of pedestrian deaths and how the risk of injuries and deaths are particularly high in certain subgroups of the population such as children, older adults, people with disabilities and those with low socioeconomic status. Then they describe the main determinants of pedestrian safety and how measures to improve safety can improve population levels of walking and public health. They point out that urban sprawl, marked by dispersed population, low-density developments, separation of land uses and poor accessibility, is associated with low pedestrian safety. On the other hand, pedestrian infrastructure, such as marked crossings, overpasses and underpasses and good lighting, that reduces exposure to cars, and improves the visibility of pedestrians, increases the safety of the roadway system. The major determinant of the severity of pedestrian injuries is vehicular speed. Therefore, traffic calming measures, such as raised medians, road narrowing, staggered lanes and road humps, are also crucial for pedestrian safety.

‘Public Policy for Walking’ is the next section and this is addressed by three chapters. Chapter 12 by Peter McCue uses Kingdon’s ‘Multiple Stream’ theory as the framework to examine how the walking policy came about for New South Wales, Australia. This chapter is a case study of the cross-sectoral policy development process that led to the establishment of the first ever state walking target and subsequent state walking strategy. McCue writes that, similar to other areas of public health, walking policy development is often rather based on politics and individual judgement than on evidence. The chapter aims to provide a better understanding of factors that may influence future walking policy initiatives. McCue argues that three main factors determine the chance of a proposed problem and its policy solution receiving political attention and consideration: (1) the likelihood that the idea will successfully translate into practice, (2) the level of support and/or lack of opposition to the idea by stakeholders and (3) the amount of resources required to implement the policy solution.

Chapter 13 looks at how interventions can create more sustainable walking behaviour whilst Chapter 14 looks at the specific intervention of Ciclovía introduction. In Chapter 13, Liza S. Rovniak and Abby C. King provide a scoping review of walking interventions. Their review includes interventions with walking as the primary intervention strategy at the individual, community and policy levels. Rovniak and King report that while walking interventions at the individual level often produce short term increases in walking, usually these effects decline in the later stage of the intervention and post intervention removal. They argue that in order to make future interventions more sustainable, walking-friendly ecological systems need to be provided.

Using the specific intervention example of the Ciclovía in Chapter 14, Olga L. Sarmiento, Carlos Pedraza, Camilo A. Triana, Diana P. Díaz, Silvia González and Sergio Montero describe the Ciclovía-Recreativa, a programme that started in the 1970s in the city of Bogotá, Colombia, in which on all Sundays and public holidays a circuit of streets is closed for cars and instead used for leisure activities by many people. Over the last few decades Ciclovía-type programmes have been implemented in many cities on all continents. Sarmiento et al. examine the association between Ciclovía participation and levels of walking and determinants for the sustainability and scalability of the programme.

These first three sections consider the more generic aspects of walking and health. What becomes increasingly apparent is that, whilst there are general principles, cities have unique aspects which both create opportunities and temper what is possible. The penultimate section of the book addresses this by presenting case studies from different parts of the globe, showing how the distinctive elements of a city can shape the outcome of policies or interventions.

Vancouver in Canada is considered to be one of the most walkable and activity friendly cities in the world (Quastel, Moos, & Lynch, 2012). In Chapter 15, Sandy James describes the historical development of the urban form in Vancouver and the factors that led to its high walkability. This chapter also describes more recent projects, such as densification of neighbourhoods along commercial areas, improving pedestrian safety and traffic calming, and connecting parks, commercial spaces, schools and streets through a series of connected ‘greenways’, showing how present day efforts are being made to make neighbourhoods in Vancouver more walkable and how these could be replicated in other cities.

A similar historical approach is taken in Chapter 16 which looks at developments in Austria’s capital city Vienna. Quite different city approaches are evident, showing how the city context shapes the outcome. Wiebke Unbehaun, Mailin Gaupp-Berghausen and Petra Jens include a discussion of strategies to further increase the already high mode share of walking in Vienna. For instance, the city of Vienna has instituted the Mobility Agency for Vienna with its own officers for walking and cycling. Measures to make the built environment more walking friendly are complemented with communication strategies and evaluations of these measures demonstrated the success in further increasing walking levels.

In Chapter 17, Diana C. Parra and Pablo D. Lemoine present an overview of TransMilenio in Bogotá, a Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) system that started in the 1970s in Brazil and has since been adopted in more than 200 cities around the world. Historically, the city of Bogotá had a very clogged up transportation system. Today, Bogotá is the city with the largest BRT network in Colombia. As previously mentioned, using public transport can significantly contribute to achieving recommended amounts of physical activity and this chapter considers the evidence in Bogotá showing the synergies between walking and public transport use.

Providing an example of how safety can be enhanced by the design of public spaces, in Chapter 18, Sunghoon Oh and Jennifer L. Kent present the notion and evolution of Pedestrian Priority Streets (PPS), a new concept in shared street design developed in Seoul, South Korea. The main purpose of PPS is to retrofit narrow and busy street networks to promote shared use and protect pedestrians. The chapter provides an ac...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Title Page
• Chapter 1 Introduction
• Section 1 Walking: Its Prevalence, Its Benefits and Its Variety
• Section 2 Environments and Walking
• Section 3 Public Policy for Walking
• Section 4 Case Studies
• Section 5 Into the Future
• About the Authors
• Index