Assessing cycling-friendly environments for children: are micro-environmental factors equally important across different street settings?
BACKGROUND
As physical activity levels decrease as children age, sustainable and accessible forms of physical activity are needed from a young age. Transportation cycling is one such physical activity and has been associated with many benefits. The aims of the study were to identify whether manipulating micro-environmental factors (e.g. speed limits, evenness of cycle path) within a photographed street influences the perceived supportiveness for transportation cycling; and whether changing these micro-environmental factors has the same effect across different street settings.


METHODS
We recruited 305 fifth and sixth grade children and their parents from twelve randomly selected primary schools in Flanders, Belgium. They completed a web-based questionnaire including 12 choice-based conjoint tasks, in which they had to choose between two possible routes depicted on manipulated photographs, which the child would cycle along. The routes differed in four attributes: general street setting (enclosed, half open, open), evenness of cycle path (very uneven, moderately uneven, even), speed limit (70 km/h, 50 km/h, 30 km/h) and degree of separation between a cycle path and motorised traffic (no separation, curb, hedge). Hierarchical Bayes analyses revealed the relative importance of each micro-environmental attribute across the three street settings.


RESULTS
For each attribute, children and their parents chose routes that had the best alternative (i.e. open street setting, even cycle path, 30 km/h, a hedge separating the cycle path from motorised traffic). The evenness of the cycle path and lower speed limit had the largest effect for the children, while the degree of separation and lower speed limit had the largest effect for their parents. Interactions between micro-scale and macro-scale factors revealed differences in the magnitude but not direction of their effects on route choice. The results held across the different kinds of street settings tested.


CONCLUSIONS
Improving micro-scale attributes may increase the supportiveness of a street for children's transportation cycling. We call for on-site research to test effects of changes in micro-environmental attributes on transportation cycling among children.
Department of Public Health, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Ghent University, De Pintelaan 185, 4K3, B-9000, Ghent, Belgium. Ariane.Ghekiere@UGent.be.|Department of Human Biometry and Biomechanics, Faculty of Physical Education and Physical Therapy, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Pleinlaan 2, B-1050, Brussels, Belgium. Ariane.Ghekiere@UGent.be.|Fund for Scientific Research Flanders (FWO), Egmontstraat 5, B-1000, Brussels, Belgium. Ariane.Ghekiere@UGent.be.
Ariane
A
Ghekiere
Department of Public Health, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Ghent University, De Pintelaan 185, 4K3, B-9000, Ghent, Belgium. Jelle.Vancauwenberg@UGent.be.|Department of Human Biometry and Biomechanics, Faculty of Physical Education and Physical Therapy, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Pleinlaan 2, B-1050, Brussels, Belgium. Jelle.Vancauwenberg@UGent.be.|Fund for Scientific Research Flanders (FWO), Egmontstraat 5, B-1000, Brussels, Belgium. Jelle.Vancauwenberg@UGent.be.
Jelle
J
Van Cauwenberg
Department of Human Biometry and Biomechanics, Faculty of Physical Education and Physical Therapy, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Pleinlaan 2, B-1050, Brussels, Belgium. Lieze.Mertens@UGent.be.|Fund for Scientific Research Flanders (FWO), Egmontstraat 5, B-1000, Brussels, Belgium. Lieze.Mertens@UGent.be.|Department of Movement and Sport Sciences, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Ghent University, Watersportlaan 2, B-9000, Ghent, Belgium. Lieze.Mertens@UGent.be.
Lieze
L
Mertens
Department of Human Biometry and Biomechanics, Faculty of Physical Education and Physical Therapy, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Pleinlaan 2, B-1050, Brussels, Belgium. pclarys@vub.ac.be.
Peter
P
Clarys
Department of Human Physiology, Faculty of Physical Education and Physical Therapy, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Pleinlaan 2, B-1050, Brussels, Belgium. Bas.de.Geus@vub.ac.be.
Bas
B
de Geus
Department of Movement and Sport Sciences, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Ghent University, Watersportlaan 2, B-9000, Ghent, Belgium. greet.cardon@ugent.be.
Greet
G
Cardon
Ohio State University, City and Regional Planning, 292 Knowlton Hall, West 18 Woodruff Avenue 275, Columbus, OH, 43210, USA. nasar.1@osu.edu.
Jack
J
Nasar
Centre for Physical Activity and Nutrition Research, School of Exercise and Nutrition Science, Deakin University, Melbourne, Australia. Jo.salmon@deakin.edu.au.
Jo
J
Salmon
Department of Movement and Sport Sciences, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Ghent University, Watersportlaan 2, B-9000, Ghent, Belgium. Ilse.Debourdeaudhuij@UGent.be.
Ilse
I
De Bourdeaudhuij
Department of Public Health, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Ghent University, De Pintelaan 185, 4K3, B-9000, Ghent, Belgium. Benedicte.Deforche@UGent.be.|Department of Human Biometry and Biomechanics, Faculty of Physical Education and Physical Therapy, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Pleinlaan 2, B-1050, Brussels, Belgium. Benedicte.Deforche@UGent.be.
Benedicte
B
Deforche
D001530:Belgium; D001642:Bicycling / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D002648:Child; D004779:Environment Design / Q000592:standards*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009043:Motor Activity; D010290:Parents; D010781:Photography; D012574:Schools; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014186:Transportation / Q000379:methods*