title: Physical Activity through Sustainable Transport Approaches (PASTA): a study protocol for a multicentre project.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Only one-third of the European population meets the minimum recommended levels of physical activity (PA). Physical inactivity is a major risk factor for non-communicable diseases. Walking and cycling for transport (active mobility, AM) are well suited to provide regular PA. The European research project Physical Activity through Sustainable Transport Approaches (PASTA) pursues the following aims: (1) to investigate correlates and interrelations of AM, PA, air pollution and crash risk; (2) to evaluate the effectiveness of selected interventions to promote AM; (3) to improve health impact assessment (HIA) of AM; (4) to foster the exchange between the disciplines of public health and transport planning, and between research and practice.
  
  
  METHODS
  PASTA pursues a mixed-method and multilevel approach that is consistently applied in seven case study cities. Determinants of AM and the evaluation of measures to increase AM are investigated through a large scale longitudinal survey, with overall 14,000 respondents participating in Antwerp, Barcelona, London, Örebro, Rome, Vienna and Zurich. Contextual factors are systematically gathered in each city. PASTA generates empirical findings to improve HIA for AM, for example, with estimates of crash risks, factors on AM-PA substitution and carbon emissions savings from mode shifts. Findings from PASTA will inform WHO's online Health Economic Assessment Tool on the health benefits from cycling and/or walking. The study's wide scope, the combination of qualitative and quantitative methods and health and transport methods, the innovative survey design, the general and city-specific analyses, and the transdisciplinary composition of the consortium and the wider network of partners promise highly relevant insights for research and practice.
  
  
  BACKGROUND
  Ethics approval has been obtained by the local ethics committees in the countries where the work is being conducted, and sent to the European Commission before the start of the survey. The PASTA website (http://www.pastaproject.eu) is at the core of all communication and dissemination activities.
authors.affiliation: University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences Vienna, Institute for Transport Studies, Vienna, Austria Dresden University of Technology, Chair of Integrated Transport Planning and Traffic Engineering, Dresden, Germany.
authors.forename: Regine
authors.identifier: http://orcid.org/0000-0002-8063-6636
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Gerike
authors.affiliation: Centre for Environmental Policy, Imperial College London, London, UK.
authors.forename: Audrey
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: de Nazelle
authors.affiliation: Centre for Research in Environmental Epidemiology (CREAL), Barcelona, Spain Universitat Pompeu Fabra (UPF), Barcelona, Spain CIBER Epidemiología y Salud Pública (CIBERESP), Madrid, Spain.
authors.forename: Mark
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Nieuwenhuijsen
authors.affiliation: Flemish Institute for Technological Research (VITO), Mol, Belgium Transportation Research Institute (IMOB), Hasselt University, Diepenbeek, Belgium.
authors.forename: Luc Int
authors.initials: LI
authors.lastname: Panis
authors.affiliation: Centre for Environmental Policy, Imperial College London, London, UK.
authors.forename: Esther
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Anaya
authors.affiliation: Centre for Research in Environmental Epidemiology (CREAL), Barcelona, Spain Universitat Pompeu Fabra (UPF), Barcelona, Spain CIBER Epidemiología y Salud Pública (CIBERESP), Madrid, Spain.
authors.forename: Ione
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Avila-Palencia
authors.affiliation: Polis, Brussels, Belgium.
authors.forename: Florinda
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Boschetti
authors.affiliation: Transport Studies Unit, University of Oxford (UOXF), Oxford, UK.
authors.forename: Christian
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Brand
authors.affiliation: Centre for Research in Environmental Epidemiology (CREAL), Barcelona, Spain Universitat Pompeu Fabra (UPF), Barcelona, Spain CIBER Epidemiología y Salud Pública (CIBERESP), Madrid, Spain.
authors.forename: Tom
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Cole-Hunter
authors.affiliation: Flemish Institute for Technological Research (VITO), Mol, Belgium Centre for Environmental Sciences, Hasselt University, Diepenbeek, Belgium.
authors.forename: Evi
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Dons
authors.affiliation: Trivector Traffic AB, Stockholm, Sweden.
authors.forename: Ulf
authors.initials: U
authors.lastname: Eriksson
authors.affiliation: University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences Vienna, Institute for Transport Studies, Vienna, Austria.
authors.forename: Mailin
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Gaupp-Berghausen
authors.affiliation: Physical Activity and Health Unit, Epidemiology, Biostatistics and Prevention Institute, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland.
authors.forename: Sonja
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Kahlmeier
authors.affiliation: Flemish Institute for Technological Research (VITO), Mol, Belgium Transportation Research Institute (IMOB), Hasselt University, Diepenbeek, Belgium.
authors.forename: Michelle
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Laeremans
authors.affiliation: Centre for Research in Environmental Epidemiology (CREAL), Barcelona, Spain Universitat Pompeu Fabra (UPF), Barcelona, Spain CIBER Epidemiología y Salud Pública (CIBERESP), Madrid, Spain.
authors.forename: Natalie
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Mueller
authors.affiliation: Centre for Environmental Policy, Imperial College London, London, UK.
authors.forename: Juan Pablo
authors.initials: JP
authors.lastname: Orjuela
authors.affiliation: World Health Organization (WHO) Regional Office for Europe, Copenhagen, Denmark.
authors.forename: Francesca
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Racioppi
authors.affiliation: University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences Vienna, Institute for Transport Studies, Vienna, Austria.
authors.forename: Elisabeth
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Raser
authors.affiliation: Centre for Research in Environmental Epidemiology (CREAL), Barcelona, Spain Universitat Pompeu Fabra (UPF), Barcelona, Spain CIBER Epidemiología y Salud Pública (CIBERESP), Madrid, Spain.
authors.forename: David
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Rojas-Rueda
authors.affiliation: World Health Organization (WHO) Regional Office for Europe, Copenhagen, Denmark.
authors.forename: Christian
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Schweizer
authors.affiliation: Flemish Institute for Technological Research (VITO), Mol, Belgium.
authors.forename: Arnout
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Standaert
authors.affiliation: University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences Vienna, Institute for Transport Studies, Vienna, Austria.
authors.forename: Tina
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Uhlmann
authors.affiliation: University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences Vienna, Institute for Transport Studies, Vienna, Austria.
authors.forename: Sandra
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Wegener
authors.affiliation: Physical Activity and Health Unit, Epidemiology, Biostatistics and Prevention Institute, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland.
authors.forename: Thomas
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Götschi
mesh_terms: D000397:Air Pollution / Q000009:adverse effects; D001642:Bicycling / Q000502:physiology; D002947:Cities; D004777:Environment; D005060:Europe; D006304:Health Status; D006801:Humans; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D009043:Motor Activity / Q000502:physiology*; D012931:Social Environment; D014186:Transportation; D014505:Urban Population; D016138:Walking / Q000502:physiology
keywords: PUBLIC HEALTH; SPORTS MEDICINE; STATISTICS & RESEARCH METHODS