Walkability and Parental Safety Perceptions as Determinants of Children’s School Commutes
A Systematic Review
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 22018367 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Catarina Cadima (0000-0002-4969-5013), Paulo Pinho (0000-0001-5159-8856) |
| Year | 2024 |
| Volume | 9 |
| Publication date | 2024-11-25 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Urban Planning (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 2183-7635 • E-ISSN: 2183-7635 |
| Publisher | Cogitatio (PUBLISHER • PT) |
| DOI | 10.17645/up.8790 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 2 |
| References cited | 58 |
Walking is the oldest, most affordable, and environmentally healthy mode of transport. Its importance is widely recognised in the scientific and political fields, with active school travel being a consensual target goal. Children’s active school travel promotes physical activity, independence, and social interaction. Additionally, it contributes to mitigating traffic congestion, reducing air pollution, and enhancing societal well-being. Despite these positive effects, children’s commuting patterns and outdoor activities are becoming more restricted due to the continuous growth of motorised traffic and car-oriented urban environment conditions. As a result, school walkability indexes are emerging in literature, although few consider parental safety perceptions. This review offers a comprehensive overview of the existing evidence, examining and summarising quantitative and qualitative studies on school walkability and the impact of parental barriers on children walking to school. The updated information provided in this review highlights the link between the urban environment, parental fear of traffic, and children’s school travel behaviour. Using the PRISMA method and a series of in-depth interviews, we developed a comprehensive walkability model. The literature review highlights the importance of geographical differences and social and environmental diversities, requiring different solutions to promoting active commuting to school. Distance and quality of infrastructure are critical factors, but not exclusive. Our interview results suggest that social norms, parents’ fear of car traffic, and educational background can influence the results. This study offers insights into perceived walkability, particularly regarding school walkability in a Portuguese context
Measuring Physical Activity Environments
Independent Mobility and Mode Choice for School Transportation
Active Commuting to School
Linking objectively measured physical activity with objectively measured urban form
Environmental correlates of walking and cycling
Neighborhood Environment Walkability Scale for Youth (News-Y)
Walking alone or walking together
Children’s mode choice for the school trip
Children’s Active School Travel
Children’s Independent Mobility to School in Seven European Countries
Fitness, Fatness and Active School Commuting among Liverpool Schoolchildren
Children’s Experiences of Their Journey to School
Getting to Know a Place
Adaptation and evaluation of the neighborhood environment walkability scale for youth for Chinese children (News-CC)
Associations of children's active school travel with perceptions of the physical environment and characteristics of the social environment
Children’s independent mobility
School site and the potential to walk to school
Toward an understanding of children’s perceptions of their transport geographies
Associations between the streetscape built environment and walking to school among primary schoolchildren in Beijing, China
School site walkability and active school transport – association, mediation and moderation
Children’s independent mobility in Portugal
Are school-based measures of walkability and greenness associated with modes of commuting to school? Findings from a student survey in Ontario, Canada
| Unique citing works | 2 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 2 |
| Citation span | 2026 - 2026 (1) |
| Citation velocity | current |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 2 |