Active but not Independent
Children’s School Travel Patterns in a Compact-City Environment in Greece
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 22018128 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Garyfallia Katsavounidou (0000-0001-8244-1106, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki), Elpiniki Voutsa, Sofia Sepetzi (Aristotle University of Thessaloniki) |
| Year | 2024 |
| Volume | 9 |
| Publication date | 2024-11-21 |
| 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.8682 |
| OpenAlex | W4404583792 |
| Language | EN |
| References cited | 39 |
Children’s active travel and independent mobility, especially regarding their daily travel to and from school, is essential for their wellbeing, influencing their physical health, psychology, social and cognitive skills, as well as priming children and youth for active and sustainable mobility choices when they become adults. Although active travel and independent mobility are interrelated concepts, they are quite distinct from each other, since a child’s active travel to school, on foot or by bicycle, can also occur with an adult escort. This article investigates children’s school commute patterns in a compact-city environment, using a structured questionnaire addressed to parents of elementary school children. The empirical study was conducted in Kordelio-Evosmos, a densely populated municipality in western Thessaloniki, which has one of the highest percentages of child population among Greek cities. The survey included questions about children’s school travel patterns, parents’ own perceptions of the characteristics of the school route, and their views regarding the overall quality of the neighbourhood environment. Children’s age ranged from 6 to 12 years, with 72.82% being 9 years or over. We found that 66.5% of the children commute to school on foot; however, only 14.08% do so on their own. Parents’ decision to escort their children along the route contradicts the area’s compact-city attributes, such as short distances between home and school and mixed uses. Problematic aspects of the neighbourhood environment such as unsafe crossings, poor pedestrian infrastructure, and drivers’ illegal behaviour were found to influence parents’ decisions over their children’s travel modes
Geography · Pedestrian · Perception · Psychology · Traffic and Road Safety · Transportation Planning and Optimization · Urban Transport and Accessibility
Active school transport, physical activity levels and body weight of children and youth
The relative influence of urban form on a child’s travel mode to school
Freedom of Movement and Environmental Knowledge in Elementary School Children
The decline in active school transportation (AST)
Children’s and parents’ perceptions on safe routes to schools
Children's autonomous mobility and their well-being
Understanding child and parent perceptions of barriers influencing children’s active school travel
Understanding the drive to escort
Australian children's independent mobility levels
The influence of psychosocial and environmental factors on children's independent mobility and relationship to peer frequentation
Children’s affective experience of every-day travel
Exploring independent and active mobility in primary school children in Vienna
Keep the children walking
Preventing the leading cause of death in young people in Europe
The walking school bus
Understanding the School Journey
| Citation velocity | historical |
|---|---|
| Highly cited | No |