Abstract
Walking for transportation is a common and accessible means of achieving recommended physical activity levels, while providing important social and environmental co-benefits. Even though walking in rapidly growing urban areas has become especially challenging given the increasing dependence on motorised transportation, walking remains a major mode of transportation in Latin American cities. In this paper we aimed to quantify self-reported walking for transportation in Mexico City, Bogota, Santiago de Chile, Sao Paulo, and Buenos Aires, by identifying both walking trips that are conducted entirely on foot and walking events involved in trips mainly conducted on other means of transportation (e.g. private vehicle, public transit) among individuals ≥5-years old. We show how walking-only trips account for approximately 30% trips in the analysed cities, and we evidence how the pedestrian dimension of mobility is largely underestimated if walking that is incidental to other transportation modes is not accounted for: when considering all walking events, we observed an increase between 73% and 217% in daily walking time. As a result, we estimated that between 19% and 25% of residents in these cities meet the WHO physical activity guidelines solely from walking for transportation. The results of the study also suggest that the promotion of public transportation in large Latin American cities can especially help certain population groups achieve the daily recommended levels of physical activity, while among low-income groups accessibility and safety seem to be the key challenges to be addressed.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 296-317 |
| Number of pages | 22 |
| Journal | Transport Reviews |
| Volume | 42 |
| Issue number | 3 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - 4 May 2022 |
| Externally published | Yes |
Bibliographical note
Funding Information:This paper is part of the Salud Urbana en América Latina (SALURBAL)/ Urban Health in Latin America project. SALURBAL is an international collaboration that studies how urban environments and urban policies impact the health of city residents and environmental sustainability throughout Latin America. SALURBAL’s findings inform policies and interventions to create healthier, more equitable, and more sustainable cities worldwide. SALURBAL is funded by the Wellcome Trust [205177/Z/16/Z]. The authors acknowledge the contribution of all SALURBAL project team members. For more information on SALURBAL and to see a full list of investigators see https://drexel.edu/lac/salurbal/team/ .
Funding Information:
This work was supported by Wellcome Trust: [Grant Number 205177/Z/16/Z]. This paper is part of the Salud Urbana en Am?rica Latina (SALURBAL)/ Urban Health in Latin America project. SALURBAL is an international collaboration that studies how urban environments and urban policies impact the health of city residents and environmental sustainability throughout Latin America. SALURBAL?s findings inform policies and interventions to create healthier, more equitable, and more sustainable cities worldwide. SALURBAL is funded by the Wellcome Trust [205177/Z/16/Z]. The authors acknowledge the contribution of all SALURBAL project team members. For more information on SALURBAL and to see a full list of investigators see https://drexel.edu/lac/salurbal/team/.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2021 The Author(s). Published by Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group.
Keywords
- active transportation
- Mobility
- pedestrian
- physical activity
- travel surveys
- urban areas
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Transportation
