Walkability and active travel in Bielefeld

Background: Activity-friendly environments, characterized by physical features of a walkable neighborhood, can foster active travel on a population level. This evidence is based on large-scale studies conducted in non-European cities, mostly. Therefore, more walkability studies from European contexts are needed to better understand residential impacts on physical activity and to provide evidence for public health advocacy in urban planning.

Methods: Active travel data were obtained from a municipal transport survey among 2796 adults (51.5% female) living in Bielefeld, Germany in the year 2010. Geographic information from administrative sources and OpenStreetMap were used to assess neighborhood walkability by household density, land-use mix, retail floor-area-ratio and street connectivity for statistical districts of Bielefeld as the unit of analysis. Multilevel binary logistic regression was used to examine the association of engagement in any active travel and neighborhood walkability, while controlling for respondent's age, sex, occupation, and driving license status, household size and available transport means as well as neighborhood socioeconomic status and migration background.

Results: A total of 35.8% in 2796 adult respondents engaged in active travel. Active travel was significantly related to smaller households, decreased availability of motorcars, increased availability of bicycles, as well as residing in neighborhoods with higher walkability, higher socioeconomic status and lower percentage of residents with a migration background. Controlling for individual, household and area level variables, a one-unit change in neighborhood walkability increased the odds for active travel by Odds Ratio = 1.09 (95% CI: 1.06 to 1.13). No evidence was found for an association between active travel and age, sex, available motor cycles or public transport passes, respectively. Associations with respondents' occupational status and driver's licenses status emerged on the individual level but disappeared after household variables were adjusted for.

Conclusions: The positive association between neighborhood walkability and active travel shown in other studies mostly outside Europe was confirmed in a German municipality. Higher walkability of statistical districts was related to a modest but statistically significant increase in residents' active travel engagement, suggesting that urban design can be used to promote physical activity as a healthy transport mode. Referenzen beim Verfasser.