A growing number of studies have examined correlates of walking-to/from-school behaviors. However, the potential differences across neighborhoods have been understudied.

Research examining the association between environmental attributes and physical activity among youth is growing. An updated review of literature is needed to summarize the current evidence base, and to inform policies and environmental interventions to promote active lifestyles among young people.

Spatial distribution of children’s school commute behavior was analyzed from three perspectives that are: 1) commuting to school independently of parents, 2) commuting to school by active modes and 3) allocation of escorting tasks for children between mother and father.

Street-scale urban design policies are recommended to increase physical activity in communities; thus, this study examines U.S. public support for such policies.

Recreational facility availability has been shown to associate positively with youth physical activity levels. Nonetheless, little is known about additional facility characteristics affecting their use for physical activity as well as differences between private and public facilities.

This paper reviews trends in cycling levels, safety, and policies in Canada and the USA over the past two decades.

This webinar addresses common issues that schools face, presents information on common solutions and highlights communities that have creatively faced this issue and as a result have more students bicycling to school daily.

This document is a short informational document, demonstrating the benefits of joint use gardens and also discusses the benefits of joint use partnerships.

This video serves as a training tool for communities to establish joint use agreements brought to you by California Prjoect Lean, The California Department of Public Health and the California School Board Association.

This article examines the role smart growth can play in achieving planning objectives, including energy conservation and emission reductions. It summarizes existing literature on land use impacts on travel activity, energy consumption and pollution emissions. It examines claims that smart growth policies are ineffective and harmful.

Automobile exhaust pose health risks and dependency on car commuting also reduces physical fitness opportunities.

Studies have reported high exposure to air pollutants at school, but only a handful of studies have analysed children’s exposure at school.

Vehicular emissions in close proximity to schools can have detrimental health effects on children. The Safe Routes to School program claims to improve air quality through implementation due to reduced volume of traffic generated to schools.

This study is the first bi-national investigation characterizing traffic air pollutants at four schools in El Paso, USA and Cd. Juarez, Mexico. 

KEY TAKEAWAY:

• Comprehensive physical activity programs in school settings can affect physical activity, health, and academic performance.

An extensive body of research exists on environmental influences on weight-related behaviors in young people. Existing reviews aimed to synthesize this body of work, but generally focused on specific samples, behaviors or environmental influences and integration of findings is lacking.

The purpose of this study is to estimate the risks and benefits to health of travel by bicycle, using a bicycle sharing scheme, compared with travel by car in an urban environment.

The purpose of this paper is twofold: (1) to identify the common existing international policies established to increase physical activity in children and adolescents; and (2) to examine the extent to which these policies are supported by solid scientific evidence.

Through a multidisciplinary literature review, the authors investigated the association between various built environment attributes and childhood obesity.

This paper assesses the role of existing school physical activity programs for a national cohort from first grade to fifth grade.