Share: Essential Evidence
Top line: Child-Friendly Cities can lead to more children in better public spaces, enjoying themselves more. Children’s right to walk, cycle, roll, use public transport, sit, linger, play and socialize throughout the city needs to be clearly articulated.
Top line: Time spent outdoors with other children is an important source of physical activity after school. Interventions to increase physical activity may benefit from fostering friendship groups and limiting the time children spend alone. Physical activity during childhood confers health benefits throughout the lifespan. Children aged 5–18 are recommended to engage in at least one hour of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) per day, but the majority of children in the UK do not meet this target. Consequently the development and implementation of policies and programmes to change this behaviour is a major public health priority. The development of such strategies relies upon an understanding of the factors influencing physical activity.
Top line: School crossing patrols appear to be a necessary condition to improve elementary school pupil crossing behaviour and safety through use of the patrol facility. They appear insufficient on their own, however, to persuade the carers of those pupils who don’t travel actively to allow them to do so.
Top line: A walking distance of approximately a quarter of a mile is normally used as an estimate of willingness to walk when planning pedestrian-related infrastructure. However, an energy expenditure-based approach may be more helpful when considering characteristics for setting walking distance. Acceptable walking distance may be greater where the pedestrian environmental quality is perceived to be higher.
Top line: Investing in low bus fares across a journey to work area benefits the health of the local population both by providing additional travel using a highly safe form of transport and through the physical activity associated with travel to and from bus and train stops.
Top line: Access to nature and green exercise leads to positive short and long-term health outcomes. The environment provides an important health service.
West of England
