IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/trapol/v126y2022icp151-161.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

More than walking and cycling: What is ‘active travel’?

Author

Listed:
  • Cook, Simon
  • Stevenson, Lorna
  • Aldred, Rachel
  • Kendall, Matt
  • Cohen, Tom

Abstract

Where has the concept of ‘active travel’ come from and where is it taking us? In this paper, we explore these questions, firstly, through a systematic review that summarises the growth of active travel research over the last 15 years. This suggests a tendency to equate or reduce active travel to simply walking and cycling. We then move on to explore what expanding this definition to include all “travel in which the sustained physical exertion of the traveller directly contributes to their motion” would mean for active travel research and the modes it studies. To do this, we provide a thematic review of the limited transport literature into wider active travel modes (such as running, kick scooting, skateboarding and wheelchair use). The thematic review discusses six threads (emergence, fun, inclusivity, safety, regulation, and design) that explore what is known about these wider active modes and how transport research characterises them. We conclude with a discussion of the likely implications of expanding the definition of active travel more widely for policy, practice and transport-related research. While not risk-free, we argue that embracing an expanded notion of active travel has much to offer and it should be approached more broadly within transport studies than it is.

Suggested Citation

  • Cook, Simon & Stevenson, Lorna & Aldred, Rachel & Kendall, Matt & Cohen, Tom, 2022. "More than walking and cycling: What is ‘active travel’?," Transport Policy, Elsevier, vol. 126(C), pages 151-161.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:trapol:v:126:y:2022:i:c:p:151-161
    DOI: 10.1016/j.tranpol.2022.07.015
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0967070X22002025
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.tranpol.2022.07.015?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Michelle Pyer & Faith Tucker, 2017. "‘With us, we, like, physically can’t’: Transport, Mobility and the Leisure Experiences of Teenage Wheelchair Users," Mobilities, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 12(1), pages 36-52, January.
    2. Geels, Frank W., 2012. "A socio-technical analysis of low-carbon transitions: introducing the multi-level perspective into transport studies," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 24(C), pages 471-482.
    3. Rachel Aldred, 2015. "A Matter of Utility? Rationalising Cycling, Cycling Rationalities," Mobilities, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 10(5), pages 686-705, December.
    4. Elaine Stratford, 2016. "Mobilizing a Spatial Politics of Street Skating: Thinking About the Geographies of Generosity," Annals of the American Association of Geographers, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 106(2), pages 350-357, March.
    5. Kevin Fang & Susan Handy, 2019. "Skateboarding for transportation: exploring the factors behind an unconventional mode choice among university skateboard commuters," Transportation, Springer, vol. 46(1), pages 263-283, February.
    6. Piet Rietveld, 2001. "Biking and Walking: The Position of Non-Motorised Transport Modes in Transport Systems," Tinbergen Institute Discussion Papers 01-111/3, Tinbergen Institute.
    7. Davies, N.J. & Weston, R., 2015. "Reducing car-use for leisure: Can organised walking groups switch from car travel to bus and train walks?," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 48(C), pages 23-29.
    8. Nancy Hui & Shoshanna Saxe & Matthew Roorda & Paul Hess & Eric J. Miller, 2018. "Measuring the completeness of complete streets," Transport Reviews, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 38(1), pages 73-95, January.
    9. Lundberg, Benjamin & Weber, Joe, 2014. "Non-motorized transport and university populations: an analysis of connectivity and network perceptions," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 39(C), pages 165-178.
    10. Simon Cook & Jon Shaw & Paul Simpson, 2016. "Jography: Exploring Meanings, Experiences and Spatialities of Recreational Road-running," Mobilities, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 11(5), pages 744-769, October.
    11. Ory, David T. & Mokhtarian, Patricia L., 2005. "When is getting there half the fun? Modeling the liking for travel," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 39(2-3), pages 97-123.
    12. Rob Imrie, 2000. "Disability and Discourses of Mobility and Movement," Environment and Planning A, , vol. 32(9), pages 1641-1656, September.
    13. Martin Trandberg Jensen, 2018. "Urban pram strolling: a mobilities design perspective," Mobilities, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 13(4), pages 584-600, July.
    14. Cook, Simon, 2021. "Geographies of run-commuting in the UK," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 92(C).
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Zhang, Yuting & Nelson, John D. & Mulley, Corinne, 2024. "Learning from the evidence: Insights for regulating e-scooters," Transport Policy, Elsevier, vol. 151(C), pages 63-74.
    2. Reed Ciarloni & K. Bruce Newbold, 2023. "Air Pollution Health Literacy among Active Commuters in Hamilton, Ontario," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 20(13), pages 1-23, July.
    3. Zhu, Dianchen & Sze, N.N. & Feng, Zhongxiang & Chan, Ho-Yin, 2023. "Waiting for signalized crossing or walking to footbridge/underpass? Examining the effect of weather using stated choice experiment with panel mixed random regret minimization approach," Transport Policy, Elsevier, vol. 138(C), pages 144-169.
    4. Pietro Folco & Laetitia Gauvin & Michele Tizzoni & Michael Szell, 2023. "Data-driven micromobility network planning for demand and safety," Environment and Planning B, , vol. 50(8), pages 2087-2102, October.
    5. Soliz, Aryana & Carvalho, Thiago & Sarmiento-Casas, Claudio & Sánchez-Rodríguez, Jorge & El-Geneidy, Ahmed, 2023. "Scaling up active transportation across North America: A comparative content analysis of policies through a social equity framework," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 176(C).

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Yang, Wei & Hu, Jie & Liu, Yong & Guo, Wenbo, 2023. "Examining the influence of neighborhood and street-level built environment on fitness jogging in Chengdu, China: A massive GPS trajectory data analysis," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 108(C).
    2. Cook, Simon, 2021. "Geographies of run-commuting in the UK," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 92(C).
    3. Hook, Hannah & De Vos, Jonas & Van Acker, Veronique & Witlox, Frank, 2022. "‘On a road to nowhere….’ analyzing motivations for undirected travel," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 163(C), pages 148-164.
    4. Lovejoy, Kristin, 2012. "Mobility Fulfillment Among Low-car Households: Implications for Reducing Auto Dependence in the United States," Institute of Transportation Studies, Working Paper Series qt4v44b5qn, Institute of Transportation Studies, UC Davis.
    5. Erik G. Hansen & Stefan Schaltegger, 2018. "Sustainability Balanced Scorecards and their Architectures: Irrelevant or Misunderstood?," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 150(4), pages 937-952, July.
    6. Bhardwaj, Chandan & Axsen, Jonn & Kern, Florian & McCollum, David, 2020. "Why have multiple climate policies for light-duty vehicles? Policy mix rationales, interactions and research gaps," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 135(C), pages 309-326.
    7. Ireland, Aileen V. & Finnegan-John, Jennifer & Hubbard, Gill & Scanlon, Karen & Kyle, Richard G., 2019. "Walking groups for women with breast cancer: Mobilising therapeutic assemblages of walk, talk and place," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 231(C), pages 38-46.
    8. Sagaris, Lake, 2018. "Citizen participation for sustainable transport: Lessons for change from Santiago and Temuco, Chile," Research in Transportation Economics, Elsevier, vol. 69(C), pages 402-410.
    9. Alvaro Rodriguez-Valencia & Hernan A. Ortiz-Ramirez, 2021. "Understanding Green Street Design: Evidence from Three Cases in the U.S," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(4), pages 1-18, February.
    10. Zuoxian Gan & Tao Feng & Min Yang, 2018. "Exploring the Effects of Car Ownership and Commuting on Subjective Well-Being: A Nationwide Questionnaire Study," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(1), pages 1-20, December.
    11. Ruhrort, Lisa, 2020. "Reassessing the Role of Shared Mobility Services in a Transport Transition: Can They Contribute the Rise of an Alternative Socio-Technical Regime of Mobility?," EconStor Open Access Articles and Book Chapters, ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics, vol. 12(19), pages 1-1.
    12. Kevin X. Li & Tae-Joon Park & Paul Tae-Woo Lee & Heather McLaughlin & Wenming Shi, 2018. "Container Transport Network for Sustainable Development in South Korea," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(10), pages 1-16, October.
    13. Dong, Han & Zhang, Jun & Cirillo, Cinzia, 2019. "Exploring, understanding, and modeling the reciprocal relation between leisure and subjective well-being," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 130(C), pages 813-824.
    14. Barbanente, Angela & Grassini, Laura, 2022. "Fostering transitions in landscape policies: A multi-level perspective," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 112(C).
    15. Dorota Kleszczewska & Joanna Mazur & Jens Bucksch & Anna Dzielska & Catherina Brindley & Agnieszka Michalska, 2020. "Active Transport to School May Reduce Psychosomatic Symptoms in School-Aged Children: Data from Nine Countries," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(23), pages 1-12, November.
    16. Verma, Meghna & Rahul, T.M. & Reddy, Peesari Vamshidhar & Verma, Ashish, 2016. "The factors influencing bicycling in the Bangalore city," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 89(C), pages 29-40.
    17. Erika Sandow & Olle Westerlund & Urban Lindgren, 2014. "Is Your Commute Killing You? On the Mortality Risks of Long-Distance Commuting," Environment and Planning A, , vol. 46(6), pages 1496-1516, June.
    18. Sebastian Kussl & Andreas Wald, 2022. "Smart Mobility and its Implications for Road Infrastructure Provision: A Systematic Literature Review," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(1), pages 1-20, December.
    19. Pangbourne, Kate & Mladenović, Miloš N. & Stead, Dominic & Milakis, Dimitris, 2020. "Questioning mobility as a service: Unanticipated implications for society and governance," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 131(C), pages 35-49.
    20. Jokinen, Jani-Pekka & Sihvola, Teemu & Mladenovic, Milos N., 2019. "Policy lessons from the flexible transport service pilot Kutsuplus in the Helsinki Capital Region," Transport Policy, Elsevier, vol. 76(C), pages 123-133.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:trapol:v:126:y:2022:i:c:p:151-161. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/wps/find/journaldescription.cws_home/30473/description#description .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.