Active travel safety: built and social environment perceptions of parents and students

Little research on children’s mode of travel had been completed until Safe Routes to School became a widespread program in the 1990s. Since then, active travel has been shown to influence children’s current health status, in addition to their future health and wellbeing. Long run benefits arise because past behaviors influence future behaviors, and many habits created in childhood can last a lifetime. Many studies have reported parental perceptions, barriers and facilitators to active travel when considering how their children will travel to school. However, very little research has addressed children’s perceptions of the built and social environment or components of environmental and personal safety. Children’s perceptions, particularly those of safety and their environment, may be an important link to not only their present health and travel behaviors, but also their health and behaviors in the future. Perceptions have been studied primarily through caregiver surveys, with few studies talking to or surveying children themselves. Youth may have different perceptions, additional concerns, or ideas to improve safety, all of which may influence their current travel mode or route, and their travel habits into the future. Notably, few studies of parents and fewer of students have used qualitative methods to gain a deeper understanding, rationale, or description of safety concerns and potential improvements to safety. The research presented here goes beyond prior work by providing both quantitative models and qualitative analyses from middle school students, to better understand perceptions of safety in the built and social environment. This dissertation poses two broad research questions. First, what are students’ perceptions of safety in the built and social environment as they relate to mode choice? And do students’ perceptions of safety vary based on demographics? Second, what are parents and children’s perceptions of the built and social environment, specifically regarding their child’s trip to and from school? Why? Are parents and students’ perceptions different? If so, how so?Ph.D.Includes bibliographical referencesby Shannon M. Sweene