| Increases in per capita vehicle usage and associated emissions, along with decreases in physical activity, have initiated renewed examination of the ways in which our communities are developing. Automobile exhaust contains precursors to ozone and fine particulate matter, posing health risks, while dependency on car commuting also reduces physical fitness opportunities. In fact, transport-related inactivity, i.e. the use of motorized transport rather than walking and bicycling, has been linked to increased mortality and decreases in healthy life years, with the greatest impacts on chronic diseases. Recent research has begun to focus on the link between physical activity, public health, and the built environment in an effort to address the increasing rates of overweight, obesity and chronic diseases; yet, there is not as much evidence on active transportation. This dissertation attempts to fill some of the gaps in research on built environment affects on active transportation. In the first paper, I address the individual and environmental correlates of active transportation behavior. Our findings suggest that active transportation behaviors are likely to be associated with individuals' perceptions of their built environment, but primarily with the presence of proximal destinations, trails, and streets supportive of bicycling and walking.;In the next paper, I develop a composite "active transportation" index that includes both connectivity and proximity measures, which builds off previous walkability indices, but also includes measures of bikeability, and public transit. My findings drive future policy decisions focused on the facilitation of utilitarian transport.;Last, I examine the many air quality, physical fitness, economic, and global climate change mitigating affects of replacing short car trips with bicycle trips in the eleven largest cities in the Upper Midwest. My findings suggest that significant health and economic benefits are possible.;This dissertation offers evidence supporting a priority to transform communities so as to provide alternative transportation options to motorized vehicle use, and in favor of community investments that get people moving, such as bicycle and pedestrian infrastructure improvements and mixed-use developments. |
