Safety and school travel: How does the built environment relate to correlates of safety, mode of travel and physical activity levels to and from school

Many children do not meet the physical activity targets necessary to accrue health benefits. Declines in active school travel over the past half century are one example of how opportunities for daily physical activity for children have been lost. Adult safety concerns may partially relate to the recent decreases in active school travel. This dissertation examines the connection between safety, the built environment and school travel behaviour. A mixed methods study design explores the links between safety, the environment, physical activity and school transport.;Findings from the first results chapter suggest that safety in general is a concern for both parents and children but safety concerns are not uniform. Both parents and children were worried about strangers, while children identified additional concerns such as dogs and bullies. Traffic safety concerns related to street crossings, incomplete sidewalks and traffic around the school.;Further analysis determined that objective measures of the environment such as street crossings, sidewalk, traffic and parking relate to mode of travel. Perceptions regarding the presence of strangers, street crossings and living in a safe neighbourhood, were also important factors. Differences were observed across the to/from school models, with more environmental features influencing mode choice during the trip to school.;Concerning children's health, findings suggest that the environment may relate to healthier body weights along with encouraging walking and minutes of physical activity. Longer distances, mode of travel and traffic calming features along the route to school related to an increase the number of minutes of activity before school.;There is evidence that safety is an important factor in determining travel behaviour and features of the built environment may influence these decisions. Current policies aimed at curbing bullying at both the school and provincial level should continue and be expanded. Further work should look at reducing the number of vehicles around the school to increase walking rates. More time walking translates into more physical activity and may assist children in achieving daily physical activity targets.