Fast Fact Library

Researchers studying a Toronto pilot project found that installing a bike lane and removing 136 on-street parking spaces improved the business environment for establishments along the corridor. The number of...

Arancibia, Daniel, Steven Farber, Beth Savan, Yvonne Verlinden, Nancy Smith Lea, Jeff Allen, and Lee Vernich. “Measuring the Local Economic Impacts of Replacing On-Street Parking With Bike Lanes.” Journal of the American Planning Association 85, no. 4 (2019): 463–81. https://doi.org/10.1080/01944363.2019.1638816

A study of data provided by 575 Australian mothers with a child between the ages of 2 and 5 indicated that outdoor play time was positively associated with cooperative and easy-going social skills along with...

Hinkley T, Brown H, Carson V, Teychenne M (2018) Cross sectional associations of screen time and outdoor play with social skills in preschool children. PLoS ONE 13(4): e0193700. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0193700

People living in urban environments with higher walkability, better availability of public transport, and more parks were found to be active on average 68 to 89 minutes more per week than people living in less...

Sallis, James F., Ester Cerin, Terry L. Conway, Marc A. Adams, Lawrence D. Frank, Michael Pratt, Deborah Salvo, Jasper Schipperijn, Graham Smith, Kelli L. Cain, Rachel Davey, Jaqueline Kerr, Poh-Chin Lai, Josef Mitás, Rodrigo Reis, Olga L. Sarmiento, Grant Schofield, Jens Troelsen, Delfien Van Dyck, Ilse De Bourdeauhuij, and Neville Owen 2016. “Physical activity in relation to urban environments in 14 cities worldwide: a cross-sectional study.” Lancet 28; 387 (2018): 2207-17. https://doi.org10.1016/S0140-6736(15)01284-2

A study of 167 European cities suggests that up to 10,000 premature deaths could be avoided annually if cities provided sufficient infrastructure and 1 in every 4 citizens used bicycling as their primary mode of...

Natalie Mueller et al., on behalf of the PASTA consortium. Health impact assessment of cycling network expansions in European cities. Preventive Medicine 10.1016 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ypmed.2017.12.011

A visual preference survey of 836 Boston pedestrians and cyclists indicates a preference for trees and shrubs as dividers between bike lanes and traffic and the presence of trees alongside bike lanes over no trees...

Lusk, Anne C., Demostenes Ferreira da Silva Filho, and Lea Dobbert. (2018). Pedestrian and cyclist preferences for tree locations by sidewalks and cycle tracks and associated benefits: Worldwide implications from a study in Boston, MA. Cities. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cities.2018.06.024

A study of 174 parks in 25 U.S. cities found that parks with walking loops had 90% higher levels of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity in park users as compared to parks without walking loops. Parks with walking...

Cohen, Deborah A., Bing Han, Kelly R. Evenson, Catherine Nagel, Thomas L. Mckenzie, Terry Marsh, Stephanie Williamson, and Peter Harnik. “The Prevalence and Use of Walking Loops in Neighborhood Parks: A National Study.” Environmental Health Perspectives 125, no. 2 (2017): 170–74. https://doi.org/10.1289/ehp293.

In a review of 30 published health impact assessments on the costs and benefits associated with walking and cycling for transportation, substantial health benefits were found with a shift to active transportation...

Mueller, Natalie, David Rojas-Rueda, Tom Cole-Hunter, Audrey de Nazelle, Evi Dons, Regine Gerike, Thomas Götschi, Luc Int Panis, Sonja Kahlmeier, and Mark Nieuwenhuijsen. (2015). Health impact assessment of active transportation: a systematic review. Preventive medicine, 76, 103-114.

Urban middle school students in Canada were more physically active when their neighborhoods contained undeveloped natural areas with trees but not meadows. For every 5% increase in tree-covered land, there was a...

Janssen, Ian, and Andrei Rosu. (2015). Undeveloped green space and free-time physical activity in 11 to 13-year-old children. International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity, 12(1), 26.

In a study of four urban parks in low-income neighborhoods in San Francisco, the two recently-renovated parks saw more than a doubling in the number of visitors and a substantial increase in energy expended compared...

Cohen, Deborah A., Bing Han, Jennifer Isacoff, Bianca Shulaker, Stephanie Williamson, Terry Marsh, Thomas L. McKenzie, Megan Weir, and Rajiv Bhatia. (2015). Impact of park renovations on park use and park-based physical activity. Journal of Physical Activity & Health, 12(2), 289-295.