Meghan Winters

Women do a majority of mobility of care; in Canada they also tend to cycle less. We look at mobility of care by bike, specifically the gendered dimensions of child transportation and the equipment used to facilitate it. We observed 4026 people cycling in Victoria, Canada, 6.1% of whom were carrying children. The gender split was ~40:60 women: men, nearly identical for those with and without children. Electric cycle use was 2.5 times higher for those carrying children, and two-thirds were using cargo bikes. Findings show that mobility of care by bike is similar to overall bike use across genders and that cycling technologies appear important in uptake.

Intervention: Governments are investing in safer cycling infrastructure to provide transportation options that support health, mobility, and environmental outcomes; these can be considered population health interventions. Research question: We aimed to measure change from 2022 to 2024 in cycling infrastructure in Canada to understand what and where changes happened, and who was impacted. Methods: We extracted data from OpenStreetMap.org (OSM) in 2022 and 2024 and coded them according to the Canadian Bikeway Comfort and Safety (Can-BICS) classification system (high, medium, or low comfort and safety). We measured differences (2022–2024) in length and type of cycling infrastructure within census subdivisions. We related differences in cycling infrastructure metrics with population composition within dissemination areas, nationally, by city size, and for particular cities, examining specific population groups (children, older adults, recent immigrants, racialized people, and low-income populations). Results: Total Can-BICS-OSM cycling infrastructure in 2024 increased to 27,098 km (15.3%) from 23,502 km in 2022. Most new infrastructure was multi-use paths (2725 km). High-comfort bike-only paths increased by nearly 50% (49 km). Nationally, access increased for recent immigrants, racialized people, and people with low incomes. Overall, areas with more children and older adults saw less increase in access to infrastructure, but within small and medium cities there were often increases. Conclusion: Using a national dataset, we detected an increase in cycling infrastructure in Canadian communities, with mobility and health implications for many equity-deserving population groups. The greatest increases, proportionally, in cycling infrastructure were seen in small- and medium-sized cities.

Background: Bicycling has many health benefits for children but can result in injuries. The built environment is associated with the risk of bicycling injury in adults, yet less is known about risks for children. This study sought to explore associations between built environment characteristics and child bicyclist injuries in three Canadian municipalities. Methods: A case-crossover design where injured child bicyclists provided their injury site and two control sites along their route was used. Participants were recruited from three paediatric emergency departments in Vancouver, Calgary and Toronto. We recruited 333 injured child bicyclists (ages 5–17) from May 2018 to October 2021. Participants completed interviews that captured details concerning their injury location and route. We conducted built environment audits along the child’s bicycling route at the injury and two control sites. We compared the odds of injury across built environment characteristics of the injury and control sites using a mixed-effects logistic regression model. Results: The median route distance to the injury location was 742 m. Most participants were injured while bicycling on local streets and on sidewalks/paths next to the road. Compared with sidewalks/paths next to the road, unpaved off-road locations (adjusted OR (aOR): 2.45; 95% CI 1.33 to 4.51) were associated with higher odds of injury. Other risk factors included locations with debris (aOR: 1.52; 95% CI 1.05 to 2.21), surfaces with bumps/holes (aOR 2.14, 95% CI 1.25 to 3.66) and construction (aOR: 2.31; 95% CI 1.37, 3.91). Conclusion: This study adds to evidence suggesting built environment supports are important for increasing bicycling safety for Canadian children.

As urbanisation continues to accelerate, urban green spaces are increasingly recognised as key elements for enhancing people's health and well‐being. However, most research has used vegetation metrics that may not capture the specific associations between different types of vegetation and different mental health outcomes. In this study, we investigate the cross‐sectional associations between residential vegetation exposure and individual well‐being in Montreal, Canada, using different vegetation and well‐being measures: The proportion of grass cover, tree cover, and average NDVI value within buffers of various radii (100–1000 m) were linked to each participant's residence (n = 1072, aged 18 years or older), while well‐being was assessed using subjective happiness, emotional well‐being, and personal well‐being scales. The associations were analysed using generalised additive regression models. Our findings show that more vegetation was linked to enhanced well‐being, although the effect sizes were relatively small. Irrespective of the buffer distance, the positive associations for grass and NDVI were more pronounced than those for trees, though these associations varied across the different well‐being outcome measures. We also observed that increasing tree coverage has a stronger positive effect on the well‐being of individuals who are dissatisfied with the current number of street trees. Synthesis and applications. Everyday exposure to nearby nature is associated with better self‐reported mental health, suggesting urban greening policies should focus on including more vegetation within built spaces, from individual street trees to small and large parks. Our study also highlights the importance of distinguishing between different types of vegetation (e.g. grass vs. trees) when studying the effects of vegetation on well‐being or other health‐related outcomes. Likewise, using different measures of well‐being may provide a more nuanced and comprehensive understanding of how vegetation impacts people's well‐being. Read the free Plain Language Summary for this article on the Journal blog.

Objective To estimate the effect of (a) the COVID-19 pandemic and (b) COVID-19 restriction stringency on daily minutes of device-measured moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA). Design Physical activity data were collected from the INTerventions, Equity, Research and Action in Cities Team (INTERACT) cohorts in Montreal, Saskatoon and Vancouver before (May 2018 to February 2019, ‘phase 1’) and during the pandemic (October 2020 to February 2021, ‘phase 2’). We estimated the effect of the two exposures by comparing daily MVPA measured (a) before vs during the pandemic (phase 1 vs phase 2) and (b) at different levels of COVID-19 restriction stringency during phase 2. Separate mixed effects negative binomial regression models were used to estimate the association between each exposure and daily MVPA, with and without controlling for confounders. Analyses were conducted on person-days with at least 600 min of wear time. Effect modification by gender, age, income, employment status, education, children in the home and city was assessed via stratification. Setting Montreal (Quebec), Saskatoon (Saskatchewan) and Vancouver (British Columbia), Canada. Main outcome measure Daily minutes of MVPA, as measured using SenseDoc, a research-grade accelerometer device. Results Daily minutes of MVPA were 21% lower in phase 2 (October 2020 to February 2021) compared with phase 1 (May 2018 to February 2019), controlling for gender, age, employment status, household income, education, city, weather and wear time (rate ratio=0.79, 95% CI 0.69, 0.92). This did not appear to be driven by changes in the sample or timing of data collection between phases. The results suggested effect modification by employment, household income and education. Restriction stringency was not associated with daily MVPA between October 2020 and February 2021 (adjusted rate ratio=0.99, 95% CI 0.96, 1.03). Conclusions Between October 2020 and February 2021, daily minutes of MVPA were significantly lower than 2 years prior, but were not associated with daily COVID-19 restriction stringency.

Objective: To assess the efficacy of interventions aimed at increasing walking and cycling. Design: Systematic review with meta-analysis Study selection: The electronic databases MEDLINE, PsycINFO and Web of Science were searched from inception on 22 ^nd May 2023. Eligible study designs included randomised and non-randomised studies of interventions with specific study design features that enabled estimation of causality. No restrictions on type of outcome measurement, publication date or population age were applied. Data extraction and synthesis: Two reviewers independently extracted data and conducted quality assessment with Joanna Briggs Quality Assessment tools. Studies were categorised by intervention types described within the Behaviour Change Wheel. Where possible, random-effects meta-analyses were used to synthesise results within intervention types. Main outcome measures: The main outcome of interest was modal shift to active modes (walking and cycling). Other outcomes of interest included cycling and walking duration, frequency and counts, active transport duration and frequency, and moderate to vigorous physical activity duration (MVPA). Results: 106 studies that assessed the impact of an intervention on walking, cycling or active transport overall were included. Findings demonstrate that physical environmental restructure interventions, such as protected bike lanes and traffic calming infrastructure, were effective in increasing cycling duration (OR = 1.70, 95% CI 1.20 – 2.22; 2 studies). Other intervention types, including individually tailored behavioural programmes, and provision of e-bikes were also effective for increasing cycling frequency (OR = 1.33, 95% CI 1.23-1.43; 1 study) and duration (OR = 1.13, 95% CI 1.02.-1.22, 1 study). An intensive education programme intervention demonstrated a positive impact on walking duration (OR = 1.96, 95% CI 1.68 – 2.21; 1 study). An individually tailored behavioural programme (OR = 1.23, 95% CI 1.08 – 1.40; 3 studies) and community walking programme (OR = 1.15, 95% CI 1.14 – 1.17; 1 study) also increased the odds of increased walking duration. This body of research would benefit from more rigour in study design to limit lower quality evidence with the potential for bias. Conclusions: This review provides evidence for investment in high-quality active transportation infrastructure, such as protected bike lanes, to improve cycling and active transport participation overall. It also provides evidence for investment in other non-infrastructure interventions. Further research to understand which combinations of intervention types are most effective for modal shift are needed. Active transport research needs to include more robust trials and evaluations with consistent outcome measures to improve quality of evidence and provide evidence on which interventions (or combinations of interventions) are most effective. Study registration: PROSPERO CRD42023445982 Funding: This research was funded through the British Columbia Centre for Disease Control, Canada. The research funders did not contribute to the research process or interpretation of findings. The researchers were independent from the funders. Lauren Pearson receives salary support from the National Health and Medical Research Council (GNT2020155). Ben Beck receives an Australian Research Council Future Fellowship (FT210100183).

Built environment interventions provide structural solutions to complex urban challenges. Though community voices are part of municipal decision-making, pl

Introduction: Improving sustainable transportation options will help cities tackle growing challenges related to population health, congestion, climate change and inequity. Interventions supporting active transportation face many practical and political hurdles. Implementation science aims to understand how interventions or policies arise, how they can be translated to new contexts or scales and who benefits. Sustainable transportation interventions are complex, and existing implementation science frameworks may not be suitable. To apply and adapt implementation science for healthy cities, we have launched our mixed-methods research programme, CapaCITY/É. We aim to understand how, why and for whom sustainable transportation interventions are successful and when they are not. Methods and analysis: Across nine Canadian municipalities and the State of Victoria (Australia), our research will focus on two types of sustainable transportation interventions: all ages and abilities bicycle networks and motor vehicle speed management interventions. We will (1) document the implementation process and outcomes of both types of sustainable transportation interventions; (2) examine equity, health and mobility impacts of these interventions; (3) advance implementation science by developing a novel sustainable transportation implementation science framework and (4) develop tools for scaling up and scaling out sustainable transportation interventions. Training activities will develop interdisciplinary scholars and practitioners able to work at the nexus of academia and sustainable cities. Ethics and dissemination: This study received approval from the Simon Fraser University Office of Ethics Research (H22-03469). A Knowledge Mobilization Hub will coordinate dissemination of findings via a website; presentations to academic, community organisations and practitioner audiences; and through peer-reviewed articles.

We surveyed 2,066 residents of Toronto and Montréal and Vancouver-area municipalities to identify changes in self-reported cycling frequency from before to during the COVID-19 pandemic. Results indicate that 5% of people who were infrequent cyclists (less than once a week) became frequent cyclists (at least once a week) over the pandemic; these were more likely to be men, those aged 30-59 years, those living in more urban neighbourhoods, and those who felt that new cycling facilities provided better access to their usual and/or desired locations via active transportation.