This article examines the role smart growth can play in achieving planning objectives, including energy conservation and emission reductions. It summarizes existing literature on land use impacts on travel activity, energy consumption and pollution emissions. It examines claims that smart growth policies are ineffective and harmful.

Automobile exhaust pose health risks and dependency on car commuting also reduces physical fitness opportunities.

Studies have reported high exposure to air pollutants at school, but only a handful of studies have analysed children’s exposure at school.

Vehicular emissions in close proximity to schools can have detrimental health effects on children. The Safe Routes to School program claims to improve air quality through implementation due to reduced volume of traffic generated to schools.

This study is the first bi-national investigation characterizing traffic air pollutants at four schools in El Paso, USA and Cd. Juarez, Mexico. 

KEY TAKEAWAY:

• Comprehensive physical activity programs in school settings can affect physical activity, health, and academic performance.

This study assessed the impact of active school transportation (AST) on average daily step counts, body mass index (BMI) and waist circumference in 315 children in Grades 4-6 who participated to Cycle 2 of the Canadian Assessment of Physical Literacy (CAPL) pilot testing.

The purpose of this study was to identify correlates of pedometer-based cut-points among elementary school-aged children.

This study used real-time electronic surveys delivered through mobile phones, known as Ecological Momentary Assessment (EMA), to determine whether level and experience of leisure-time physical activity differ across children’s physical and social contexts.

Data are available on correlates of physical activity in children and adolescents, less is known about the determinants of change. This review aims to systematically review the published evidence regarding determinants of change in physical activity in children and adolescents.

This study evaluates the impact of a walking school bus program on children’s rates of active commuting to school and physical activity.

Obesity has become a global public health problem, which also affects children. It has been proposed that the educational interventions during childhood could be a key strategy in the prevention of obesity.

Promoting bicycling has great potential to increase overall physical activity; however, significant uncertainty exists with regard to the amount and effectiveness of investment needed for infrastructure. The objective of this study is to assess how costs of Portland’s past and planned investments in bicycling relate to health and other benefits.

Surveys were used to collect self-reported data on time spent in PA and SB along with direct measurements of BMI and waist circumference from non-Hispanic white (312 males, 301 females) and Hispanic (671 males, 610 females) adolescents (13–17 years old).

This paper investigates gender differences in the associations between adolescent mode choices and travel patterns for the trip to school and levels of physical activity.

The purpose of this paper is to review intervention studies related to active school transportation to guide future intervention research. A systematic review was conducted to identify intervention studies of active transportation to school published in the scientific literature through January 2010. 

The objective of this study is to identify the sociodemographic predictors of active transportation to schools across time among school-aged children participating in the Canadian National Longitudinal Survey of Children and Youth (NLSCY).

Physical activity is associated with better health. Two sources of activity for children are walking to school and taking part in organized sports and activities. This study uses a large national cohort to examine factors associated with participation in these activities.

Policy changes are needed to reshape the built environment for active transportation.

An extensive body of research exists on environmental influences on weight-related behaviors in young people. Existing reviews aimed to synthesize this body of work, but generally focused on specific samples, behaviors or environmental influences and integration of findings is lacking.