tag:theconversation.com,2011:/global/topics/walking-15756/articlesWalking – The Conversation2024-03-14T04:34:35Ztag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2241592024-03-14T04:34:35Z2024-03-14T04:34:35ZOnly walking for exercise? Here’s how to get the most out of it<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/581817/original/file-20240314-18-so6oe8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=97%2C315%2C4914%2C2938&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/senior-man-exercising-green-1812006481">west_photo/Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>We’re living longer than in previous generations, with <a href="https://www.aihw.gov.au/reports/older-people/older-australians/contents/demographic-profile">one in eight</a> elderly Australians now aged over 85. But the current <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/26561272/">gap</a> between life expectancy (“lifespan”) and health-adjusted life expectancy (“healthspan”) is about ten years. This means many of us live with significant health problems in our later years.</p>
<p>To increase our healthspan, we need planned, structured and regular physical activity (or exercise). The <a href="https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/physical-activity">World Health Organization recommends</a> 150–300 minutes of moderate-intensity exercise – such as brisk walking, cycling and swimming – per week and muscle strengthening twice a week.</p>
<p>Yet few of us meet these recommendations. <a href="https://doi.org/10.1186/s12966-019-0797-2">Only 10%</a> meet the strength-training recommendations. <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32488898/">Lack of time</a> is one of the most common reasons. </p>
<p>Walking is cost-effective, doesn’t require any special equipment or training, and can be done with small pockets of time. <a href="https://link.springer.com/epdf/10.1007/s00421-024-05453-y?sharing_token=1vDsDJTN5WzPxi5YmSEkOfe4RwlQNchNByi7wbcMAY5hnPeFvF3FY4v2z1P9M2M0oiR78kXv1Yzj0ODMgckqhKOGHUABEd9UOPOfV5kPAj1jf1IYMIYkdIBv-DUEcKCOiDdNyj6MFypeDhSyeYQrWu_bvlAYtPUmOSaldFpmycA%3D">Our preliminary research</a>, published this week, shows there are ways to incorporate strength-training components into walking to improve your muscle strength and balance. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/am-i-too-old-to-build-muscle-what-science-says-about-sarcopenia-and-building-strength-later-in-life-203562">Am I too old to build muscle? What science says about sarcopenia and building strength later in life</a>
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<h2>Why walking isn’t usually enough</h2>
<p>Regular walking <a href="http://theconversation.com/health-check-in-terms-of-exercise-is-walking-enough-78604">does not appear</a> to work as muscle-strengthening exercise. </p>
<p>In contrast, exercises consisting of “eccentric” or muscle-lengthening contractions <a href="http://theconversation.com/its-ok-to-aim%20lower-with-your-new-years-exercise-resolutions-a-few-minutes-a-day-can-improve-your-muscle-strength-193713">improve</a> muscle strength, <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31130877/">prevent muscle wasting</a> and improve other functions such as balance and flexibility. </p>
<p>Typical eccentric contractions are seen, for example, when we sit on a chair slowly. The front thigh muscles lengthen with force generation.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Woman sits on chair" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/581801/original/file-20240313-24-zjbiei.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/581801/original/file-20240313-24-zjbiei.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/581801/original/file-20240313-24-zjbiei.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/581801/original/file-20240313-24-zjbiei.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/581801/original/file-20240313-24-zjbiei.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/581801/original/file-20240313-24-zjbiei.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/581801/original/file-20240313-24-zjbiei.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">When you sit down slowly on a chair, the front thigh muscles lengthen.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/woman-who-trains-using-chair-1631210659">buritora/Shutterstock</a></span>
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<h2>Our research</h2>
<p>Our <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31055678/">previous research</a> found body-weight-based eccentric exercise training, such as sitting down on a chair slowly, improved lower limb muscle strength and balance in healthy older adults. </p>
<p>We also <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/28291022/">showed</a> walking down stairs, with the front thigh muscles undergoing eccentric contractions, increased leg muscle strength and balance in older women more than walking up stairs. When climbing stairs, the front thigh muscles undergo “concentric” contractions, with the muscles shortening. </p>
<p>It can be difficult to find stairs or slopes suitable for eccentric exercises. But if they could be incorporated into daily walking, lower limb muscle strength and balance function could be improved. </p>
<p>This is where the idea of “eccentric walking” comes into play. This means inserting lunges in conventional walking, in addition to downstairs and downhill walking. </p>
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<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/wAI7z3XdY9o?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">Eccentric walking means incorporating deep lunges into your movement.</span></figcaption>
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<p>In our <a href="https://link.springer.com/epdf/10.1007/s00421-024-05453-y?sharing_token=1vDsDJTN5WzPxi5YmSEkOfe4RwlQNchNByi7wbcMAY5hnPeFvF3FY4v2z1P9M2M0oiR78kXv1Yzj0ODMgckqhKOGHUABEd9UOPOfV5kPAj1jf1IYMIYkdIBv-DUEcKCOiDdNyj6MFypeDhSyeYQrWu_bvlAYtPUmOSaldFpmycA%3D">new research</a>, published in the European Journal of Applied Physiology, we investigated the effects of eccentric walking on lower limb muscle strength and balance in 11 regular walkers aged 54 to 88 years. </p>
<p>The intervention period was 12 weeks. It consisted of four weeks of normal walking followed by eight weeks of eccentric walking. </p>
<p>The number of eccentric steps in the eccentric walking period gradually increased over eight weeks from 100 to 1,000 steps (including lunges, downhill and downstairs steps). Participants took a total of 3,900 eccentric steps over the eight-week eccentric walking period while the total number of steps was the same as the previous four weeks. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/its-ok-to-aim-lower-with-your-new-years-exercise-resolutions-a-few-minutes-a-day-can-improve-your-muscle-strength-193713">It's OK to aim lower with your new year's exercise resolutions – a few minutes a day can improve your muscle strength</a>
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<p>We measured the thickness of the participants’ front thigh muscles, muscle strength in their knee, their balance and endurance, including how many times they could go from a sitting position to standing in 30 seconds without using their arms. We took these measurements before the study started, at four weeks, after the conventional walking period, and at four and eight weeks into the eccentric walking period.</p>
<p>We also tested their cognitive function using a digit symbol-substitution test at the same time points of other tests. And we asked participants to complete a questionnaire relating to their activities of daily living, such as dressing and moving around at home. </p>
<p>Finally, we tested participants’ blood sugar, cholesterol levels and complement component 1q (C1q) concentrations, a potential <a href="https://faseb.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1096/fj.14-262154">marker of sarcopenia</a> (muscle wasting with ageing).</p>
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<img alt="Person walks with small dog" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/581816/original/file-20240314-16-le4nu3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/581816/original/file-20240314-16-le4nu3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/581816/original/file-20240314-16-le4nu3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/581816/original/file-20240314-16-le4nu3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/581816/original/file-20240314-16-le4nu3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/581816/original/file-20240314-16-le4nu3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/581816/original/file-20240314-16-le4nu3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">Regular walking won’t contract your muscles in the same way as eccentric walking.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/dog-walker-strides-his-pet-on-1399290365">alexei_tm/Shutterstock</a></span>
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<h2>What did we find?</h2>
<p>We found no significant changes in any of the outcomes in the first four weeks when participants walked conventionally. </p>
<p>From week four to 12, we found significant improvements in muscle strength (19%), chair-stand ability (24%), balance (45%) and a cognitive function test (21%).</p>
<p>Serum C1q concentration decreased by 10% after the eccentric walking intervention, indicating participants’ muscles were effectively stimulated. </p>
<p>The sample size of the study was small, so we need larger and more comprehensive studies to verify our findings and investigate whether eccentric walking is effective for sedentary people, older people, how the different types of eccentric exercise compare and the potential cognitive and mental health benefits. </p>
<p>But, in the meantime, “eccentric walking” appears to be a beneficial exercise that will extend your healthspan. It may look a bit eccentric if we insert lunges while walking on the street, but the more people do it and benefit from it, the less eccentric it will become. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/health-check-in-terms-of-exercise-is-walking-enough-78604">Health Check: in terms of exercise, is walking enough?</a>
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<img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/224159/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Ken Nosaka does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>There are ways to incorporate strength-training components into walking to improve your muscle strength and balance.Ken Nosaka, Professor of Exercise and Sports Science, Edith Cowan UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2236762024-03-13T14:23:30Z2024-03-13T14:23:30ZAre you sitting too long in your office job? South African study offers some health tips<p>Sedentary behaviour can result in chronic health conditions such as obesity and heart diseases, bad news for the millions of office workers who are forced to sit behind their desks every day.</p>
<p>In its simplest form, the term “sedentary behaviour” describes sitting for too long and not breaking this up with movement. </p>
<p>Sitting for more than one hour without a break can be considered as <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/s40279-023-01915-z">too much</a> sitting time.</p>
<p>Existing evidence shows that about 25% of adults and over 75% of adolescents worldwide are not meeting the World Health Organization physical activity recommendations.</p>
<p>The WHO’s latest <a href="https://www.who.int/publications/i/item/9789240015128">guidelines on physical activity and sedentary behaviour</a> recommend physical inactivity by around 15% in all age groups by 2030.</p>
<p>The WHO guidelines, released in 2020, are <a href="https://doi.org/10.1136/bjsports-2020-102955">particularly important</a> for office workers who spend a significant portion of their work day sitting. </p>
<p>As a specialist in the epidemiology of physical activity I took part in a new study into sedentary behaviour among a group of office-based workers in South Africa. </p>
<p>We found that conscious movement – even if this means standing instead of sitting – helped office workers stay healthy.</p>
<h2>What we found</h2>
<p>In our <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/15598276231210479">study</a>, published in the American Journal of Lifestyle Medicine, colleagues and I collected data from 122 office workers based in Johannesburg. </p>
<p>The majority of the participants were female (68%) with an average age of 40 years. All had completed high school.</p>
<p>We measured body mass index, waist circumference, blood pressure and other key medical indicators of health and wellbeing.</p>
<p>Participants were asked to record their own sitting times. </p>
<p>We also used wrist-worn <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/engineering/accelerometer-sensor">accelerometers</a> to collect data. This innovative method gave us a more accurate understanding of physical activity and sedentary behaviour compared to self-reported questionnaires.</p>
<p>The self-reported data by participants averaged 1.3 hours a day sitting for mealtimes, 3.9 hours a day related to work, 1.4 hours a day for transport, 1.7 hours a day for screen time, and 3.4 hours a day for other activities. This amounted to about 12 hours of sitting per day. </p>
<p>This was significantly higher than the three hours a day recorded by accelerometers. The discrepancy could partly be explained by participants – consciously or unconsciously – feeling more motivated to move when wearing these smart devices.</p>
<p>The blood pressure, cholesterol and <a href="https://medlineplus.gov/lab-tests/triglycerides-test/#:%7E:text=A%20triglycerides%20test%20is%20used,the%20risk%20of%20heart%20disease.">serum triglyceride levels</a> of our study participants were within normal ranges.</p>
<p>This finding is encouraging because they seemed to be at less risk of cardiovascular diseases. It could possibly be explained by the fact that these office workers were engaged in light physical activity for about two hours a day.</p>
<p>This also supports the WHO’s message emphasising that any movement is better than none. </p>
<p>They engaged in moderate to vigorous physical activity for about 50 minutes a day. This was less than the WHO recommendation of at least 60 minutes of moderate to vigorous physical activity a day. </p>
<p>In terms of overall health for South African office workers, our findings show that conscious efforts to move during the day can help them keep them healthier.</p>
<h2>Keep standing and keep moving</h2>
<p>Light intensity physical activity, sometimes referred to as gentle exercise, can include movement such as getting up, and walking to make a cup of coffee.</p>
<p>Office workers should stand whenever possible, as there is a growing body of evidence showing that standing is better than prolonged sitting, particularly for <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/2047487317752186">energy expenditure</a> and reducing the risk of <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/s0140-6736(16)30370-1">cardiovascular disease</a>.
It also activates muscle activity. </p>
<p>In practical terms, light physical activities during the workday could include:</p>
<ul>
<li><p>standing up to take a break</p></li>
<li><p>using a standing workstation</p></li>
<li><p>standing during meetings. </p></li>
</ul>
<p>Moderate to vigorous physical activities could include:</p>
<ul>
<li><p>using the stairs instead of the lifts</p></li>
<li><p>parking further from the office building entrance and walking at a brisk pace to the entrance</p></li>
<li><p>introducing fun activity breaks</p></li>
<li><p>engaging in various types of activities at a private gym close to work.</p></li>
</ul>
<p>Office workers should make conscious efforts to engage in physical activities during recreational times. </p>
<p>These could include: </p>
<ul>
<li><p>participating in weekly park runs</p></li>
<li><p>walking groups</p></li>
<li><p>structured sporting activities such as organised cycling, especially with safety and security in mind.</p></li>
</ul>
<p>In general, the more physically active people are, the better the health outcomes. </p>
<h2>Moving forward</h2>
<p>By 2021 worldwide obesity had nearly <a href="https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/obesity-and-overweight">tripled</a> since 1975.</p>
<p>Physical inactivity is the leading modifiable risk factor for cardiometabolic diseases and all-cause mortality.</p>
<p>Studies such as ours help policymakers, businesses and companies formulate strategies to keep office workers healthier, promote a positive work-life balance and contribute to a more efficient work environment.</p>
<p>Our research underscores the urgent need to include more opportunities for movement into our everyday lives, especially important for South African office workers. </p>
<p>More studies from the global south are needed to develop context-relevant workplace interventions that can be easily integrated into employee health and wellness policy.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/223676/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Philippe Gradidge receives funding from the National Research Foundation (South Africa) and The South African Medical Research Council.</span></em></p>Office workers are sedentary for hours at a time. Our research looked at what they should do to stay healthy.Philippe Gradidge, Associate Professor, Department of Exercise Science and Sports Medicine, University of the WitwatersrandLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2194502023-12-27T09:09:33Z2023-12-27T09:09:33ZGoing for a walk wasn’t really a thing 300 years ago – the Victorians turned it into a popular pastime<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/564903/original/file-20231211-17-jrgl35.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/walk-along-thames-london-on-cold-87805126">Daniel Gale/Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Going for a walk is always a good idea. Perhaps, if you are lucky enough, this might be a hike along ragged cliffs or trudge along a chilly beach with family. Many of us however, have to take to the pavements of Britain’s towns and cities for our post-lunch walks. </p>
<p>As a researcher of pedestrianism, I am fascinated by the changing culture of how, where and why we walk. This includes the tacit pavement etiquette that has both endured through the centuries and changed to reflect the cultural concerns of the age.</p>
<p>You might be surprised to hear that “going for a walk” wasn’t really a thing until the late 1700s. </p>
<p>The term “pedestrianism” may have <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20160702051541/http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=pedestrian&allowed_in_frame=0">Latin roots</a>, but in the 1800s its first association would have been a sporting one. “Professional pedestrianism” or <a href="https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20210723-the-strange-19th-century-sport-that-was-cooler-than-football">“race-walking”</a> was fiercely competitive by the 1850s. </p>
<p>Tournaments in America took place over six days, with entrants walking the equivalent of 450 miles, taking naps in tents by the track and sipping champagne en route. The stringent “heel-to-toe rule” still in place <a href="https://worldathletics.org/disciplines/race-walks/20-kilometres-race-walk#:%7E:text=The%20rules%20also%20state%20that,of%20contact%20and%20bent%20knee.">states that</a> “the advancing leg must be straightened from the moment of first contact with the ground.”</p>
<p>Walking as a leisure activity came about around the 1780s. Until this point walking had been an act of necessity, associated with poverty, vagrancy and even criminal intent. Many individuals would live and die never having seen beyond a <a href="https://janeaustensworld.com/2012/04/25/the-difficulties-of-travel-and-transportation-in-early-19th-c-britain/">few square miles</a> of bleak cityscape and only slightly further for those in the country.</p>
<p>Along with the rural appreciation of the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lake_Poets">Lake poets</a> – including William Wordsworth and Samuel Taylor Coleridge – at the turn of the century, famous walkers such as <a href="https://dickenssociety.org/archives/1917">Charles Dickens</a> brought the pastime of walking into vogue. </p>
<h2>Dirty rotten streets</h2>
<p>Much has been written of the religious zeal with which Dickens took to his daily “walking work”. He <a href="https://lukemckernan.com/2013/06/09/walking-with-charles-dickens/">averaged 12 miles a day</a> and at a remarkable pace of over <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Preferred_walking_speed">four miles an hour</a> – sufficient for others to “draw aside as the great writer – who seemed always to be walking a match against thought – strode on.”</p>
<p>Walking was an essential cog in Dickens’s creative process: a time to absorb, almost by osmosis, the idiosyncrasies of the streets. From forays into the London slums to insomnia-driven marches through the night, his encounters furnished the <a href="https://www.english.cam.ac.uk/manuscriptslab/memoranda-and-mutual-friends-dickens-and-his-practices-of-note-taking-in-the-book-of-memoranda/">eccentric brilliance</a> of his characters – the street snapshots retained “in regular order on different shelves of my brain, ready ticketed and labelled to be brought out when I want them”. </p>
<p>In the 1800s, when pavements were in their infancy, taking a walk was a whole different experience. An estimated <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2021/aug/03/lost-history-electric-car-future-transport?fbclid=IwAR3D6HH0e_SRusGakvDezCmtDNHYVLPjJD-uO-9XaBPeRdl4H4LTqu8JFoA">300,000 horses</a> traversed the London streets, depositing over 1,000 tonnes of manure every day. Worse matter was also regularly tipped into the rat-ridden gutters of the slums – the word “<a href="https://premium-oxforddictionaries-com.libproxy.ucl.ac.uk/words/what-is-the-origin-of-the-word-loo">loo</a>” itself is suggested to be derived from the pre-warning “gardyloo”, or French “<em>regardez l’eau</em>” (watch out for the water) heralding the emptying of a chamber pot from an upper storey. </p>
<figure class="align-left ">
<img alt="A 'pure finder' scooping poo to sell at a tannery." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/564861/original/file-20231211-29-8c8bpd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/564861/original/file-20231211-29-8c8bpd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=939&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/564861/original/file-20231211-29-8c8bpd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=939&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/564861/original/file-20231211-29-8c8bpd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=939&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/564861/original/file-20231211-29-8c8bpd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1180&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/564861/original/file-20231211-29-8c8bpd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1180&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/564861/original/file-20231211-29-8c8bpd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1180&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">A ‘pure finder’ scooping poo to sell at a tannery.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e8/London_labour_and_the_London_poor_Wellcome_L0068334.jpg">Wellcome/Wikimedia</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/">CC BY-SA</a></span>
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<p>The sorry state of city streets created a demand for all sorts of workers, including <a href="https://www.nofreelunch.co.uk/blog/what-was-a-victorian-pure-finder">“pure finders”</a> who would have scooped up dog poo and sold it in bulk to local tanneries (places where leather skins were processed). This was just one of the unappealing occupations that <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_Mayhew">social historian Henry Mayhew</a> referred to as “street cleansers” – a motley crew of crossing sweepers, night soil men and <a href="https://www.getty.edu/news/inside-the-fascinating-world-of-mudlarking-along-the-thames/">mudlarks</a> (people who sifted anything that they could sell from the banks of the Thames) who made their living from street waste. </p>
<p>Thankfully, social reform and urban planning has moved on dramatically, and going on an urban walk is a much more pleasant experience now.</p>
<h2>Professional pedestrianism</h2>
<p>While the pavements have changed, many of the codes of conduct governing Victorian pedestrian etiquette remain relevant today. </p>
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<p>In 1780, <a href="https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=x_URAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA197&lpg=PA197&dq=%22Rules+of+behaviour,+of+general+use,+though+much+disregarded+in+this+populous+city%22&source=bl&ots=7gJcINkMeS&sig=ACfU3U1nXAMFx1DgAQ42y8OwlC9KPejiYQ&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjL-JmFjICDAxWiWkEAHS2qCkMQ6AF6BAgJEAM#v=onepage&q=%22Rules%20of%20behaviour%2C%20of%20general%20use%2C%20though%20much%20disregarded%20in%20this%20populous%20city%22&f=false">an article</a> tucked discretely among the news and advertisements of the popular London Magazine outlined “Rules of behaviour, of general use, though much disregarded in this populous city.” Among its 12 points, pedestrians were advised “to be cautious of staring in the faces of those that pass by […] for an over-bearing look has the air of a bully, and a prying one that of a bailiff.”</p>
<p>So as you take your walks, do as Dickens did, and avoid committing these pedestrian faux pas: </p>
<blockquote>
<ol>
<li>Inconsiderate whistling or humming<br></li>
<li>Walking arm in arm<br></li>
<li>Loitering in conversation<br></li>
<li>Hindering all behind with a “sauntering gait” </li>
</ol>
</blockquote>
<p>While the bugbears and implicit rules may alter with the ages (distracted phone-users, I’m looking at you), there is much about the pavements that retain their Victorian decorum. They are a place of multiplicity and variety, culture and commerce – a strip of land to be celebrated all year round. </p>
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<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/536131/original/file-20230706-17-460x2d.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/536131/original/file-20230706-17-460x2d.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/536131/original/file-20230706-17-460x2d.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/536131/original/file-20230706-17-460x2d.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/536131/original/file-20230706-17-460x2d.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/536131/original/file-20230706-17-460x2d.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/536131/original/file-20230706-17-460x2d.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Lauren Colley does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>The pavements in cities were just not a pleasant setting for a stroll.Lauren Colley, PhD in English literature, University of NottinghamLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2159922023-10-25T03:54:46Z2023-10-25T03:54:46ZNational road-user charges are needed – and most people are open to it, our research shows<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/555716/original/file-20231025-23-x7jo6h.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=8%2C0%2C5501%2C3667&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>The <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/law/2023/oct/18/why-the-high-court-struck-out-victorias-ev-tax-and-the-ripple-effects-of-the-decision#:%7E:text=Victoria%20introduced%20a%20distance%2Dbased,2.3c%20for%20each%20kilometre.">High Court</a> ruled last week that Victoria’s road-user charge for electric vehicle (EV) drivers is unconstitutional. Because the court decided it’s an excise, only the <a href="https://eresources.hcourt.gov.au/downloadPdf/2023/HCA/30">Commonwealth</a> can now impose such a tax. </p>
<p>The Victorian government introduced the <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-09-27/ombudsman-victoria-electric-vehicle-road-user-charge-unfair/102905834">controversial</a> distance-based charge in 2021. The court decision will likely derail similar <a href="https://www.smh.com.au/environment/sustainability/electric-vehicle-court-ruling-ups-pressure-for-federal-approach-20231018-p5ed55.html">plans by other states</a>. </p>
<p>Current road taxes are blunt instruments that don’t reflect the <a href="https://fbe.unimelb.edu.au/newsroom/why-we-should-be-taxing-australian-drivers-differently">true costs of driving to society</a>. The fuel excise does not properly account for traffic congestion or emissions. It makes no allowance for people’s ability to pay. Car registration fees are also not related to the amount of travel, congestion or emissions produced by driving. </p>
<p>Hence the need for road-user charges. To understand public attitudes to such charges in Australia, we surveyed more than 900 people in Melbourne and Sydney. The results of <a href="https://imoveaustralia.com/education/phd-student-profile/tariq-munir/">this research</a> showed a good appetite for road taxation reform in the nation’s two largest cities. </p>
<p>Only about a third of respondents opposed road-user charges to reduce traffic congestion in their cities. And support increased when they were told the revenue would be used to improve traffic infrastructure and public transport. The findings offer insights into how road-user charging could be rolled out successfully across the nation.</p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1714840040088490178"}"></div></p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/its-good-the-high-court-overturned-victorias-questionable-ev-tax-but-theres-a-sting-in-the-tail-215985">It's good the High Court overturned Victoria's questionable EV tax. But there's a sting in the tail</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>What do people think about road-user charges?</h2>
<p>For our research, we surveyed a representative sample of 929 people (373 in Melbourne and 556 in Sydney) in April 2022 (Melbourne) and November 2022 (Sydney). </p>
<p>A majority of respondents (70% in Sydney and 65% in Melbourne) supported the introduction of measures to reduce traffic congestion in their respective cities. </p>
<p>When specifically asked if they would support road-user charges, only 32% of respondents in both cities opposed the idea. Around 29% of respondents in Sydney and 34% of respondents in Melbourne were undecided. </p>
<p>They were then told the revenue raised would be used to improve all forms of transport infrastructure and services. Levels of opposition and uncertainty fell. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/555728/original/file-20231025-23-8y2az3.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Stacked bar chart showing percentages supporting, opposing or undecided about road-user charges depending on where revenue is invested." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/555728/original/file-20231025-23-8y2az3.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/555728/original/file-20231025-23-8y2az3.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/555728/original/file-20231025-23-8y2az3.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/555728/original/file-20231025-23-8y2az3.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/555728/original/file-20231025-23-8y2az3.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/555728/original/file-20231025-23-8y2az3.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/555728/original/file-20231025-23-8y2az3.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="attribution"><a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span>
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<p>In particular, respondents in both cities were most supportive of road-user charges if the revenue raised was used to improve public transport. Opposition fell to 20% in Sydney and to 23% in Melbourne. The percentage of undecided respondents fell to 24% in Sydney and to 30% in Melbourne. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/555731/original/file-20231025-19-xutsw1.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Pie charts show percentage of respondents supporting, opposing or undecided about road-user charges if revenue is spent on improving public transport" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/555731/original/file-20231025-19-xutsw1.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/555731/original/file-20231025-19-xutsw1.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=443&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/555731/original/file-20231025-19-xutsw1.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=443&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/555731/original/file-20231025-19-xutsw1.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=443&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/555731/original/file-20231025-19-xutsw1.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=557&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/555731/original/file-20231025-19-xutsw1.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=557&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/555731/original/file-20231025-19-xutsw1.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=557&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="attribution"><a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span>
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<p>Around 96% of respondents in Melbourne owned a private car, compared to 90% in Sydney. These cars were the main means of transport for most respondents (75% Melbourne, 64% Sydney). Average vehicle occupancy was 1.25 people per vehicle in Melbourne and 1.27 in Sydney. </p>
<p>Sydney had a higher proportion of public transport users (27% Sydney, 16% Melbourne). Around 7% of respondents in both cities preferred walking and <a href="https://theconversation.com/banning-tiny-vehicles-would-deny-us-smarter-ways-to-get-around-our-cities-113111">micro-mobility</a>, such as bikes and scooters, as their main means of getting around.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/555739/original/file-20231025-29-rz5mbp.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Horizontal bar chart showing preferred forms of transport (by percentage of respondents) in Melbourne and Sydney" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/555739/original/file-20231025-29-rz5mbp.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/555739/original/file-20231025-29-rz5mbp.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=411&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/555739/original/file-20231025-29-rz5mbp.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=411&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/555739/original/file-20231025-29-rz5mbp.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=411&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/555739/original/file-20231025-29-rz5mbp.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=516&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/555739/original/file-20231025-29-rz5mbp.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=516&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/555739/original/file-20231025-29-rz5mbp.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=516&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/the-high-court-decision-on-electric-vehicles-will-make-charging-for-road-use-very-difficult-216107">The High Court decision on electric vehicles will make charging for road use very difficult</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>Savings affect willingness to pay road-user charges</h2>
<p>We found willingness to pay a road-user charge varies with the level of expected savings. </p>
<p>Around 66% of respondents in both cities were willing to pay a road-user charge if it saved them up to $800 a year on registration fees and fuel taxes. Another 13% of respondents in Sydney and 11% in Melbourne were willing to pay the charge if savings exceeded $800 a year. </p>
<p>Around 55% of respondents in Sydney and 46% in Melbourne would be willing to pay a congestion charge if it cut their total daily travel times by 10 to 30 minutes. Another 18% of respondents in both cities would pay the charge if it cut travel times by more than 30 minutes. </p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/yvPowPkFrhg?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">Jonas Eliasson, architect of Stockholm’s congestion pricing scheme, explains how subtly nudging just a small percentage of drivers to stay off major roads can end traffic jams.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/will-drivers-who-paid-victorias-electric-vehicle-tax-be-able-to-get-their-money-back-216021">Will drivers who paid Victoria's electric vehicle tax be able to get their money back?</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>Why oppose road-user charges?</h2>
<p>Many <a href="https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/13/21/12048">factors</a> influence public opposition to road-user charging. These include <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0965856419313175">distrust</a> in governments, uncertainty about <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0967070X10000326">benefits</a>, and concerns over <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11116-013-9459-4">equity</a>. Other barriers include <a href="https://www.hindawi.com/journals/jat/2020/4242964/">understanding</a> how the scheme works, <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0967070X19307450">complexity</a> of implementation, and uncertainty about how <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0967070X10000326">revenues</a> will be used.</p>
<p>In our survey, the undecided respondents said they needed more information to better understand the user-pays approach and its benefits. International <a href="https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/13/21/12048">studies</a> have reported the same response. </p>
<p>Information campaigns to demystify road-user charging and highlight its benefits can win over undecided people. </p>
<h2>Road tax system is broken</h2>
<p>The road taxes in place today – which include fuel excise and motor vehicle ownership taxes – are near <a href="https://www.afr.com/policy/economy/no-choice-broken-taxes-must-be-fixed-20220210-p59vc7">breaking point</a>, according to political, policy and business leaders. <a href="https://www.carexpert.com.au/car-news/australias-best-selling-electric-cars-so-far-in-2023">Soaring electric vehicle sales</a> will hasten the decline in fuel excise revenues. </p>
<p><iframe id="5J6bQ" class="tc-infographic-datawrapper" src="https://datawrapper.dwcdn.net/5J6bQ/11/" height="400px" width="100%" style="border: none" frameborder="0"></iframe></p>
<p>Victoria’s <a href="https://www.legislation.vic.gov.au/bills/zero-and-low-emission-vehicle-distance-based-charge-bill-2021">levy</a> of 2.8 cents for each kilometre travelled (2.3 cents for plug-in hybrids) was intended to raise revenue from drivers who don’t pay fuel excise. The High Court decision has prompted <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2023/oct/18/victoria-ev-tax-australia-state-taxes--revenue-electric-vehicles-cars-states-high-court-ruling">warnings</a> of major hits to state coffers.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.afr.com/politics/tax-review-rudd-cautioned-on-road-user-charges-20100113-iw75b">Tax reviews</a>, peak bodies such as <a href="https://www.infrastructurevictoria.com.au/project/research-transport-network-pricing/">Infrastructure Victoria</a> and experts have long called for road-user charges to replace current road taxes. </p>
<p>Aside from the decline in revenue, another problem with fuel excise is that drivers with different travel patterns pay the same tax. There will be drivers who travel in regional Victoria or in an outer suburb of Sydney for local shopping or school drop-offs who pay the same excise as a driver who travels into the city centre or other congested areas. This means fuel excise is less effective for reducing traffic congestion and emissions than road-user charges.</p>
<p>But to be effective and fair, these must be applied to all vehicles as part of a holistic national approach. It will help to manage travel demand, cut emissions and raise revenue to maintain transport infrastructure.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/distance-based-road-charges-will-improve-traffic-and-if-done-right-wont-slow-australias-switch-to-electric-cars-150290">Distance-based road charges will improve traffic — and if done right won't slow Australia's switch to electric cars</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>The road ahead</h2>
<p>The High Court decision has placed road taxation reform squarely on the national agenda. But any road-user charging scheme that targets <a href="https://www.drive.com.au/news/treasurer-electric-car-tax-fuel-excise-revenue/">only electric vehicles</a> would be a missed opportunity for <a href="https://australiainstitute.org.au/post/worlds-worst-ev-policy-scrapped-by-high-court/">meaningful reform</a>.</p>
<p>Our survey findings show Australia is ready for a rational and transparent discussion about road-user charging on all vehicles, not only electric vehicles. </p>
<p>The findings show a majority of people would support such charges if they are transparent, equitable and replace or reduce other road taxes. Support would increase if the public is assured the revenue will be used to improve all transport infrastructure, not only roads. </p>
<p>If well planned and implemented, a national approach to road-user charges can raise enough revenue to replace the fuel excise tax. It will also ease congestion, promote sustainable transport and help achieve Australia’s targets for cutting transport emissions.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/215992/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Hussein Dia receives funding from the Australian Research Council, the iMOVE Cooperative Research Centre, Transport for New South Wales, Queensland Department of Transport and Main Roads, Victorian Department of Transport and Planning, Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development, Communications and the Arts, and Beam Mobility Holdings.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Hadi Ghaderi receives funding from the iMOVE Cooperative Research Centre, Transport for New South Wales, Queensland Department of Transport and Main Roads, Victorian Department of Transport and Planning, Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development, Communications and the Arts, IVECO Trucks Australia limited, Innovative Manufacturing Cooperative Research Centre, Victoria Department of Education and Training, Bondi Laboratories, Australian Meat Processor Corporation, 460degrees and Passel.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Tariq Munir acknowledges the financial support received in the form of a PhD scholarship from Swinburne University and the government of Pakistan. He also acknowledges the PhD top-up scholarship received from the iMOVE CRC and supported by the Cooperative Research Centres program, an Australian government initiative.</span></em></p>Support for road-user charging strengthens when people are assured that revenue goes into reducing traffic congestion, maintaining transport infrastructure, improving public transport.Hussein Dia, Professor of Future Urban Mobility, Swinburne University of TechnologyHadi Ghaderi, Associate Professor in Logistics and Supply Chain Management, Swinburne University of TechnologyTariq Munir, PhD Candidate, Centre for Sustainable Infrastructure and Digital Construction, Swinburne University of TechnologyLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2045912023-10-09T12:20:15Z2023-10-09T12:20:15ZAre people born with good balance? A physical therapist explains the systems that help keep you on your toes<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/534129/original/file-20230626-17-igy6uh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=53%2C26%2C5919%2C3952&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">People learn balance as they grow – and can usually improve their balance with practice.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/photo/young-woman-riding-on-the-skateboard-on-the-road-royalty-free-image/1415025581?adppopup=true">uzhursky/iStock via Getty Images</a></span></figcaption></figure><figure class="align-left ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/281719/original/file-20190628-76743-26slbc.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/281719/original/file-20190628-76743-26slbc.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=293&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/281719/original/file-20190628-76743-26slbc.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=293&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/281719/original/file-20190628-76743-26slbc.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=293&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/281719/original/file-20190628-76743-26slbc.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=368&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/281719/original/file-20190628-76743-26slbc.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=368&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/281719/original/file-20190628-76743-26slbc.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=368&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<p><em><a href="https://theconversation.com/us/topics/curious-kids-us-74795">Curious Kids</a> is a series for children of all ages. If you have a question you’d like an expert to answer, send it to <a href="mailto:curiouskidsus@theconversation.com">curiouskidsus@theconversation.com</a>.</em></p>
<hr>
<blockquote>
<p><strong>Are people born with good balance? – Sebastian L., age 15, Skanderborg, Denmark</strong></p>
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<hr>
<p>No one is born with the ability to ride a skateboard, surf or even stand on their tiptoes. Unlike other mammals, human beings have no balance at birth – virtually no capacity to walk or even stand. Before that can happen, their vision, hearing, muscles, bones and brain must develop. This takes months, and <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK557518/">for some activities, even years</a>. </p>
<p>Infants typically begin rolling over when they’re 6 months old. They generally start to crawl by 9 months, and stand around a year old. By 18 months old, most can walk alone and go up steps. By age 2, toddlers can perform more complex tasks, such as <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK557518/">kicking a ball</a>. By 3 years old, most children run well and can walk up and down stairs with one foot on each stair. Some children reach these milestones faster, and some are slower, and that’s normal.</p>
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<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/oFl3nkghbHE?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">It’s all about practice, practice, practice.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Balance is a skill</h2>
<p>As you get older, you may notice that some people are really good at keeping their balance. They can dance well, jump rope and do somersaults. But they were not born with this ability. Instead, it took practice. Balance is a skill – the more you practice any skill, the better you become, though some people may be more naturally adept at it.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.binghamton.edu/decker/about/profile.html?id=gsingh">As a physical therapist</a> for over 15 years, I’ve seen patients of all ages who struggle with balance, and I’ve learned that it takes three of the body’s systems working together to keep a person in good balance: <a href="https://theconversation.com/development-of-vision-in-early-childhood-no-screens-before-age-two-193192">the visual</a>, <a href="https://www.physio-pedia.com/Somatosensation">somatosensory</a> and <a href="https://www.physio-pedia.com/Vestibular_System">vestibular systems</a>. </p>
<p>The visual system includes the eyes, the optic nerves that connect the eyes to the brain, and the brain’s visual cortex. Babies are born nearsighted, able to see only about 10 to 12 inches away. <a href="https://www.aao.org/eye-health/tips-prevention/baby-vision-development-first-year">As their visual system develops</a>, their brain learns how to process visual information, so they get better at moving and balancing. </p>
<p>The somatosensory system registers sensations detected by the muscles, joints, skin and the body tissues that connect them, <a href="https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/body/23251-fascia">called the fascia</a>. These perceptions of touch, pressure, pain, temperature, position, movement and vibration travel via pathways in the spinal cord, brain stem and thalamus – a small, egg-shaped structure in the middle of the human brain – where they are integrated and analyzed. </p>
<p>For example, <a href="https://theconversation.com/infants-need-lots-of-active-movement-and-play-and-there-are-simple-ways-to-help-them-get-it-173975">when a baby tries to stand</a>, their brain processes the feelings coming from their feet, legs and hands to help them balance.</p>
<p>The vestibular system, which is the body’s system of hearing as well as balance, consists of five distinct organs in the ear. Inside these organs there is fluid, which moves when the body and head move. As this fluid moves, it sends signals to the brain, which in turn makes a person aware of their position and helps them balance.</p>
<p>The central nervous system uses the information coming from these three systems <a href="https://www.physio-pedia.com/The_Postural_Control_System?">and generates signals</a> that are sent back to appropriate muscles in the body <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/figure/The-Balance-System-Balance-as-a-function-of-vestibular-system-with-visual-and-sensory_fig1_330853004">to help maintain good balance</a>. </p>
<p>Healthy individuals rely roughly 70% on somatosensory information, 20% on vestibular system information and 10% on vision to maintain balance on firm surfaces. </p>
<p>Abnormality in any one of these three systems may result in balance problems. But when one system is affected, the other two can be trained to compensate. </p>
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<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/JgwZ2jZ1fSc?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">Ananth Vijendren, a physical therapist, explains how he assesses patients who see him for balance problems.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Becoming unbalanced</h2>
<p>There are many ways to lose one’s balance. Standing on slippery ice, the sensory receptors in the feet are <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/19424280.2015.1031193">unable to send appropriate signals</a> to the brain quickly enough for the brain to activate muscles to maintain balance. </p>
<p>For many people, walking in the dark means risking a fall because the brain is receiving so little visual information about the environment. People with poor or no eyesight learn to <a href="https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/blind-peoples-brains-rewire-themselves-enhance-other-senses-180962653/">rely more on the other two sensory systems</a> to maintain balance. </p>
<p>When something knocks a person off balance, such as being bumped while walking or running, it can cause something called a “vestibulospinal reflex.” The vestibular and somatosensory systems <a href="https://www.physio-pedia.com/Vestibular_Anatomy_and_Neurophysiology?">send signals to the brain</a>, which in turn activate the appropriate muscles to save the person from falling.</p>
<p>As people get older, <a href="https://theconversation.com/balance-declines-with-age-but-exercise-can-help-stave-off-some-of-the-risk-of-falling-204174">their balance often declines</a> due to age-related changes to their muscle strength and vision, as well as other causes. This increases their risk of falling. In fact, falls are a <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/falls/data/index.html#">leading cause of physical injuries</a> for adults 65 years and older. Older adults can work on balance, strength and flexibility exercises as a <a href="https://www.hjphysicaltherapy.com/strengthen-your-balance/#">way to prevent falls</a>.</p>
<p>People can also have trouble with balance due to neurological problems, <a href="https://health.clevelandclinic.org/osteoarthritis-in-your-hips-or-knees-try-this-to-improve-your-balance-and-avoid-falls/#">arthritis and joint injuries</a>.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Woman gymnast balancing on one bent leg on a balance beam with the other leg extended straight behind her." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/537368/original/file-20230713-25-hc5vek.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/537368/original/file-20230713-25-hc5vek.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/537368/original/file-20230713-25-hc5vek.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/537368/original/file-20230713-25-hc5vek.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/537368/original/file-20230713-25-hc5vek.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/537368/original/file-20230713-25-hc5vek.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/537368/original/file-20230713-25-hc5vek.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Gymnast Misaki Masui of Japan demonstrated her athletic skills on the balance beam during a June 2023 national competition in Tokyo.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/misaki-masui-competes-in-the-womens-balance-beam-final-on-news-photo/1258615102?adppopup=true">Kiyoshi Ota/Getty Images AsiaPac via Getty Images</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Learning better balance</h2>
<p>All of this explains why it’s necessary to practice if you want to improve your balance. For example, gymnasts who <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/s40279-016-0631-9">practice walking on narrow beams</a> continuously challenge their somatosensory and vestibular systems. This trains their brains to respond to very subtle changes, which means they get better and better at staying on their toes.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/what-olympic-gymnasts-can-teach-us-about-improving-our-balance-165171">What Olympic gymnasts can teach us about improving our balance</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>.</p>
<p>People are sometimes born with disorders or developmental problems, <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/cp/facts.html#">such as cerebral palsy</a>, that affect the visual, vestibular or somatosensory systems. Infants with such issues ideally start physical therapy very early, which allows them to achieve developmental milestones – from holding their heads up to standing and moving independently.</p>
<p>When I treat people with balance problems, I begin by evaluating whether their somatosensory system is working properly, and I ask about injuries to muscles or bones. Depending on what the problem is, we may do simple exercises such as standing or marching in one place, and progress to more difficult exercises such as walking fast or walking while talking.</p>
<hr>
<p><em>Hello, curious kids! Do you have a question you’d like an expert to answer? Ask an adult to send your question to <a href="mailto:curiouskidsus@theconversation.com">CuriousKidsUS@theconversation.com</a>. Please tell us your name, age and the city where you live.</em></p>
<p><em>And since curiosity has no age limit – adults, let us know what you’re wondering, too. We won’t be able to answer every question, but we will do our best.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/204591/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Gurpreet Singh does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Balancing well is a whole-body experience that develops over time and takes practice to master.Gurpreet Singh, Assistant Professor of Physical Therapy, Binghamton University, State University of New YorkLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2068322023-10-01T15:12:16Z2023-10-01T15:12:16ZWe got the beat: How we perceive rhythm involves neurological processes that control movement<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/535420/original/file-20230703-268647-i4u2qr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C7153%2C4781&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Experiencing the beat of a rhythm may be influenced
by the body’s expectation of movement.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span></figcaption></figure><iframe style="width: 100%; height: 100px; border: none; position: relative; z-index: 1;" allowtransparency="" allow="clipboard-read; clipboard-write" src="https://narrations.ad-auris.com/widget/the-conversation-canada/we-got-the-beat-how-we-perceive-rhythm-involves-neurological-processes-that-control-movement" width="100%" height="400"></iframe>
<p>When you hear a song playing somewhere, you might find yourself tapping your fingers or moving your head to the rhythm. If you’re walking, your footsteps may fall in line with the beat. Whether or not you’re a musician, somehow you know intuitively when to speed up or slow down to stay in time. </p>
<p>A wide range of living and non-living systems show synchronization, the tendency to coordinate rhythmic activity across interconnected groups. Pendulum clocks hanging on the same wall <a href="https://physicsworld.com/a/the-secret-of-the-synchronized-pendulums/">eventually sync up</a>, and large groups of fireflies may start to <a href="https://www.firefly.org/synchronous-fireflies.html">flash as one</a>.</p>
<p>But <a href="https://www.newscientist.com/article/mg24232240-600-most-animals-cant-keep-a-beat-despite-what-darwin-believed/">nothing else in the natural world</a> spontaneously synchronizes with rhythms across such a wide range of tempos and with such precision as humans listening to music. Joining the flow of a rhythmic piece of music is something we think of as almost automatic. But as pleasant and natural as it may be, it’s not at all clear how we do it. </p>
<p>As a musician, I spend many happy hours synchronizing to rhythms. And as a scientist, I am fascinated by the processes in the mind and brain that allow us to interact so expertly and spontaneously with rhythm. </p>
<h2>Rhythm and the brain</h2>
<p>Our sense of rhythm would seem to begin within the confines of the mind. As we listen to rhythmic music, we intuitively know when the next note is likely to occur. We are surprised when our rhythmic expectations are thwarted, as when a prominent downbeat is <a href="https://doi.org/10.1111/psyp.13909">played slightly early or is intentionally left silent</a>. </p>
<p>But it appears that even our ability to mentally follow and anticipate musical rhythms is tied up with the brain processes we use to move our bodies. </p>
<p>Using <a href="https://www.yalemedicine.org/conditions/functional-mri-imaging-the-brain">functional MRI</a>, music neuroscientists have <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neubiorev.2022.104588">established</a> that actively listening to rhythm activates the <a href="https://doi.org/10.1038/nrn2478">supplementary motor area</a> of the cerebral cortex and the <a href="https://doi.org/10.1001/archneur.60.10.1365">basal ganglia</a> in the deep brain, both of which are important for generating voluntary movements.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/535417/original/file-20230703-227943-4xq7eg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C85%2C5694%2C2949&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="people in an exercise class mid-step" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/535417/original/file-20230703-227943-4xq7eg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C85%2C5694%2C2949&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/535417/original/file-20230703-227943-4xq7eg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=320&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/535417/original/file-20230703-227943-4xq7eg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=320&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/535417/original/file-20230703-227943-4xq7eg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=320&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/535417/original/file-20230703-227943-4xq7eg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=403&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/535417/original/file-20230703-227943-4xq7eg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=403&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/535417/original/file-20230703-227943-4xq7eg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=403&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">As we move our bodies in space, we are continuously monitoring the state and progress of our actions using the sensory feedback they produce.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>How is mentally following a rhythm similar to moving our bodies? In my research, I am exploring <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6SBI24s6KnI">one possible link</a>: As we move our bodies in space, we are continuously monitoring the state and progress of our actions using the sensory feedback they produce. </p>
<p>This process of monitoring resembles a <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/earth-and-planetary-sciences/kalman-filter">Kalman filter</a>, an algorithm used to track the movement of objects based on limited and noisy measurements. </p>
<p>I recently showed that the process of following the cycle of a periodic beat underlying a complex rhythm can also be approximated surprisingly well by <a href="https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pcbi.1009025">a version of the Kalman filter</a>. Anticipating and processing events in a rhythm may draw on the same brain mechanisms as anticipating and processing the sensory consequences of our own movements. </p>
<p>From an evolutionary perspective, I suspect that our sense of rhythm developed (at least in part) as an outgrowth of <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/2059204319892617">monitoring and anticipating our own footsteps</a> as we walk or run.</p>
<h2>Causes of motor disorders</h2>
<p>Drawing links between motor control and rhythm perception may help us make sense of the underlying causes of neurological disorders that both affect rhythm perception and benefit from rhythm-focused therapies, including <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5322262/">Parkinson’s</a>, <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31450508/">Huntington’s</a>, and stuttering.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/535418/original/file-20230703-257123-rl7hkr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="a girl looks at a metronome on a table" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/535418/original/file-20230703-257123-rl7hkr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/535418/original/file-20230703-257123-rl7hkr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=535&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/535418/original/file-20230703-257123-rl7hkr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=535&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/535418/original/file-20230703-257123-rl7hkr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=535&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/535418/original/file-20230703-257123-rl7hkr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=672&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/535418/original/file-20230703-257123-rl7hkr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=672&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/535418/original/file-20230703-257123-rl7hkr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=672&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Using a metronome can help alleviate stuttering.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Developmental stuttering (a stutter during speech that arises in early childhood) is associated with <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bandl.2022.105219">impairment in rhythm perception</a> and <a href="https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2015.00847">weaker ability to tap in time with a metronome</a>. </p>
<p>Conversely, stuttering can be partially alleviated <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/S0005-7894(71)80001-1">by speaking along with a metronome</a>. Further, stutterers often experience substantially improved speech when their speech is played back to them with a <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jfludis.2006.04.001">slight delay or a pitch shift</a>. </p>
<p>Understanding the link between processing motor feedback — like the sound of one’s own speech — and perceiving an underlying beat could help us better understand stuttering by unifying the primary speech impairments with the secondary effects relating to rhythm and feedback as parts of a larger picture.</p>
<h2>Rhythm and boundaries</h2>
<p>The study of rhythm is one gateway to bigger questions about our relationship with the world around us. I believe that how we sense rhythm blurs the boundaries between our internal and external worlds.</p>
<p>We simply don’t have the cognitive resources to take all the information coming in our ears and rapidly separate it into multiple rhythmic streams. As a result, the rhythms we hear become entangled with the rhythms we make with our bodies. As we play music in a group, we literally lose ourselves in the rhythm: we no longer predict the timing of our own sounds separately from the mix, but instead predict the timing of all sounds based on <a href="https://doi.org/10.7554/eLife.74816">the group’s rhythm as a whole</a>.</p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/P2ngriiCuME?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">Drummers cannot experience more than one internal beat at a time.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Prediction and action</h2>
<p>So when we play music with others or slip into step with a friend on a walk, how does the rhythm we hear come to commandeer the timing of our actions? I suspect that the last ingredient is the tight relationship between prediction and action. According to one exciting theory of the neural control of action, we move our bodies <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/s00429-012-0475-5">not by sending “commands” to them, but instead by predicting what we will experience</a> when we move them. </p>
<p>For example, when I fully expect to experience the sound and feeling of a handclap, my body aligns with my expectations and I clap my hands. This is one way to understand some people’s tendencies to finish others’ sentences: once they have a clear prediction of what they are going to hear, it is difficult to avoid producing those sounds themselves.</p>
<p>A shared rhythmic experience is a fluid interplay between sound, external expectations, self-expectation and action. As I come to understand the rhythm I’m hearing and predict its sounds, I start to predict the timing of my own actions with the same clock. And when I do that, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l8FbKeqRY08">my actions can’t help but align themselves with my predictions</a>.</p>
<p>In this way, listening to and playing rhythmic music is a way to feel and act as a part of something larger than ourselves. We no longer experience ourselves as fully separate sources of sound and action — instead, we move and experience our movement as if music and movement all come from the same source, a source that includes us not as individuals but as parts of a larger system. </p>
<p>In a culture that often treats us as fundamentally separate and compartmentalized individuals, music helps us experience our minds, our bodies, other people, and our environments as an integrated whole.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/206832/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Jonathan Joseph Cannon does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Humans can spontaneously fall into rhythms with precision, and across a wide range of tempos. This may be because the same neurological processes that anticipate rhythm are involved with movement.Jonathan Joseph Cannon, Assistant Professor of Psychology/Neuroscience/Behavior, McMaster UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2122602023-08-31T20:01:04Z2023-08-31T20:01:04ZFewer of us are cycling – here’s how we can reverse the decline<p>Rates of cycling are falling in Australia, a national <a href="https://www.cwanz.com.au/national-walking-and-cycling-participation-survey-2023/">report</a> released today shows. More people started riding bikes early in the pandemic, but that hasn’t lasted. The percentages of people who cycle are lower now than in 2011.</p>
<p>Less than one in six Australians report riding a bicycle weekly. Just over one in three have ridden in the past year. </p>
<p>During the time of pandemic restrictions, when there was less other traffic on the road, people perhaps felt safer to ride. Creating streets that are less busy, noisy and easier to ride on and cross safely encourages more people to cycle and walk.</p>
<iframe title="Rates of cycling in Australia, 2011–2023" aria-label="Interactive line chart" id="datawrapper-chart-N1d95" src="https://datawrapper.dwcdn.net/N1d95/3/" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" style="border: none;" width="100%" height="400" data-external="1"></iframe>
<p>Most people want to walk and ride more. <a href="https://irp.cdn-website.com/541aa469/files/uploaded/What_Australia_Wants_Report_.pdf">Two-thirds</a> of people want more transport funding to go into walking, cycling and public transport. </p>
<p>Even if you’re not interested in riding a bike, you should be worried about this decline. Walking and cycling are part of the solution to several of the most pressing issues facing our cities.</p>
<h2>The decline isn’t surprising</h2>
<p>The decline in cycling probably shouldn’t surprise us. In the past 40 years, the percentage of children who walk or ride to school has dropped from <a href="https://www.transport.wa.gov.au/mediaFiles/active-transport/AT_P_Declining_Rate_walking_cycling_to_school_in_Perth.pdf">75% to 25%</a>. </p>
<p>Furthermore, cycling receives only about <a href="https://theconversation.com/cycling-and-walking-are-short-changed-when-it-comes-to-transport-funding-in-australia-92574">2%</a> of transport budgets. The United Nations Environment Program <a href="https://wedocs.unep.org/bitstream/handle/20.500.11822/17030/globalOutlookOnWalkingAndCycling.pdf">recommends 20%</a> of transport funding should go to “non-motorised transport”. </p>
<p>Most of our transport funding goes into building wider and longer roads, embedding car dependency. However, making it easier to drive leads to more driving and ultimately more congestion, an effect known as <a href="https://www.atap.gov.au/tools-techniques/travel-demand-modelling/3-model">induced demand</a>. The problem even featured in <a href="https://twitter.com/BrentToderian/status/1192568535009988608?s=20">an episode</a> of the TV show Utopia. </p>
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<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/cycling-and-walking-can-help-drive-australias-recovery-but-not-with-less-than-2-of-transport-budgets-142176">Cycling and walking can help drive Australia's recovery – but not with less than 2% of transport budgets</a>
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<h2>Short trips by car – everyone loses</h2>
<p>Most car journeys in Australian cities are <a href="https://public.tableau.com/app/profile/vista/viz/VISTA-TripsDraft/Trips-methodoftravel">short</a>. Two-thirds of these trips could be done by bike in <a href="https://www.infrastructureaustralia.gov.au/map/perth-active-transport-improvements">15 minutes or less</a>. </p>
<p>So, for example, of the 4.2 million daily car trips in Perth, <a href="https://www.infrastructureaustralia.gov.au/map/perth-active-transport-improvements">2.8 million are less than 5km</a>. In Victoria, about <a href="https://public.tableau.com/app/profile/vista/viz/VISTA-TripsDraft/Trips-methodoftravel">half of all trips under 2km</a> are driven – that’s more than 2 million a day. </p>
<p>These short car trips – such as the school drop-off, the short drive to the shops or the local park – are bad for public health, emissions and climate change, road safety and congestion. Walking and cycling can help solve all these problems. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/545706/original/file-20230831-26-jv0mnf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Venn diagram showing intersection of cycling and walking with the problems of road safety, congestion, emissions and public health" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/545706/original/file-20230831-26-jv0mnf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/545706/original/file-20230831-26-jv0mnf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=402&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/545706/original/file-20230831-26-jv0mnf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=402&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/545706/original/file-20230831-26-jv0mnf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=402&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/545706/original/file-20230831-26-jv0mnf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=505&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/545706/original/file-20230831-26-jv0mnf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=505&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/545706/original/file-20230831-26-jv0mnf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=505&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">How cycling and walking intersect with the issues of road safety, congestion, emissions and public health.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Author supplied (data from: 1. DCEEW, 2. AIHW, 3&4. Infrastructure Australia, 5. ISPAH).</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Urban sprawl and car use have a high cost</h2>
<p>Urban sprawl makes it less appealing to walk and cycle to our destination, further entrenching car dependency. </p>
<p>Urban sprawl costs governments too. Last week, the New South Wales Productivity Commission <a href="https://www.productivity.nsw.gov.au/building-more-homes-where-infrastructure-costs-less">reported</a> building homes closer to the city centre, rather than in outer suburbs, can save up to A$75,000 in infrastructure costs. </p>
<p>The extra costs of building farther away include providing schools, roads, parks, water and wastewater infrastructure. </p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1696099433648382171"}"></div></p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/urban-sprawl-is-not-a-dirty-word-if-the-priority-is-to-meet-all-kids-needs-it-should-be-208670">Urban sprawl is 'not a dirty word'? If the priority is to meet all kids' needs, it should be</a>
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<hr>
<h2>3 transport priorities</h2>
<p>For people to walk and cycle, we need to provide so-called <a href="https://www.healthystreets.com/">healthy streets</a>: not too noisy, easy to cross, with clean air and where people feel safe. </p>
<p>In 2022, the <a href="https://aspactivity.org/">Asia-Pacific Society for Physical Activity</a> and cycling advocacy group <a href="https://www.weride.org.au/who-we-are/">We Ride Australia</a> proposed <a href="https://aspactivity.org/three-transport-priorities/">three transport priorities</a> for Australia supported by a national alliance of 13 public health, transport, education and climate organisations.</p>
<p><strong>1. Safer default speed limits</strong></p>
<p>The current default speed limit of 50km/h in built-up areas is unsafe and leads to many deaths and injuries each year. </p>
<p>Default 30km/h speed limits in built-up areas are an immediate <a href="https://theconversation.com/busted-5-myths-about-30km-h-speed-limits-in-australia-160547">low-cost</a> way to increase road safety.</p>
<p>Other countries are showing it can be done. For example, this month <a href="https://www.gov.wales/seven-things-you-may-not-know-about-wales-new-20mph-default-speed-limit">Wales</a> is set to adopt a default speed limit of 20 miles an hour (32km/h). </p>
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<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/busted-5-myths-about-30km-h-speed-limits-in-australia-160547">Busted: 5 myths about 30km/h speed limits in Australia</a>
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<hr>
<p><strong>2. 1,500m school zones</strong></p>
<p>Most students live <a href="https://www.activehealthykids.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/australia-report-card-progress-report-2015.pdf">within 3km</a> of their school. That’s less than a 10-minute bike ride or a 30-minute walk. </p>
<p>However, to boost walking and cycling to school, parents need to feel it’s safe for their children to do so. The solution is to create safe walking and cycling routes with <a href="https://bubblecane.wordpress.com/2021/02/06/priority-crossings-what-are-they/">pedestrian priority crossings</a> within 500–1,500m of schools. Streets along these routes are easy to cross and not too busy or noisy.</p>
<p><strong>3. E-bike subsidies</strong></p>
<p>Cutting carbon emissions to limit climate change and air pollution requires us to reduce private car use. Focusing <a href="https://www.whichcar.com.au/news/electric-vehicle-incentives-australia">purchase incentives</a> solely on electric cars in Australia is slowing down the race to zero emissions. Indeed, research shows cycling is <a href="https://theconversation.com/cycling-is-ten-times-more-important-than-electric-cars-for-reaching-net-zero-cities-157163">ten times</a> more important than electric cars for achieving net-zero cities.</p>
<p>E-bikes assist the rider with pedalling, which makes them slightly faster than a regular bike. Typically e-bike users ride <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S259019821930017X">greater distances</a> than regular push-bike users. </p>
<p>However, the upfront price of e-bikes is one of the main barriers to buying one.
Providing incentives for people to buy an e-bike would increase their uptake. Research shows a return on investment of <a href="https://www.weride.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/WeRide_e-Bike_Subsidy_Report_FINAL-lores.pdf">$2–$3</a> for every $1 spent on these incentives. </p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1639981043590545413"}"></div></p>
<h2>What else can we do?</h2>
<p>As well as the <a href="https://aspactivity.org/three-transport-priorities/">three transport priorities</a>, we can of course take many more actions that would help increase walking and cycling. These measures include: boosting <a href="https://theconversation.com/urban-sprawl-is-not-a-dirty-word-if-the-priority-is-to-meet-all-kids-needs-it-should-be-208670">housing density</a>, <a href="https://www.streetlevelaustralia.org/">beautifying</a> our neighbourhoods, programs to build people’s confidence and skills to walk and cycle, such as <a href="https://www.cityofsydney.nsw.gov.au/talks-courses-workshops/cycling-courses">beginners bike tours</a>, and more frequent public transport. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/12-best-ways-to-get-cars-out-of-cities-ranked-by-new-research-180642">12 best ways to get cars out of cities – ranked by new research</a>
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<p>By prioritising walking and cycling for short trips, Australia can reduce the national combined cost of $67 billion a year of <a href="https://www.nrspp.org.au/resources/summary-report-cost-road-trauma-australia/#:%7E:text=the%20total%20cost%20of%20road%20trauma%20is%20estimated%20at%20%2422.2,by%20road%20injury%20was%20%24239%2C000">traffic injuries and deaths</a>, <a href="https://www.infrastructureaustralia.gov.au/sites/default/files/2019-08/Urban%20Transport%20Crowding%20and%20Congestion.pdf">traffic congestion</a>, <a href="https://www.aph.gov.au/DocumentStore.ashx?id=cce3914b-82a3-433b-97f6-be0642f692f6&subId=658630#:%7E:text=Air%20pollution%20is%20already%20a,to%20%2424%20billion%20per%20year">air pollution</a> and <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31390112/">physical inactivity</a>. </p>
<p>Here are four actions you can take to help boost walking and cycling in your area:</p>
<ol>
<li><p>look for opportunities where you can walk, wheel or cycle short journeys</p></li>
<li><p>join a community-led coalition, such as <a href="https://www.betterstreets.org.au/">Better Streets</a></p></li>
<li><p>score your local neighbourhood for walkability using this <a href="https://walking.heartfoundation.org.au/uploads/pdf-files/Neighbourhood-walkability-checklist.pdf">tool</a></p></li>
<li><p>write to your local MP asking for the <a href="https://aspactivity.org/three-transport-priorities/">three transport priorities</a> to be adopted.</p></li>
</ol><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/212260/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Matthew 'Tepi' Mclaughlin receives research funding from the Australian Government's Medical Research Future Fund and The Government of Western Australia's Healthway. He also receives salary support through the Australian Research Council's Centre of Excellence for Children and Families over the Life Course. He is a member of the Asia-Pacific Society for Physical Activity and a member of the Active Transport Advisory Group of Westcycle. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Peter McCue receives an Australian Postgraduate Research Award to study a PhD. He is a member of the Executive Committee and Chair of the Advocacy Committee of the Asia-Pacific Society for Physical Activity.</span></em></p>Early in the pandemic, when there was much less traffic on the roads, people took to their bikes. But since then, fewer people are cycling, with rates now lower than in 2011.Matthew Mclaughlin, Adjunct Research Fellow, The University of Western AustraliaPeter McCue, PhD Candidate, School of Population Health, UNSW SydneyLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2078152023-08-09T12:31:31Z2023-08-09T12:31:31ZBabies almost all try crawling to get from Point A to Point B, but CDC says it’s not a useful developmental milestone<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/541295/original/file-20230804-27-srqigc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C1439%2C4181%2C2735&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Babies are curious about their world and want to explore.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/photo/studio-shot-of-babies-in-diapers-crawling-royalty-free-image/73230112">Jose Luis Pelaez Inc/DigitalVision via Getty Images</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Infant milestones can be a source both of pride and anxiety for a new parent. Baby’s firsts – first tooth, first steps, first word – are moments of joy that many parents immediately compare with charts listing “normal” age ranges for each achievement to occur.</p>
<p>For a pediatrician, these milestones are useful indicators of typical or atypical development. When they occur outside that normal range, it might be time to look for some underlying cause, which could enable early detection and intervention if something’s amiss.</p>
<p>Since 2004, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has published a <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/actearly/milestones/index.html">set of milestone checklists</a> as part of its “<a href="https://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/actearly/index.html">Learn the Signs. Act Early</a>” program. Important skills are listed for a series of ages, enabling anxious parents to know whether baby is developing typically.</p>
<p>In early 2022, the CDC <a href="https://doi.org/10.1542/peds.2021-052138">published a major update to the milestones</a>. The new version has a much stronger basis in research evidence and has attempted to simplify language and help caregivers know when to contact a health care provider. Among all the changes, a major milestone was removed. Crawling no longer appears in the milestone checklists.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/541297/original/file-20230804-27-3rcku2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="baby crawls toward camera with woman out of focus in background" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/541297/original/file-20230804-27-3rcku2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/541297/original/file-20230804-27-3rcku2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/541297/original/file-20230804-27-3rcku2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/541297/original/file-20230804-27-3rcku2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/541297/original/file-20230804-27-3rcku2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/541297/original/file-20230804-27-3rcku2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/541297/original/file-20230804-27-3rcku2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">About 80% of babies give hands-and-knees crawling a try.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/photo/two-mothers-meeting-for-play-date-with-babies-at-royalty-free-image/1153668944">monkeybusinessimages/iStock via Getty Images Plus</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Crawling to get from here to there</h2>
<p>As infants develop awareness of the world around them, they naturally start wanting to explore it. Mobility is the gateway to that exploration. Crawling is typically an infant’s first efficient strategy to get from Point A to Point B, and it often means that new parents must suddenly baby-proof their home and make sure all the Point Bs are safe.</p>
<p>Crawling is a transitional phase of mobility – children and adults are capable of crawling but choose to walk if they’re able to do so – and it often overlaps with precursors to walking such as pulling-to-stand and “cruising” while holding on to furniture. </p>
<p>Studies have indicated that <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.earlhumdev.2013.04.010">over 80% of infants progress through hands-and-knees crawling</a> during development of locomotion. Others <a href="https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2214.1984.tb00189.x">use alternative crawling strategies</a> like scooting along on their bottoms, or rolling.</p>
<p>The World Health Organization studied hundreds of children around the world and found that, on average, children develop <a href="https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1651-2227.2006.tb02379.x">hands-and-knees crawling by 8.5 months of age</a>. But that’s just an average. Of course babies each develop on their own schedule. The range for starting to crawl (the 1st percentile to the 99th) was 5.2 to 13.5 months. And 4.3% of the babies in the study skipped hands-and-knees crawling altogether.</p>
<p>Clinicians who work with children have long recognized the importance of motor development. Scientists have called motor behaviors the “<a href="https://doi.org/10.1002/wcs.1430">raw material for perception, cognition, and social interaction</a>.” In particular, crawling can be an early window to <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.earlhumdev.2013.04.010">understanding a child’s problem-solving strategies</a>. And researchers have used <a href="https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.95.23.13982">movement analysis at 4-6 months</a>, when some babies are getting close to hands-and-knees crawling, for early diagnosis of disorders such as autism and cerebral palsy.</p>
<p><a href="https://doi.org/10.1097/PEP.0000000000000937">Therapists worry that removing crawling</a> from the milestone list means it will be devalued and the important physical, sensory and cognitive benefits it affords for the baby will be missed when evaluating childhood development.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/541298/original/file-20230804-15-vw0ayr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="baby standing holding onto side of bed, looking back at camera" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/541298/original/file-20230804-15-vw0ayr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/541298/original/file-20230804-15-vw0ayr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/541298/original/file-20230804-15-vw0ayr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/541298/original/file-20230804-15-vw0ayr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/541298/original/file-20230804-15-vw0ayr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/541298/original/file-20230804-15-vw0ayr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/541298/original/file-20230804-15-vw0ayr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Pulling up to stand is a developmental milestone that typically happens at a predictable age.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/photo/adorable-baby-boy-in-white-sunny-bedroom-in-winter-royalty-free-image/961494366">tatyana_tomsickova/iStock via Getty Images Plus</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Off the evidence-based list of milestones</h2>
<p>Much of the <a href="https://doi.org/10.1097/PEP.0000000000000937">CDC’s reasoning</a> for removing crawling from the milestone list is centered on data.</p>
<p>Pediatricians have charts that say how fast children typically walk based on their age, but no such normative data exists for crawling. There are no clear, laboratory-based descriptions of the various types of crawling. We lack long-term studies that show when babies transition between patterns. And there are very few studies on the implications of skipping crawling and going straight to walking.</p>
<p>Despite these data gaps, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-8624.1998.tb06213.x">crawling has been studied for nearly a century</a>, and researchers have used it to <a href="https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-8624.1993.tb04193.x">understand the complex development</a> of multiple neuromotor systems. Crawling is also important in understanding developmental continuity, or where new skills grow from.</p>
<p>Nonetheless, the CDC is correct: There are no age-based normative data charts for crawling as there are for walking.</p>
<h2>Locomotion in the lab</h2>
<p>As a biomedical engineer who <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=C7j3KnYAAAAJ&hl=en">specializes in pediatric locomotion biomechanics</a>, I have firsthand knowledge of this lack of crawling data.</p>
<p>I’ve used a technique called <a href="https://www.gillettechildrens.org/conditions-care/gait-and-motion-analysis">3D motion analysis</a> for decades to gather minute details on the walking of children with limb loss, cerebral palsy and other neuromotor conditions, all in an effort to help improve their mobility. My colleagues and I attach small markers to skeletal landmarks like hips and knees, and special cameras track the markers and reconstruct skeletal movement.</p>
<p>But among all my lab’s studies on walking, I’ve completed only <a href="https://doi.org/10.1097/JPO.0b013e3181cc57bc">one 3D motion analysis study on crawling</a>. We examined the motion of very young children with limb loss in a new prosthetic treatment protocol developed here at Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta – but it was really tricky to do.</p>
<p>We had to create new musculoskeletal models for our analysis system. We had to use tiny reflective markers, because babies make more contact with the ground than older kids, and a big marker might be uncomfortable. We had to position cameras at new angles to track those tiny markers. Diapers created a big challenge, given their movement relative to the baby’s skeleton.</p>
<p>And as any parent or caregiver can attest, babies can be a tough population to work with. They don’t follow directions well, they’re temperamental, and they’ll pull a reflective marker off their skin and pop it in their mouth in a second if you let them. We had to watch our study subjects like hawks.</p>
<p>In short, crawling is just more difficult to study than walking.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/541290/original/file-20230804-26-kmpnwr.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="baby crawling on a pathway in distance, with a computer readout of measurements of the baby's pressure on the path" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/541290/original/file-20230804-26-kmpnwr.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/541290/original/file-20230804-26-kmpnwr.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/541290/original/file-20230804-26-kmpnwr.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/541290/original/file-20230804-26-kmpnwr.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/541290/original/file-20230804-26-kmpnwr.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=504&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/541290/original/file-20230804-26-kmpnwr.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=504&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/541290/original/file-20230804-26-kmpnwr.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=504&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">A new study is collecting crawling biomechanic data using a pressure-sensing pathway.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Mark Geil</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/">CC BY-ND</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Collecting crawling data</h2>
<p>To address this challenge, my colleagues and I are now embarking on what we believe is the largest lab-based study of infant crawling development. We’re studying babies from their first crawling attempts all the way through their transition to walking.</p>
<p>This study relies on a new technique with a pressure-sensing pathway that avoids the complications of 3D motion capture. We’ll see 75 typically developing infants, and also study children with limb loss and cerebral palsy. </p>
<p>Our goal is to gain insights into how children transition from crawling to walking, with the hope they will one day help health care providers understand early motor development and spot neuromotor issues earlier. </p>
<p>We’re also hopeful that these hundreds of visits to the lab will result in the first normative data set on crawling development, addressing some of the issues that prompted the CDC to remove crawling from the milestone list. So, while our lab stays full of toys, Cheerios and baby wipes for a few years, we’re generating data that might improve parents’ and clinicians’ understanding of early motor development.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/207815/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Mark Geil receives funding from The Gerber Foundation. </span></em></p>Revisions to the CDC’s developmental milestone checklists removed crawling as a skill that babies pick up at a typical age. A biomedical engineer describes how more research may clarify its role.Mark Geil, Associate Dean for Research and Professor of Biomechanics, Kennesaw State UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2063822023-08-02T12:31:43Z2023-08-02T12:31:43ZEver-larger cars and trucks are causing a safety crisis on US streets – here’s how communities can fight back<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/540254/original/file-20230731-20-oaaqhv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=33%2C0%2C5501%2C3684&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Retractable bollards can be used to signal priority areas on streets for smaller vehicles, cyclists and pedestrians.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/photo/automatic-cylindrical-barriers-on-the-pedestrian-royalty-free-image/1185641332">Eugene Nekrasov/Getty images Plus</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Deadly traffic incidents have <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2022/11/27/upshot/road-deaths-pedestrians-cyclists.html">declined in most developed countries</a> in recent years. But in the U.S. they’re becoming more common. Deaths in motor vehicle crashes <a href="https://injuryfacts.nsc.org/motor-vehicle/historical-fatality-trends/deaths-and-rates/#">rose more than 33%</a> from 2011 to 2021. Since 2010, pedestrian deaths nationwide <a href="https://www.ghsa.org/sites/default/files/2023-06/GHSA%20-%20Pedestrian%20Traffic%20Fatalities%20by%20State%2C%202022%20Preliminary%20Data%20%28January-December%29.pdf">have climbed a shocking 77%</a>, compared with a 25% increase in all other types of <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/15389588.2020.1829917">traffic fatalities</a>.</p>
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<p>Light trucks injure pedestrians <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/S0001-4575(03)00007-1">more severely than passenger cars in crashes</a>, and the size of <a href="https://www.carsized.com/en/">cars</a> and trucks sold in the U.S. <a href="https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/cars/2019/12/27/suvs-gm-ford-toyota-chevrolet/4408728002/">continues to swell</a>. Some current models, such as the Toyota Rav4, are one-third larger than they were 15 years ago. </p>
<p>Based on my experience researching <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=lfb0Tu4AAAAJ&hl=en">urban planning and street design</a> for the past three decades, I know that U.S. cities are primarily vehicle-centered rather than human-centered. Rules established in the 1920s govern how people use vehicles in public streets, and other governmental controls tell manufacturers how big those vehicles can be. </p>
<p>Today, these sets of rules have created public spaces where it is <a href="https://theconversation.com/why-us-cities-are-becoming-more-dangerous-for-cyclists-and-pedestrians-111713">safer to be inside a vehicle than outside</a>.</p>
<p>The U.S. has not moved as quickly as other countries to prioritize the safety of people outside of cars, especially as cars have grown larger and heavier. As a consequence, Americans are paying the price in <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/0361198120933636">lives lost</a>, skyrocketing public health costs and reduced mobility.</p>
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<figcaption><span class="caption">Large SUVs and trucks increase the risk of ‘frontover’ accidents, in which drivers strike someone in the vehicle’s large front blind zone.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Larger, heavier and deadlier</h2>
<p>Data clearly shows that <a href="https://www.bts.gov/content/new-and-used-passenger-car-sales-and-leases-thousands-vehicles">since 2008</a>, cars and trucks sold in the U.S. have been continually <a href="https://www.epa.gov/system/files/documents/2022-12/420s22001.pdf">getting bigger</a>. The Department of Transportation’s corporate average fuel economy standards have constrained overall gasoline consumption but have also <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/ezra-klein/post/cafe-loophole-could-lead-to-bigger-cars/2011/12/14/gIQA3bGLuO_blog.html">led to an increase in vehicle size</a>. </p>
<p>That’s because these standards have two sets of rules: one for cars and a looser set for light trucks. As a result, automakers have built more sport utility vehicles and light trucks, as well as cars designed to meet light truck standards, like the Subaru Outback. For almost a decade, they have increasingly moved away from producing small cars and sedans. </p>
<p>Modern auto showrooms are dominated by sport utility vehicles, minivans and pickup trucks. According to 2022 data from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, three-quarters of new vehicles produced in the U.S. <a href="https://www.epa.gov/system/files/documents/2022-12/420s22001.pdf">are light trucks</a>. </p>
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<p>Those large vehicles create severe safety hazards on neighborhood city streets for children or adults who might be walking or cycling. Because these vehicles are taller, they are more likely to strike people at higher points and produce <a href="https://www.iihs.org/news/detail/higher-point-of-impact-makes-suv-crashes-more-dangerous-for-cyclists">head or neck injuries</a> rather than leg injuries. Their larger frames worsen visibility for drivers, <a href="https://www.iihs.org/news/detail/suvs-other-large-vehicles-often-hit-pedestrians-while-turning">especially when a vehicle is turning</a>. </p>
<p>As a result, <a href="https://www.nsc.org/getmedia/6375cae2-00ca-4a6c-a205-b98a2ad6a8fd/future-mobility-full-report.pdf">transport agencies</a>, <a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2021/11/deadly-myth-human-error-causes-most-car-crashes/620808/">journalists</a> and public safety advocates are increasingly identifying <a href="https://www.iihs.org/topics/bibliography/ref/2249">large vehicles</a> as a significant <a href="https://data.bikeleague.org/new-nhtsa-data-vehicle-data-shows-popular-pickup-trucks-are-most-common-vehicles-in-pedestrian-and-bicyclist-deaths/">impediment</a> to creating communities with <a href="https://www.iihs.org/news/detail/suvs-other-large-vehicles-often-hit-pedestrians-while-turning">safer streets</a>. </p>
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<h2>A slow federal response</h2>
<p>Until now, the U.S. has not enacted regulations that require car manufacturers to <a href="https://www.governing.com/now/can-american-cars-be-made-safer-for-pedestrians">consider the safety of anyone outside of cars</a>. Now, however, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is proposing to add information to its crash test ratings measuring how well cars <a href="https://www.nhtsa.gov/press-releases/nhtsa-proposes-new-crashworthiness-pedestrian-protection-testing-program">protect pedestrians in crashes</a>. For example, bumpers and hoods could be redesigned to bend more easily and absorb more energy if a vehicle strikes a person.</p>
<p>But as currently proposed, pedestrian safety would not be factored into the overall five-star safety rating. A vehicle could receive a failing grade for protecting pedestrians yet still earn a five-star safety rating overall. </p>
<p>People deserve to safely travel on public streets and in parking lots. In my view, the quickest and most effective way to tackle car bloat is to transform social expectations for the shape and size of vehicles. Several European cities show how this kind of shift can happen.</p>
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<h2>A time for local action</h2>
<p>Amsterdam and Copenhagen are widely viewed as models for using public space in ways that prioritize people – but they weren’t always that way. Starting in the 1970s, grassroots movements in <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/cities/2015/may/05/amsterdam-bicycle-capital-world-transport-cycling-kindermoord">both</a> <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2012-04-25/why-the-streets-of-copenhagen-and-amsterdam-look-so-different-from-ours">cities</a> pressed officials to reduce the dominance of cars and make streets safer for the public. These movements initially were slow to catch on but <a href="https://theconversation.com/return-of-the-child-friendly-city-how-social-movements-are-changing-european-urban-areas-203343">gained support</a> over time.</p>
<p>Today, similar initiatives are moving forward in cities across <a href="https://www.urban.org/urban-wire/us-traffic-fatalities-rising-what-would-it-take-save-lives">France</a> and Germany. Even traditionally car-centric European cities, such as Brussels and <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/jan/20/how-a-belgian-port-city-inspired-birminghams-car-free-ambitions">Ghent</a>, are increasingly adopting human-focused policies by designating where cars, especially large cars, can and cannot travel. </p>
<p>As a <a href="https://www.dutchnews.nl/2015/04/dutch-university-appoints-american-as-its-professor-of-cycling/">visiting professor in the Netherlands</a>, a Fulbright scholar to Italy and a lecturer across Germany and Poland, I have seen the benefits of these initiatives close at hand. I’ve also learned that it will require public action to create support for such changes in the U.S. </p>
<p>The goal is to modify the design of neighborhood streets and parking areas in ways that prioritize pedestrians, bicycles and new forms of personal transport like <a href="https://nimbusev.com/">microcars</a>. Federal survey data shows that nearly half of trips that Americans drive are <a href="https://nhts.ornl.gov/vehicle-trips">shorter than four miles</a> (6.5 kilometers). Ideally, people can be discouraged from using large passenger vehicles for most of this type of travel. </p>
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<figcaption><span class="caption">The 38,000 residents of Peachtree City, Ga., can drive registered golf carts on an alternative network of car-free paths around their community.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>What communities can do</h2>
<p>Streets and roads are local public spaces. Therefore, local officials and citizens have important roles to play in mitigating escalating car size in their community. </p>
<p>Some policymakers are proposing to rein in large vehicles through tax policies, such as <a href="https://www.curbed.com/2023/06/new-york-suv-trucks-weight-based-fee.html">weight-based registration fees</a>. But measures like this won’t avert the emerging safety crisis in the near term. Rather, I believe this kind of broad cultural shift requires collective action, starting at the local level with <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.trip.2020.100199">street design reform</a>. </p>
<p>In my view, communities seeking to discourage the predominance of oversize vehicles and encourage use of smaller, lighter and slower vehicles could consider taking such steps as:</p>
<ul>
<li><p>Creating prioritized parking spaces closer to stores for all forms of mobility that are narrow or <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-09-17/how-cities-could-push-back-on-pickups-and-suvs?sref=Hjm5biAW">less than 8 feet (2.5 meters) long</a>. </p></li>
<li><p>Using <a href="https://www.sociallifeproject.org/the-little-bollard-that-could-do-a-lot/">posts or bollards</a>, which can be removable, to limit vehicle access to commercial areas and neighborhoods where pedestrians, bikes and smaller cars get priority. </p></li>
<li><p>Radically <a href="https://www.strongtowns.org/journal/2015/10/12/nine-foot-travel-lanes-in-practice">narrowing travel lanes on streets</a> to force traffic to slow down and free up space for wider sidewalks and bike lanes. </p></li>
<li><p>Limiting or ending vehicle access to <a href="https://momentummag.com/school-streets-programs/">streets near schools</a> and economically vibrant commercial districts, either permanently or at high-use times of day. </p></li>
</ul>
<p>How would such steps make people safer? Ask communities around Boston, which have cut several accident-prone <a href="https://www.memorialdrivealliance.org/faq">four-lane roads down to two lanes each</a>, reducing traffic speeds <a href="https://safercircleblvd.files.wordpress.com/2019/10/2017-12-29-evaluation-of-road-diets-in-massachusetts-in-2017-002.pdf">and crashes</a> and creating more green space. Or those in the Atlanta suburb of Peachtree City, which has used parking lots and street space to augment a network of more than 100 miles (160 kilometers) of paved paths for <a href="https://peachtree-city.org/216/Paths-Golf-Carts">walkers, bikers and registered golf carts</a>. </p>
<p>Repurposing space in streets and parking areas requires city governments and residents to emphasize the public right of way and view street space as a place to devise solutions. There is ample evidence that doing so will make U.S. communities safer.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/206382/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Kevin J. Krizek does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Cars are getting bigger on US roads, and that’s increasing pedestrian and cyclist deaths. A transport scholar identifies community-level strategies for making streets safer.Kevin J. Krizek, Professor of Environmental Design, University of Colorado BoulderLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2093832023-07-26T14:56:09Z2023-07-26T14:56:09ZPedestrians in Ghana are risking their lives – we studied what’s distracting them while walking<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/537613/original/file-20230716-117608-g3zaz0.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Walking is a popular mode of transportation in Ghana</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Wikimedia Commons/Linda Fletcher Dabo</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Walking has health and environmental benefits – but it’s not always a person’s choice for getting around. And it does come with hazards. <a href="https://www.who.int/news/item/02-05-2013-more-than-270-000-pedestrians-killed-on-roads-each-year">One fifth</a> of the people killed on the roads globally are pedestrians. </p>
<p>In Ghana, like other developing countries, walking is the main mode of travel. A 2012 survey found that <a href="https://www2.statsghana.gov.gh/docfiles/publications/Second%20National%20Household%20Transport%20Survey%20Report%202012.pdf#page=iv">64.4%</a> of the workforce went to work on foot. </p>
<p>Ghana’s <a href="https://www.ghana.gov.gh/mdas/3c5160e416/">National Road Safety Authority</a> <a href="https://myjoyonline.com/road-accidents-claimed-2924-lives-in-2021/">reported</a> 2,930 pedestrians were knocked down in 2021 and 831 died. </p>
<p>Pedestrians are vulnerable for several reasons. The design of road infrastructure is one. <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/259715300_Urban_Infrastructure_Design_and_Pedestrian_Safety_in_the_Kumasi_Central_Business_District_Ghana">Research</a> has shown that the absence of sidewalks forces pedestrians into the road, exposing them to motorised transport that heightens the risk of traffic crashes and injuries. </p>
<p>Risky in-traffic pedestrian walking behaviour is also a factor. Consuming alcohol, chatting with others, and using a mobile phone all heighten the risk of injuries. </p>
<p>As transport geographers we set out to discover what distracts pedestrians in Accra’s main business district. Our <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/21650020.2023.2220574">study</a> discovered that the use of mobile devices, poorly designed infrastructure and advanced age all played a role. We suggest the city needs pedestrian friendly infrastructure and local laws to regulate walking behaviour.</p>
<h2>Digital devices distract pedestrians</h2>
<p>We chose to study the central business district of the capital, Accra, since it <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/21650020.2023.2220574">accounts</a> for 57.6% of pedestrian accidents within the <a href="https://www.ama.gov.gh/">Accra Metropolitan Assembly</a>. It also records high foot traffic, being a major economic hub in Ghana. </p>
<p>The study engaged 400 commuters. We asked respondents to rank various activities they commonly engaged in while walking. A five-point scale indicated the extent of their engagement in these activities. </p>
<p>The respondents’ top four distracting activities involved using digital devices like mobile phones. Listening to music on a mobile phone emerged as the major distraction: 79% of respondents ranked it as their most common distractive activity. Making or receiving phone calls and conversing with other people while walking (2nd and 3rd) followed. Browsing the internet on mobile phones ranked 4th, and was widespread among those aged 9-24 and 27-42. </p>
<h2>Who is distracted?</h2>
<p>The study also indicated that sex, age, level of education, occupation, reasons for walking and weekly time spent walking were significant predictors of distractions. </p>
<p>Male pedestrians were more than twice as likely to engage in distractive activities. This is consistent with the <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/ssqu.13079">expectations</a> of some behaviour experts. </p>
<p>On age, the data revealed a significant association between commuters aged 49-59 and distracted walking. A growing body of <a href="https://doi.org/10.1155/2012/131608">literature</a> has identified older people as engaging in distracted walking since they are less likely to estimate their walking environment accurately. Even looking at signage or objects of interest, buying items, or conversing with other pedestrians may increase their risk of injury. </p>
<p>Respondents with senior high school education (nine years of basic education) were also more prone to distraction. Evidence shows that <a href="https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ1243880.pdf*page=1">most</a> Ghanaians end their education at this level. Working in the informal economy as hawkers or in other businesses encroaching on sidewalks, people are likely to compete with pedestrians for space or run after moving cars to sell their wares. </p>
<p>Relative to respondents who walked only for short trips, respondents who walked as part of their job recorded a far higher likelihood of engaging in distractive behaviour. Most of their day is spent walking, engaged in activities like sales or marketing, providing a courier service, or hawking. </p>
<p>Finally, time allocated to walking made a difference to behaviour. Whether weekly or daily, respondents who dedicated more time to walking in the CBD were more likely to walk in a distracted way.</p>
<h2>Safety plans</h2>
<p>Accra already has a <a href="https://www.ama.gov.gh/documents/Pedestrian-Safety-Action-Plan-FOR-PRINT-INDIVIDUAL-PAGES.PDF.pdf">pedestrian safety action plan</a>, but it focuses on the built environment rather than on behaviour. This study suggested the plan should include a policy statement on pedestrian walking behaviour.</p>
<p>The Accra Metropolitan Assembly (the administrative authority) can enact laws restricting pedestrians from listening to music with headphones, making phone calls while crossing roads or engaging in unwarranted conversations. </p>
<p>Additionally, the National Road Safety Authority and Ghana Police Service should collaborate on educational outreach programmes on all media platforms. They should focus on the dangers and causes of distractive walking. </p>
<p>Interventions like these offer the chance to reduce pedestrian injuries in Accra.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/209383/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>The city of Accra has no plan to tackle pedestrians’ behaviour.Prince Kwame Odame, Lecturer, Geography Education, University of Education, WinnebaEnoch F Sam, Head of Department , Department of Geography Education, University of Education, WinnebaLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2064322023-06-23T14:49:09Z2023-06-23T14:49:09ZAre low-traffic neighbourhoods greenwashing? Here’s what the evidence says<p>Since the pandemic, a <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2023/jun/12/low-traffic-neighbourhoods-ltn-may-lead-people-drive-less-london">series of low-traffic neighbourhoods</a> (LTNs) have been installed across the UK. LTNs are designed to curtail car use in residential streets and promote active modes of travel such as walking, cycling and travelling by wheelchair. They aim to create a more pleasant environment for pedestrians and cyclists by using cameras, planting boxes or bollards to restrict motor vehicle traffic.</p>
<p>The initiative aims to address <a href="https://psyarxiv.com/egnmj/">three public health issues</a> directly associated with rampant car use in urban areas: air pollution, road deaths and physical inactivity. Human-made air pollution – which is worse in congested cities – is linked to between <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/air-pollution-applying-all-our-health/air-pollution-applying-all-our-health#:%7E:text=The%20annual%20mortality%20of%20human,and%2036%2C000%20deaths%20every%20year.">28,000 and 36,000 deaths</a> in the UK each year. </p>
<p>The concept of LTNs in the UK can be traced back to the 1970s when a <a href="http://hackneycyclist.blogspot.com/2015/10/the-history-behind-filtered.html">similar scheme</a> (although not referred to as an LTN at the time) was introduced in the London borough of Hackney. Many of the UK’s more recent LTNs are concentrated in <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0966692321002477?via%3Dihub">deprived areas of London</a>, with low rates of car ownership. </p>
<p>By contrast, similar schemes have been more widely adopted <a href="https://journals.open.tudelft.nl/ejtir/article/view/3000/3187">in the Netherlands</a>, where active travel has been separated from car traffic consistently since the 1970s.</p>
<p>But LTNs have become controversial in the UK. Critics have even gone as far as <a href="https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/low-traffic-zones-just-greenwashing-says-lobby-group-jvck33c69">accusing the government</a> of greenwashing. They <a href="https://freedomfordrivers.blog/2023/02/23/new-petition-remove-ltns-and-greenwash-traffic-schemes/">argue that</a> LTNs cause more congestion and air pollution on boundary roads (usually larger roads around the perimeter of an LTN), longer emergency response times and increased travel times for disabled people or carers. </p>
<p>Since most LTNs are relatively recent and have been predominantly installed in London, there is limited information on their long-term effects and impacts beyond the capital. </p>
<p>Yet the existing evidence still offers a clearer understanding of how LTNs can positively impact various aspects of urban life. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A queue of traffic." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/533704/original/file-20230623-25-llyph0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/533704/original/file-20230623-25-llyph0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/533704/original/file-20230623-25-llyph0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/533704/original/file-20230623-25-llyph0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/533704/original/file-20230623-25-llyph0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/533704/original/file-20230623-25-llyph0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/533704/original/file-20230623-25-llyph0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Critics argue that LTNs cause congestion on surrounding roads.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/blackfriars-london-uk-11th-june-2014-597895856">Lenscap Photography/Shutterstock</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Fewer cars, more active travel</h2>
<p>Some studies suggest that LTNs are effective in reducing car usage. <a href="https://findingspress.org/article/75470-the-impact-of-2020-low-traffic-neighbourhoods-on-levels-of-car-van-driving-among-residents-findings-from-lambeth-london-uk">Recent research</a> on four LTNs in the south London borough of Lambeth that was co-authored by one of us (Jamie Furlong), found that the annual distance residents within these LTNs drove decreased by 6% compared to control areas.</p>
<p>This finding supports <a href="https://docs.google.com/document/d/13Nsm_GFdH6CpIpPpOZ7hbhLZScgqCAP7ZGI0xi4qDqA/edit">previous research</a> commissioned by climate action charity, Possible, that examined traffic data from 46 LTNs across 11 London boroughs. The analysis revealed a substantial reduction in motor traffic within LTNs compared to the expected background changes. Importantly, there was no evidence of traffic being systematically displaced onto boundary roads. </p>
<p>A <a href="https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=4133090">separate study</a> by researchers from Imperial College London on three LTNs in the London borough of Islington showed notable improvements in air quality after their installation. On average, levels of nitrogen dioxide (a harmful car exhaust pollutant) decreased by 5.7% within the LTNs and 8.9% on boundary roads. </p>
<p>LTNs have demonstrated several other benefits beyond reduced car usage. In London, they have even been associated with decreased car ownership and <a href="https://findingspress.org/article/25633-impacts-of-2020-low-traffic-neighbourhoods-in-london-on-road-traffic-injuries">improved road safety</a>. Between 2015 and 2019, rates of car ownership in outer London LTNs <a href="https://findingspress.org/article/18200-the-impact-of-low-traffic-neighbourhoods-and-other-active-travel-interventions-on-vehicle-ownership-findings-from-the-outer-london-mini-holland-progr">reduced by 6%</a> relative to control areas.</p>
<p>Evidence on the shift to active travel prompted by LTNs is more limited. However, a <a href="https://findingspress.org/article/21390-the-impact-of-low-traffic-neighbourhoods-on-active-travel-car-use-and-perceptions-of-local-environment-during-the-covid-19-pandemic">study funded by Transport for London</a> on LTNs that pre-dated COVID in London’s Waltham Forest, found a 1-2 hour increase per person in weekly active travel compared to the control area. </p>
<h2>What about the concerns?</h2>
<p>One criticism of LTNs relates to the <a href="https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/traffic-calming-zones-london-delay-fire-crews-xmplwxp38">potential delays</a> they can cause for emergency services. Videos have surfaced online showing fire engines and ambulances unable to get past bollards or planting boxes. </p>
<p>However, the <a href="https://findingspress.org/article/18198-the-impact-of-introducing-a-low-traffic-neighbourhood-on-fire-service-emergency-response-times-in-waltham-forest-london">only published academic study</a> on the topic, which examined the impact of LTNs on fire service emergency response times in Waltham Forest, found no negative effects. In fact, response times even improved slightly on some boundary roads. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A fire engine driving down a road." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/533694/original/file-20230623-29-lpm05q.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/533694/original/file-20230623-29-lpm05q.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=415&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/533694/original/file-20230623-29-lpm05q.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=415&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/533694/original/file-20230623-29-lpm05q.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=415&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/533694/original/file-20230623-29-lpm05q.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=521&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/533694/original/file-20230623-29-lpm05q.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=521&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/533694/original/file-20230623-29-lpm05q.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=521&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Concerns have been raised about the delays LTNs cause to emergency services.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/london-uk-september-30-2019-emergency-1519146149">olesea vetrila/Shutterstock</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Learning from Barcelona</h2>
<p>How residents feel about LTNs and their streets is crucial to the success of these schemes. In both <a href="https://www.lbc.co.uk/news/london-council-scraps-seven-low-traffic-neighbourhoods-after-public-backlash/">Ealing</a> (a district of west London) and <a href="https://www.warringtonguardian.co.uk/news/23600038.low-traffic-neighbourhood-westy-will-removed/">Warrington</a> (a town in northern England), councils removed LTNs after the objection of residents.</p>
<p>The fact that relatively few of the UK’s more recent LTNs have <a href="https://twitter.com/hackneycouncil/status/1554765517843570689">altered street layouts</a> to encourage new uses by, for example, widening pavements and turning car parking spaces into public seating may be part of the issue. If LTNs were implemented with a stronger focus on urban design and physical changes to the streetscape, they could have a potentially transformative effect on how people feel about and use residential streets.</p>
<p>The <a href="https://ajuntament.barcelona.cat/superilles/en/">“superblocks”</a> initiative (city blocks where pedestrians and cyclists are prioritised over motorised vehicles) in Barcelona is a good example of such an approach. Following the implementation of the city’s Sant Antoni superblock, <a href="https://bcnroc.ajuntament.barcelona.cat/jspui/handle/11703/129164">research</a> found a 33% reduction in nitrogen dioxide emissions, an 82% reduction in traffic within the superblock and a 28% increase in public space to walk and play in. </p>
<p>During trial phases, various features were incorporated into Barcelona’s neighbourhoods, including coloured pavements, mobile tree planters and pop-up playgrounds. In the <a href="https://ajuntament.barcelona.cat/superilles/ca/content/poblenou">Poblenou superblock</a>, the final design of street changes resulted from two weeks of <a href="https://bcnroc.ajuntament.barcelona.cat/jspui/handle/11703/129164">laboratories and debates</a> involving residents, council officers, political representatives and more than 200 students and teachers from different schools of architecture.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A low-traffic neighbourhood with curbside seating and colourful decoration." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/533121/original/file-20230621-16-9mq8gq.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/533121/original/file-20230621-16-9mq8gq.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/533121/original/file-20230621-16-9mq8gq.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/533121/original/file-20230621-16-9mq8gq.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/533121/original/file-20230621-16-9mq8gq.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/533121/original/file-20230621-16-9mq8gq.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/533121/original/file-20230621-16-9mq8gq.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The Sant Antoni superblock, Barcelona.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Jamie Furlong</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>In the UK, the future of LTNs hangs in the balance due to a <a href="https://www.telegraph.co.uk/politics/2023/05/19/low-traffic-neighbourhoods-no-government-money/">shaky funding base</a>. But this development is accompanied by a climate emergency that demands swift and decisive action. </p>
<hr>
<figure class="align-right ">
<img alt="Imagine weekly climate newsletter" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/434988/original/file-20211201-21-13avx6y.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/434988/original/file-20211201-21-13avx6y.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/434988/original/file-20211201-21-13avx6y.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/434988/original/file-20211201-21-13avx6y.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/434988/original/file-20211201-21-13avx6y.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/434988/original/file-20211201-21-13avx6y.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/434988/original/file-20211201-21-13avx6y.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption"></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
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<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Dr Jamie Furlong receives funding from TfL for a related project analysing behaviour change and Low Traffic Neighbourhoods. He also receives funding, as part of a team at Westminster University, from the National Institute for Health and Care Research for a project examining the effects of Low Traffic Neighbourhoods in London.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Ersilia Verlinghieri, as part of a team at Westminster University, receives funding from the National Institute for Health and Care Research for a project examining the effects of Low Traffic Neighbourhoods in London.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Harrie Larrington-Spencer, as part of a team at Westminster University, receives funding from the National Institute for Health and Care Research for a project examining the effects of Low Traffic Neighbourhoods in London.</span></em></p>LTNs were introduced to UK cities to create a more pleasant environment for pedestrians and cyclists - but they’ve become controversial.Jamie Furlong, Research Fellow in Active Travel Interventions, University of WestminsterErsilia Verlinghieri, Senior Research Fellow at the Active Travel Academy, University of WestminsterHarrie Larrington-Spencer, Research Fellow in the Active Travel Academy, University of WestminsterLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2055752023-06-02T00:37:52Z2023-06-02T00:37:52ZDrivers and pedestrians are unsure who gives way at stop signs. A simple rule change can end this dangerous confusion<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/527143/original/file-20230519-27-vbg0i1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C4457%2C2967&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>When a driver and a pedestrian approach a T-intersection, who has to give way? </p>
<p>In <a href="https://protect-au.mimecast.com/s/SAJZCYWLOxh3N7NG7I9caLE?domain=authors.elsevier.com">newly published research</a> we tested over 1,000 road users’ knowledge of the Australian road rules. We presented them with the two scenarios shown below.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/526027/original/file-20230514-80599-o4s9gt.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/526027/original/file-20230514-80599-o4s9gt.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/526027/original/file-20230514-80599-o4s9gt.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=164&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/526027/original/file-20230514-80599-o4s9gt.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=164&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/526027/original/file-20230514-80599-o4s9gt.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=164&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/526027/original/file-20230514-80599-o4s9gt.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=206&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/526027/original/file-20230514-80599-o4s9gt.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=206&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/526027/original/file-20230514-80599-o4s9gt.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=206&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">When asked who should give way in these scenarios, many road users answered incorrectly.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1369847823000980">Browne & Flower 2023</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>When asked who should give way, the green car or the pedestrian, in the first and second scenarios, 37% and 39% of road users respectively answered incorrectly. </p>
<p>So what do the <a href="https://www.ntc.gov.au/laws-and-regulations/australian-road-rules">Australian Road Rules</a> say? The answer may surprise you. The rules (specifically <a href="http://classic.austlii.edu.au/au/legis/vic/consol_reg/rsrr2017208/s353.html">rule 353</a>) state: </p>
<blockquote>
<p>(1) If a driver is turning from a road at an intersection –</p>
<p>(a) the driver is required to give way to a pedestrian who is crossing the road that the driver is entering […] and </p>
<p>(b) the driver is not required to give way to a pedestrian who is crossing the road the driver is leaving.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>An obvious source of people’s confusion is the inconsistency between parts (a) and (b) of rule 353. In effect, it gives pedestrians “right of way across only half an intersection”. </p>
<p>Part (b) is also quite counter-intuitive. After all, most people would expect that a stop or give way sign would mean drivers have to stop for pedestrians as well as cars.</p>
<p>Changing the rules to require drivers to give way to pedestrians who are crossing the road the driver is leaving would create a “<a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S136984781830809X">generalised and unambiguous duty to give way on turning”</a>“. This change has been <a href="https://theconversation.com/why-australian-road-rules-should-be-rewritten-to-put-walking-first-127789">proposed before</a>. But more recent developments have added to the case for such a rule change. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Approach to a stop sign in a suburban street" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/527144/original/file-20230519-29-24y32n.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/527144/original/file-20230519-29-24y32n.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=397&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/527144/original/file-20230519-29-24y32n.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=397&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/527144/original/file-20230519-29-24y32n.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=397&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/527144/original/file-20230519-29-24y32n.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=499&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/527144/original/file-20230519-29-24y32n.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=499&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/527144/original/file-20230519-29-24y32n.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=499&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">A driver approaching this stop sign isn’t required to give way to pedestrians, but a driver turning into the same street must give way.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/why-australian-road-rules-should-be-rewritten-to-put-walking-first-127789">Why Australian road rules should be rewritten to put walking first</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>The UK’s new rule H2</h2>
<p>The UK recently made the same change to its road rules. In late 2021, the UK Highway Code introduced <a href="https://www.gov.uk/guidance/the-highway-code/introduction">rule H2</a> which, at a junction, requires drivers to give way to pedestrians crossing or waiting to cross a road into which <em>or from which</em> the driver is turning. </p>
<p>The change eliminated inconsistencies and the counter-intuitiveness about who has to give way. </p>
<p>Giving pedestrians an unambiguous right of way also encourages walking. Examples of apparently minor "urban acupuncture” like this can have long-term benefits for liveability and for public health and wellbeing.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/cars-have-taken-over-our-neighbourhoods-kid-friendly-superblocks-are-a-way-for-residents-to-reclaim-their-streets-187276">Cars have taken over our neighbourhoods. Kid-friendly superblocks are a way for residents to reclaim their streets</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>Zebra crossings have unintended consequences</h2>
<p>The second recent development is that local councils around Melbourne have been installing zebra crossings at prioritised locations – but not all locations – within activity centres and on routes designated as part of the so-called <a href="https://www.victoriawalks.org.au/network_planning/">Principal Pedestrian Network</a>. The purpose has been to encourage and enable walking for transport, particularly since 2020 when COVID-19 lockdowns meant people were seeking more opportunities to exercise in their local area. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Zebra crossing at a T-intersection in a residential neighbourhood" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/526023/original/file-20230514-98978-skp3ru.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/526023/original/file-20230514-98978-skp3ru.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=407&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/526023/original/file-20230514-98978-skp3ru.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=407&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/526023/original/file-20230514-98978-skp3ru.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=407&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/526023/original/file-20230514-98978-skp3ru.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=511&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/526023/original/file-20230514-98978-skp3ru.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=511&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/526023/original/file-20230514-98978-skp3ru.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=511&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">A zebra crossing improves safety where it has been installed, but can lead to confusion at intersections without such crossings.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Geoffrey Browne</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Zebra crossings at T-intersections like the one pictured above are certainly well intentioned, and they over-ride rule 353(1)(b) to create pedestrian priority where it wouldn’t otherwise exist. The <a href="https://uwe-repository.worktribe.com/output/10592536">evidence</a> suggests such zebras crossings do improve safety <em>at the intersections where they are installed</em>. </p>
<p>At the same time, however, there is a very real risk that, without a rule change, the crossings unintentionally undermine walkability more widely. This is because when they are installed at some but not all intersections, they can lead people to believe that at sites where they are <em>not</em> installed, drivers do not have to give way to a pedestrian who is crossing the street into which the driver is turning. </p>
<p><a href="https://protect-au.mimecast.com/s/SAJZCYWLOxh3N7NG7I9caLE?domain=authors.elsevier.com">Our research</a>, which was the first to examine this issue, found the risk of this unintended consequence is very real. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/we-all-have-to-walk-across-roads-why-arent-pedestrians-a-focus-of-road-safety-161183">We all have to walk across roads — why aren't pedestrians a focus of road safety?</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>A rule change is the best answer</h2>
<p>We also interviewed traffic engineers, local government planners and walking experts. A clear majority agreed a rule change that requires drivers to give way to pedestrians at a stop or give way sign would improve road safety and promote walking. </p>
<p>It would taking some getting used to, but road rules have been changed before. </p>
<p>In 1993 the road rules in Victoria were changed for vehicles turning left at intersections to have the right of way before vehicles turning right. Previously, and somewhat counter-intuitively, it was the other way around. </p>
<p>From April 2021, motorists across Australia were required to give cyclists clearance of at least one metre when overtaking. </p>
<p>Both of these rule changes were accompanied by public awareness campaigns to ensure the community knew about them. </p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1385381499944329216"}"></div></p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/minimum-space-for-passing-cyclists-is-now-law-australia-wide-it-increases-safety-but-possibly-road-rage-too-159926">Minimum space for passing cyclists is now law Australia-wide. It increases safety – but possibly road rage too</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>Encouraging walking has broader public benefits</h2>
<p>Requiring drivers approaching and turning at a T-intersection from any direction to give way to pedestrians would be an important simplification of the road rules. And the more the rules are biased toward the convenience of walkers, the more walkers there will be. </p>
<p>Importantly, changes like this can send subtle but powerful social signals that society values walking for transport because it reduces pollution and encourages incidental exercise. Such changes can play a small part in shifting communities from being car-dominated to enabling everyone, but particularly children, older people and people with disabilities, to feel safe to walk more.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/205575/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Geoffrey Browne receives funding from the Australian Research Council (DP200101378) and is affiliated with the Public Health Association of Australia. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Jonathan Flower receives research funding from the Department for Transport (UK), the National Institute for Health and Care Research (UK) and Innovate UK. He has previously received funding from the Road Safety Trust and Sustrans. He is affiliated with the Transport Planning Society as a Board Member.</span></em></p>Some councils have installed zebra crossings at selected T-intersections, where they do improve safety. The problem is they also add to the existing confusion at other intersections.Geoffrey Browne, Postdoctoral Research Fellow, Melbourne School of Design, The University of MelbourneJonathan Flower, Research Fellow, Centre for Transport and Society, University of the West of EnglandLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2049132023-05-24T20:10:27Z2023-05-24T20:10:27ZBabies crawl, scoot and shuffle when learning to move. Here’s what to watch for if you’re worried<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/527663/original/file-20230523-25-5avkp1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C4992%2C3211&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://images.unsplash.com/photo-1508883006770-5e013e5e6f73?ixlib=rb-4.0.3&ixid=M3wxMjA3fDB8MHxwaG90by1wYWdlfHx8fGVufDB8fHx8fA%3D%3D&auto=format&fit=crop&w=1738&q=80">Unsplash</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Early gross motor (or whole body) movements such as crawling and walking are exciting developments and clear markers for parents watching their child’s development. But what happens when a milestone isn’t reached, or the movement itself isn’t what a parent is expecting? </p>
<p>Babies arrive in the world with inborn movements, including <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK554606/">reflexes</a>. Other motor skills – such as sitting up or rolling towards a toy on a playmat – are learned as they grow. </p>
<p>Most babies begin moving towards people or objects much further away from them in the second half of their <a href="https://www.who.int/tools/child-growth-standards/standards/motor-development-milestones">first year</a>. This marks a change for parents and carers too, because they can no longer walk away for a moment and come back to find baby in the same spot. Time to think about child proofing your living spaces if you haven’t already! </p>
<p>But how can a parent or carer decide when to worry, when to get professional advice, or when to accept things are moving along just fine? </p>
<h2>Crawling, cruising, walking</h2>
<p>Commonly babies will crawl “on all fours” with bellies above the floor and hands and knees moving forward in a diagonal pattern, where right arm and left leg move together and left arm and right leg move together. This stage can last weeks or months before infants rise up to cruise on their feet while holding on to the furniture. Cruising and walking is usually observed between <a href="https://www.who.int/tools/child-growth-standards/standards/motor-development-milestones">eight and 18 months of age</a>. </p>
<p>Some children, however, move differently, and some seem to skip the crawling stage altogether. Just as there is no specific day in the first year that all babies move off their play mat to explore, there is no one way of moving across the room. </p>
<p>Some babies bottom-shuffle along while keeping their hands off the floor. Others commando crawl on their tummy, like soldiers staying low. Some babies move hands first with their bent knees to follow like they are playing game of leapfrog. Many use combinations of any or all of the above in addition to crawling before they <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/03004430.2023.2190867">turn one</a>. </p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1636838479991545869"}"></div></p>
<h2>Quality and variety might be significant</h2>
<p>Researchers and child development professionals used to think when traditional movement sequences were not observed, there was a definite problem with the way a child’s brain or body was developing. </p>
<p>While there are some schools of thought that suggest crawling is a critical part of child development, newer theories place more emphasis on the quality and variety of movements individual babies <a href="https://eu-ireland-custom-media-prod.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/UKMEAEU/eSample/12-21/9780323760577.pdf">use to move</a>. Some research has suggested variable crawling patterns can occur in children with, and without, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/03004430.2023.2190867">later developmental delay</a>. Earlier <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1111/j.1651-2227.2006.tb02379.x">research</a> found while 90% of children achieved motor milestones by age two following a common sequence, 4.3% did not show hands-and-knees crawling at all.</p>
<p>Differences are not always cause for concern, but tuning in to your child’s movement pattern may be important if you are noticing something unexpected at this stage. Unusual, absent or delayed crawling patterns have been associated with <a href="https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fneur.2021.731374/full">cerebral palsy</a>, <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1111/jir.12580">Down syndrome</a>, <a href="https://srcd.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdfdirect/10.1111/cdev.13086">autism</a>, <a href="https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyt.2022.809181">developmental coordination disorder</a> and other neurological, learning or developmental disorders. </p>
<p>Children with known <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1111/apa.16098">neurological or physical issues</a>, or adverse events <a href="https://doi.org/10.1542/peds.2013-3733">before or at birth</a> may also experience gross motor difficulties and delays. </p>
<p>For each of these groups, early assessment and intervention are important, as they carry greater potential benefit for children and families, compared with waiting until later to <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/B9780444640291000230">address concerns</a>. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/527665/original/file-20230523-8471-kxgvc4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="baby learning to walk is supported by adult" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/527665/original/file-20230523-8471-kxgvc4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/527665/original/file-20230523-8471-kxgvc4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/527665/original/file-20230523-8471-kxgvc4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/527665/original/file-20230523-8471-kxgvc4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/527665/original/file-20230523-8471-kxgvc4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/527665/original/file-20230523-8471-kxgvc4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/527665/original/file-20230523-8471-kxgvc4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">In the second half of their first year, babies usually start moving towards people or objects.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.pexels.com/photo/crop-african-american-mother-supporting-black-baby-6393175/">Pexels/William Fortunato</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/talking-to-babies-may-contribute-to-brain-development-heres-how-to-do-it-205692">Talking to babies may contribute to brain development – here's how to do it</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>A few things to watch for and investigate</h2>
<p>So, what are the signs that help parents know it is time to seek professional advice? </p>
<p><strong>Not trying to move</strong></p>
<p>By about 9–11 months there should be some regular attempts from babies to move in and out of still positions and explore the room around them. It is common for babies at this stage to use their arms and legs effectively together to direct themselves forward. </p>
<p><strong>Asymmetry</strong></p>
<p>When the left of the body is doing <a href="https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamapediatrics/fullarticle/2636588">something quite different</a> from the right (or vice versa) it is a sign further assessment may be needed. </p>
<p><strong>Noticeable weakness, stiffness or discomfort</strong></p>
<p>When babies seems to be struggling with <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1111/dmcn.14252">movement strength or range</a>, particularly in the neck, arms, hands, or legs, this should be explored further by a health professional. Babies showing regular and ongoing signs of discomfort with their movements (such as grimacing or crying) should also be reviewed. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/what-is-early-intervention-for-infants-with-signs-of-autism-and-how-valuable-could-it-be-205839">What is 'early intervention' for infants with signs of autism? And how valuable could it be?</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>Get the right advice</h2>
<p>If parents or carers notice these things, it is important they raise it with a care provider, such as a maternal child and family health nurse or general practitioner. An appointment with one of these providers is <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/hsc.12667">usually the first step</a> parents take when there are concerns or they want extra observation or screening. </p>
<p>Some families may already have access to a paediatric occupational therapist, physiotherapist or paediatrician. Each can complete further assessments and offer advice as needed. </p>
<p>In the vast majority of cases, parents have a good sense of <a href="https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2021.734341/full">when to worry</a>. If you are concerned, seek out a healthcare professional who can help answer questions and provide advice. Neither you, nor your baby need to move through this stage alone.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/toilet-training-from-birth-it-is-possible-67064">Toilet training from birth? It is possible</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/204913/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Charmaine is registered as an Occupational Therapist with the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency.
Charmaine Bernie is a trainer in Occupational Performance Coaching, Cognitive Orientation to daily Occupational Performance, and pathways to autism diagnosis.
</span></em></p>Some babies bottom-shuffle along. Others commando crawl on their tummy. Some babies move hands first with their bent knees following along like they are playing game of leapfrog.Charmaine Bernie, Senior Research Fellow, Early Years Research Lab, Southern Cross UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2014102023-03-21T17:04:12Z2023-03-21T17:04:12ZHow just walking around – even when accompanied by an adult – is empowering for children<p>The 15-minute city has, in recent months, become the focus of <a href="https://theconversation.com/15-minute-cities-how-to-separate-the-reality-from-the-conspiracy-theory-200111">conspiracy theories</a>. Politicians and pundits have described it variously as <a href="https://twitter.com/NickFletcherMP/status/1623699476366991360">“an international socialist concept”</a>, a <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2023/feb/16/15-minute-city-planning-theory-conspiracists">“dystopian plan”</a> and a surveillance tool <a href="https://twitter.com/GBNEWS/status/1624538770384261120?s=20&t=TcGh2qo58VkuregRRMol6Q">“that would make Pyongyang envious”</a>. </p>
<p>Quite what this longstanding urban planning idea actually results in, however, has been somewhat overlooked. A <a href="https://www.tcpa.org.uk/Handlers/Download.ashx?IDMF=f214c4b8-ba4d-4196-9870-e9d240f86645">15-minute city</a> simply means having neighbourhoods in which residents get to do all they need to do within 15 minutes, on foot, from their home. In other words, it encourages daily active travel. </p>
<p>Urban planners and epidemiologists alike use the term <a href="https://theconversation.com/encouraging-walking-and-cycling-isnt-hard-here-are-three-tried-and-tested-methods-147490">“active travel”</a> to refer to walking and cycling as means of transport. Research has long shown that encouraging it is beneficial for both the <a href="https://theconversation.com/extinction-rebellions-car-free-streets-showcase-the-possibility-of-a-beautiful-safe-and-green-future-124924">natural environment</a> and the <a href="https://theconversation.com/cycling-and-walking-to-work-lowers-risk-of-cancer-heart-disease-and-death-new-research-139075">health</a> of the people who live in it. </p>
<p>In a <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.wss.2023.100134">recent study</a>, I looked at the benefits that active travel brings for children. I found that walking through their neighbourhoods – close to home – can empower young people, giving them a greater sense of control and autonomy. This can have a positive impact on their wellbeing.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A child's handwriting on a form." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/516605/original/file-20230321-28-7patgu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/516605/original/file-20230321-28-7patgu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=441&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/516605/original/file-20230321-28-7patgu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=441&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/516605/original/file-20230321-28-7patgu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=441&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/516605/original/file-20230321-28-7patgu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=554&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/516605/original/file-20230321-28-7patgu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=554&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/516605/original/file-20230321-28-7patgu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=554&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Children taking part in the study completed travel diaries.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Holly Weir</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/">CC BY-NC</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>How children use their neighbourhoods</h2>
<p>In 2019, I spent four months walking around a small part of Hackney, in east London, with 17 primary-school pupils. I wanted to find out how they use their neighbourhood – how well they know the area, where they like to go, and to what extent they’re able to move around by themselves. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A child's drawing depicting the seasons in four parts." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/516603/original/file-20230321-24-ifpeae.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/516603/original/file-20230321-24-ifpeae.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/516603/original/file-20230321-24-ifpeae.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/516603/original/file-20230321-24-ifpeae.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/516603/original/file-20230321-24-ifpeae.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/516603/original/file-20230321-24-ifpeae.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/516603/original/file-20230321-24-ifpeae.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">They documented their walking experiences.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Holly Weir</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/">CC BY-NC</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The children, aged between nine and ten, were from three different schools with small catchment areas, which ensured they lived close by. They acted as my guides, taking me on walks around where they live, showing me where they liked to go and where they wanted to but couldn’t yet. </p>
<p>They also completed travel diaries and took photographs of their neighbourhoods. And back in the classroom, they marked everything up on a map.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Map with pen marks" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/516594/original/file-20230321-955-civ0ma.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/516594/original/file-20230321-955-civ0ma.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=432&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/516594/original/file-20230321-955-civ0ma.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=432&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/516594/original/file-20230321-955-civ0ma.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=432&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/516594/original/file-20230321-955-civ0ma.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=543&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/516594/original/file-20230321-955-civ0ma.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=543&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/516594/original/file-20230321-955-civ0ma.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=543&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Each child’s travel area was mapped out.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Holly Weir</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/">CC BY-NC</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Eva (all names have been changed to maintain anonymity) had been allowed out alone since she was seven. She said:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>The reason [my mum] let me go at age seven is because if you don’t go outside then when you’re older you won’t be used to not staying without your mum. For example, or if your mum dies you won’t be used to walking outside so my mum let me go outside when I was younger so I got used to it.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Rowan, meanwhile, was only allowed to explore a relatively small area. Yet his descriptions of biking around the block, playing ball games with his friends and hanging out on top of the bike shed – “We just sit on them all day long” – suggested a strong sense of autonomy and empowerment, despite his always being in the vicinity of a supervising adult.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A map with a large colourful area." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/516598/original/file-20230321-28-1x6vsb.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/516598/original/file-20230321-28-1x6vsb.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/516598/original/file-20230321-28-1x6vsb.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/516598/original/file-20230321-28-1x6vsb.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/516598/original/file-20230321-28-1x6vsb.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=533&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/516598/original/file-20230321-28-1x6vsb.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=533&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/516598/original/file-20230321-28-1x6vsb.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=533&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The travel areas varied in size.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Holly Weir</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/">CC BY-ND</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Marianna, by contrast, was allowed to travel slightly further on her own, but she had much less control and autonomy over her journeys. </p>
<blockquote>
<p>I’m allowed to go up that street and go to the grocery store. And I’m allowed to go to the newsagent. But nowhere else.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Others expressed frustration at their lack of freedom. Zaidee didn’t want to play outside her home by herself. She did however want to go to her friend’s house down the road. She was upset at having to wait for her mother to be able to go with her.</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Because the only reason I can’t go sometimes is because my mum doesn’t want to take me there and pick me back up.</p>
</blockquote>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A map with a large colourful area." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/516597/original/file-20230321-28-s958jv.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/516597/original/file-20230321-28-s958jv.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/516597/original/file-20230321-28-s958jv.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/516597/original/file-20230321-28-s958jv.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/516597/original/file-20230321-28-s958jv.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=533&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/516597/original/file-20230321-28-s958jv.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=533&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/516597/original/file-20230321-28-s958jv.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=533&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The areas covered where the children went without an adult.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Holly Weir</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/">CC BY-ND</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>For Sophia, her parents’ reluctance to take her to the park was similarly frustrating. </p>
<blockquote>
<p>I hardly ever go to the park much as my parents are always too bored and tired to go, which makes me really frustrated and they just want me to finish my homework on time.</p>
</blockquote>
<h2>Why autonomy matters</h2>
<p>Independence is the ultimate goal in terms of a child’s development into adulthood. The degree to which children move around independently, and the distances they cover, <a href="http://www.psi.org.uk/children_mobility">is in decline</a> across the globe. </p>
<p>This is particularly the case in the UK, a country known to be more risk averse than, say, Germany or Japan. A <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/national-travel-survey-2021">national survey</a> done by the UK department for transport in 2021 found that 43% of primary-school children travel to school by car and that just 4% travel to school independently. </p>
<p>It is generally accepted in the UK that by the time a child is in their final year of primary school (ten or 11 years old) they should be able to travel to school on their own safely. But this does not always happen. Even in secondary school, only 21% of children across the UK are travelling independently, and 37% are still driven to school. </p>
<p>Active travel has, of course, previously been shown to be important for children’s overall wellbeing. My findings provide a clearer understanding of why that is: it increases the amount of control that children have over their movements around their neighbourhood. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A map with a large colourful area." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/516599/original/file-20230321-301-kyj7hd.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/516599/original/file-20230321-301-kyj7hd.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=848&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/516599/original/file-20230321-301-kyj7hd.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=848&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/516599/original/file-20230321-301-kyj7hd.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=848&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/516599/original/file-20230321-301-kyj7hd.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1066&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/516599/original/file-20230321-301-kyj7hd.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1066&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/516599/original/file-20230321-301-kyj7hd.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1066&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Exploring their area on foot gave the children a sense of autonomy and initiative.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Holly Weir</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/">CC BY-ND</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The children I spoke with did not always need to be independent or unsupervised to gain this empowerment and sense of control. In fact, for some, being physically independent came with a sense of loss.
As Ashok put it to one of his friends:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>You should really be happy that your mum drops you off. Because I miss that time with my mum and dad.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>In what psychologists call <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cedpsych.2020.101860">self-determination theory</a>, autonomy is used as a measure of wellbeing. I found that more than independence, children need to feel autonomous: to have a sense of control, initiative and ownership over their actions. This they acquire by not being part of what Dutch urban geographer Karsten Lia calls “<a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/14733280500352912">the backseat generation</a>” – just sitting in the back of a car. </p>
<p>Walking – to school, to the park and further afield – is beneficial for everyone. For parents, it makes the transition to their children going to school on their own easier. And for children it builds confidence. They gain in knowledge, navigational skills and richer experiences.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/201410/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Holly Weir receives funding from Quintin Hogg Trust.</span></em></p>Children do not always need to be independent or unsupervised to gain in autonomy and a sense of control. Just being able to walk around expands their world.Holly Weir, Researcher in Architecture and Cities, University of WestminsterLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2008232023-03-12T01:48:52Z2023-03-12T01:48:52ZForget the conspiracies, 15-minute cities will free us to improve our mental health and wellbeing<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/514595/original/file-20230310-24-w8o94i.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C172%2C4616%2C3061&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>The idea of the 15-minute city, according to its originator <a href="https://www.ted.com/talks/carlos_moreno_the_15_minute_city?language=en">Carlos Moreno</a>, is that people are no more than a 15-minute walk or bike ride away from all the services they need to live, learn and thrive. </p>
<p>The idea is appealing in its simplicity: it puts people and the environment at the centre of urban planning. It involves building new urban centres and restructuring existing ones to ensure the services people need for work, food, health, education, culture and leisure are all close by – a walk or bike ride from home. Key elements are: the proximity of necessities; local participation and decision-making; community solidarity and connection; and green and sustainable urban living.</p>
<p>This re-imagining of local living is quickly going global. Its proponents are many and growing, and the idea is being applied on <a href="https://www.c40.org/what-we-do/scaling-up-climate-action/urban-planning/">big city stages</a>. Most notably, the 15-minute city was a feature of Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo’s successful re-election <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/feb/07/paris-mayor-unveils-15-minute-city-plan-in-re-election-campaign">campaign</a> in 2020.</p>
<p>The United Nations has hailed the 15-minute city as a means by which cities can <a href="https://unfccc.int/blog/the-15-minute-city">emerge from COVID</a>, as well as reduce the damaging dependence on cars. The potential to promote mental health and wellbeing is significant. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/were-at-a-fork-in-the-road-do-we-choose-neighbourhoods-to-live-work-and-play-in-138949">We're at a fork in the road: do we choose neighbourhoods to live, work and play in?</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>Enter the conspiracists</h2>
<p>In 2023, though, <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-02-27/the-15-minute-city-conspiracy/102015446">conspiracy theories</a> and <a href="https://www.news.com.au/technology/innovation/wild-15minute-city-conspiracy-explodes/news-story/c176cadfbb4ec055829fb5686dce0418">protests</a> have threatened to drown out the discussion of such positives.</p>
<p>How did that happen? By finding itself sitting at the centre of debates about COVID living, climate change and car-centric societies, the 15-minute city has become a focal point of attention for those who imagine more sinister motives are at work. Conspiracists have spouted misdirected fears of the forced loss of cars, the creation of locked urban zones people cannot leave, and government surveillance and control. </p>
<p>These notions were even <a href="https://hansard.parliament.uk//Commons/2023-02-09/debates/306A686A-9B53-42BE-9367-C12AB4771504/BusinessOfTheHouse#contribution-94431A3F-FEB8-4A2C-B979-1EE81B5F1FFF">raised recently</a> in the UK parliament. Conservative MP Nick Fletcher called the 15-minute city an “international socialist concept” that “will cost us our personal freedom”.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/15-minute-cities-how-to-separate-the-reality-from-the-conspiracy-theory-200111">15-minute cities: how to separate the reality from the conspiracy theory</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1632721404020834306"}"></div></p>
<h2>A chance to improve mental health and wellbeing</h2>
<p>In fact, personal and community freedom, by way of giving people back meaningful time currently lost to commuting and other travel, is exactly what Moreno and proponents of 15-minute cities are focused on. In their drive to grow, cities tend to push people, the environment and their health to the periphery. Through their sprawl, Moreno argues, cities take away freedom by taking time and disconnecting their inhabitants from services and each other. </p>
<p>Importantly, these effects increase the risks to people’s mental health. Moreno wants us to move away from fracturing our living into “inhuman bigness”, and towards planning that focuses on what access to services, local connection and community means for the wellbeing of people and communities. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/people-love-the-idea-of-20-minute-neighbourhoods-so-why-isnt-it-top-of-the-agenda-131193">People love the idea of 20-minute neighbourhoods. So why isn't it top of the agenda?</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>This is why the 15-minute city presents a great opportunity for better mental health. Long commuting times and the stressors of traffic congestion, road conditions and punctuality are <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2214367X22000151">linked</a> to declines in subjective measures of mental health and wellbeing for workers. The benefits of reducing these stressors could be immediate. </p>
<p>Physical activities like walking and cycling are also widely understood to benefit mental health, as does exposure to natural, green spaces. Creating local spaces for leisure and play is vital for children and parents alike. </p>
<p>But, deeper than that, we need cities and urban spaces purposefully designed to promote mental health in ways that are <a href="https://www.who.int/teams/mental-health-and-substance-use/world-mental-health-report">globally recognised</a> as impactful and essential. This process involves improving a range of social and environmental factors for individuals and community.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="children riding bikes and people picnicking and walking in a park" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/514157/original/file-20230308-16-3jo6fx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/514157/original/file-20230308-16-3jo6fx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/514157/original/file-20230308-16-3jo6fx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/514157/original/file-20230308-16-3jo6fx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/514157/original/file-20230308-16-3jo6fx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=425&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/514157/original/file-20230308-16-3jo6fx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=425&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/514157/original/file-20230308-16-3jo6fx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=425&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Easy access to a local park improves individuals’ health and community wellbeing.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/1-in-4-australians-is-lonely-quality-green-spaces-in-our-cities-offer-a-solution-188007">1 in 4 Australians is lonely. Quality green spaces in our cities offer a solution</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>COVID sharpened the focus on wellbeing</h2>
<p>Lessons learned from COVID lockdowns have sharpened global understanding of the mental health crises and harm done to people’s wellbeing by loneliness, social isolation and disconnectedness. These conditions damage the wellbeing of communities too, by fostering stigma and promoting exclusion. </p>
<p>We need to move quickly towards ways of living that promote connection, inclusion and healthy communities and environments. We can achieve these goals through participation, local decision-making and sustainable ecologies. </p>
<p>Imagine cities with accessible housing, work and education. Imagine cities with mental health service where the focus is on inclusion, participation, connection and equitable access. Where health workers and essential services are local and available, with minimal obstacles. Imagine mental health service that is threaded through the community in meaningful, impactful ways – where every square metre is considered for its potential to improve health and wellbeing. </p>
<p>Mental health, wellbeing and recovery require social connection, inclusion and accessible health services. These are, without doubt, key factors in achieving better mental health. And the 15-minute city could be the template for its delivery.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/greening-the-greyfields-how-to-renew-our-suburbs-for-more-liveable-net-zero-cities-187261">Greening the greyfields: how to renew our suburbs for more liveable, net-zero cities</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/200823/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>A big reason the idea is gaining momentum globally is that the benefits for the health of individuals, communities and the environment are clear and almost immediate.Christopher Patterson, Senior Lecturer, School of Nursing, University of WollongongLance Barrie, Research Fellow, ARC Centre of Excellence for the Digital Child, University of WollongongLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1960782023-01-29T18:34:37Z2023-01-29T18:34:37ZChildren and teens aren’t doing enough physical activity - new study sounds a health warning<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/505850/original/file-20230123-14-iwjhhc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Regular physical activity helps to prevent and manage many chronic diseases.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Amorn Suriyan/Shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Physical inactivity is the <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0140673612608988?via%3Dihub">fourth leading cause of death</a> worldwide. It’s also associated with chronic illness and disability. Recent <a href="https://www.thelancet.com/journals/langlo/article/PIIS2214-109X(22)00464-8/fulltext">research</a> estimates that the world could see close to half a billion new cases of major chronic diseases by 2030 if people don’t get more active. Regular physical activity helps to prevent and manage many chronic diseases. Popular ways to be physically active include walking, cycling, and playing sports. </p>
<p>The World Health Organization (WHO) <a href="https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/physical-activity">recommends</a> that children and adolescents (5-17 years old) get an average of at least 60 minutes per day of moderate to vigorous intensity physical activity. This should incorporate vigorous aerobic activities, as well as those that strengthen muscle and bone, at least three days a week. It’s also recommended that children spend no more than two hours a day on recreational screen time. These recommendations aim to improve children’s physical and mental health, as well as cognitive outcomes. </p>
<p>Before the COVID-19 pandemic, physical activity among children and adolescents was already below the recommended levels. In 2016, <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2352464219303232?via%3Dihub">81%</a> of adolescents around the world aged 11-17 were considered physically inactive. Girls were less active than boys. </p>
<p>The pandemic has made matters worse. Physical inactivity in children and adolescents has become a global public health priority. It is now included in global action plans. </p>
<p>For example, using 2016 as baseline, the WHO through its Global Action Plan on Physical Activity <a href="https://apps.who.int/iris/bitstream/handle/10665/272722/9789241514187-eng.pdf#page=21">targeted</a> a 15 percentage point reduction in prevalence of physical inactivity among adolescents by 2030. This call to action also implored other international organisations and governments to help track progress in physical activity promotion among children and adolescents. </p>
<p>In response to this global physical inactivity crisis, the international call to action, and the need to systematically collect comparable data, the <a href="https://www.activehealthykids.org">Active Healthy Kids Global Alliance</a> recently published a major <a href="https://doi.org/10.1123/JPAH.2022-0456">study</a>, the first to provide a comprehensive assessment of physical activity among children and adolescents. Published in October 2022, the study included data that were collected before and during the COVID-19 pandemic. We were among the 682 experts who assessed 10 common physical activity indicators for children and adolescents around the world. </p>
<p>Our <a href="https://doi.org/10.1123/jpah.2022-0456">study</a> shows physical activity among children and adolescents has not gotten better. About one-third of children and adolescents globally were sufficiently physically active while a little over one-third met the recreational screen time recommendation for better health and well being. These findings indicate that a significant proportion of children and adolescent who do not meet recommended physical activity guidelines are at an increased risk of negative outcomes as well as developing related chronic diseases at a much earlier age. </p>
<h2>COVID effect</h2>
<p>Most of the experts involved in our <a href="https://doi.org/10.1123/jpah.2022-0456">study</a> agree that the childhood physical inactivity crisis is an ongoing public health challenge and the COVID-19 pandemic appears to have made it worse. When surveyed, more than 90% of the experts reported that COVID-19 had a negative impact on children’s sedentary behaviours, organised sport and physical activity. Our findings are supported by numerous studies. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/heres-how-much-kids-need-to-move-play-and-sleep-in-their-early-years-107024">Here's how much kids need to move, play and sleep in their early years</a>
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<p>Lockdowns imposed at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic led to school shutdowns and closures of public parks, which hampered children’s levels of physical activity. Research <a href="https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamapediatrics/fullarticle/2794075">suggests</a> that children’s moderate-to-vigorous physical activity decreased by 17 minutes per day during the pandemic. That represents a reduction of almost one-third of the recommended daily activity. Another <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2214109X22003618?via%3Dihub">global study</a> representing 187 countries showed a collective 27.3% decrease in the daily step counts of individuals after 30 days of COVID-19 related restrictions.</p>
<h2>Our study</h2>
<p>Four African countries participated in our study –<a href="https://www.activehealthykids.org/botswana/">Botswana</a>, <a href="https://www.activehealthykids.org/ethiopia/">Ethiopia</a>, <a href="https://www.activehealthykids.org/south-africa/">South Africa</a> and <a href="https://www.activehealthykids.org/zimbabwe/">Zimbabwe</a>.</p>
<p>The grading ranged from as high as A+ (large majority, 94%-100% of children and adolescents achieving recommended levels) to as low as F (less than 20% achieving recommended levels). </p>
<p>Children and adolescents from the four African countries were marginally more physically active than children from the rest of the world. They received C- (47%–53% of them met recommendations) for overall physical activity compared to the D (27%–33% met recommendations) for the rest of the world. More children and adolescents from the African countries used active transport (B-; 60%–66%), were less sedentary (C-; 40%–46%) and were more physically fit (C+; 54%–59%), compared to the rest of the world (C-, D+ and C-) respectively. </p>
<p>An important success story from this global comparison of grades is that despite the lack of infrastructure, average grades for individual behaviours were generally better for the African countries. This could be reflecting necessity, rather than choice. For example, children might be forced to walk to school because there’s no affordable transport. Nonetheless it shows that it is still possible to promote healthy lifestyles even when resources are limited.</p>
<p>Factors such as having supportive family and friends, safer communities, positive school environments and adequate resources are often associated with better participation in physical activity. Average grades for these sources of influence were generally lower for the four African countries than those of the rest of the world. These findings demonstrate the challenges related to community safety, a general lack of infrastructure, and funding to support healthy behaviours for children and adolescents in African countries. </p>
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<a href="https://theconversation.com/young-women-in-soweto-say-healthy-living-is-hard-heres-why-118198">Young women in Soweto say healthy living is hard. Here's why</a>
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<p>Overall, there wasn’t enough data to accurately grade all the indicators for the African countries. <a href="https://doi.org/10.1123/jpah.2022-0456">Botswana</a> was the only country for which we were able to assign grades for each of the 10 common indicators. The other three countries had at least one incomplete grade each. Lack of representative data is a common and often recurring problem in many low- and middle-income countries. It also means that our findings must be interpreted with caution. For example, we can’t say with certainty that these findings are representative of all the children and adolescents from these four countries or the region as a whole. </p>
<h2>Way forward</h2>
<p>In many parts of Africa, the prevalence of infectious and other diseases justifiably demands attention and resources. These needs can out compete the messages about physical inactivity, whose negative impact may be silent but still detrimental to population health. </p>
<p>We need to persistently advocate for policies and practices, anchored in the African context, and promote equitable opportunities for children to engage in physical activity. These can include active school recesses and extracurricular programmes. Countries need to ensure access to safe, free public spaces, green spaces, playgrounds and sporting facilities. </p>
<p>Finally, researchers and public health practitioners must track the progress towards meeting the WHO’s targets.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/196078/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Factors such as having supportive family and friends, safer communities, positive school environments and adequate resources, are often associated with more physical activity.Taru Manyanga, Assistant Professor-Physical Therapy, University of Northern British ColumbiaChalchisa Abdeta, PhD candidate, University of WollongongDawn Tladi, Senior Lecturer of Exercise Physiology, University of BotswanaRowena Naidoo, Associate Professor in Sport Science, University of KwaZulu-NatalLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1975072023-01-13T01:23:29Z2023-01-13T01:23:29ZSitting all day is terrible for your health – here’s a relatively easy way to counteract it<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/504122/original/file-20230111-47543-s7tq98.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C7%2C5112%2C3403&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Researchers have long known that sitting at your desk hour after hour is an unhealthy habit.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/photo/business-man-working-on-computer-royalty-free-image/475967873?phrase=sitting%20at%20desk&adppopup=true">Morsa Images/Digital Vision via Getty Images</a></span></figcaption></figure><p><em>The <a href="https://theconversation.com/us/topics/research-brief-83231">Research Brief</a> is a short take about interesting academic work.</em> </p>
<h2>The big idea</h2>
<p>To reduce the harmful health effects of sitting, take a five-minute light walk every half-hour. That’s the key finding of <a href="https://journals.lww.com/acsm-msse/Abstract/9900/Breaking_Up_Prolonged_Sitting_to_Improve.200.aspx">a 2023 study</a> that my colleagues and I published in the journal Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise.</p>
<p>We asked 11 healthy middle-aged and older adults to sit in our lab for eight hours – representing a standard workday – over the course of five separate days. On one of those days, participants sat for the entire eight hours with only short breaks to use the bathroom. On the other days, we tested a number of different strategies to break up a person’s sitting with light walking. For example, on one day, participants walked for one minute every half-hour. On another day, they walked for five minutes every hour. </p>
<p>Our goal was to find the least amount of walking one could do to offset the harmful health effects of sitting. In particular, we measured changes in blood sugar levels and blood pressure, two important <a href="https://doi.org/10.1161/CIRCULATIONAHA.109.192703">risk factors for heart disease</a>.</p>
<p>We found that a five-minute light walk every half-hour was the only strategy that reduced blood sugar levels substantially compared with sitting all day. In particular, five-minute walks every half-hour reduced the blood sugar spike after eating by almost 60%. </p>
<p>That strategy also reduced blood pressure by four to five points compared with sitting all day. But shorter and less frequent walks improved blood pressure too. Even just a one-minute light walk every hour reduced blood pressure by five points.</p>
<p>In addition to physical health benefits, there were also mental health benefits to the walking breaks. During the study, we asked participants to rate their mental state by using a questionnaire. We found that compared with sitting all day, a five-minute light walk every half-hour reduced feelings of fatigue, put participants in a better mood and helped them feel more energized. We also found that even walks just once every hour were enough to boost mood and reduce feelings of fatigue. </p>
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<figcaption><span class="caption">Along with short, frequent walks, a long daily walk could add years to your life.</span></figcaption>
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<h2>Why it matters</h2>
<p>People who sit for hours on end develop chronic diseases <a href="https://doi.org/10.1249/MSS.0000000000001935">including diabetes, heart disease, dementia and several types of cancer</a> at much higher rates than people who move throughout their day. A sedentary lifestyle also puts people at a much greater risk of <a href="https://www.acpjournals.org/doi/full/10.7326/M17-0212">early death</a>. But just exercising daily may not reverse <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1136/bjsports-2020-102345">the harmful health effects of sitting</a>. </p>
<p>Because of technological advances, the amount of time adults in industrialized countries like the U.S. spend sitting has been <a href="https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev.publhealth.26.021304.144437">steadily increasing for decades</a>. Many adults now spend the majority of their day sitting. This problem has only gotten worse since the <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1136/bmjsem-2020-000960">start of the COVID-19 pandemic</a>. With the migration to more remote work, people are less inclined to venture out of the house these days. So it’s clear that strategies are needed to combat a growing 21st century public health problem. </p>
<p>Current guidelines recommend that <a href="https://doi.org/10.1001/jama.2018.14854">adults should “sit less, move more</a>.” But these recommendations don’t provide any specific advice or strategies for how often and how long to move. </p>
<p>Our work provides a simple and affordable strategy: Take a five-minute light walk every half-hour. If you have a job or lifestyle where you have to sit for prolonged periods, this one behavior change could reduce your health risks from sitting.</p>
<p>Our study also offers clear guidance to employers on how to promote a healthier workplace. While it may seem counterintuitive, taking regular walking breaks can actually help workers be more productive than working without stopping. </p>
<h2>What still isn’t known</h2>
<p>Our study primarily focused on taking regular walking breaks at a light intensity. Some of the walking strategies – for example, one-minute light walks every hour – did not lower blood sugar levels. We don’t know if more rigorous walking would have provided health benefits at these doses. </p>
<h2>What’s next</h2>
<p>We are currently testing over 25 different strategies for offsetting the health harms of prolonged sitting. Many adults have jobs, such as driving trucks or taxis, where they simply cannot walk every half-hour. Finding alternative strategies that yield comparable results can provide the public with several different options and ultimately allow people to pick the strategy that works best for them and their lifestyle.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/197507/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Keith Diaz receives funding from the National Institutes of Health. </span></em></p>Short, frequent walks throughout the day are key to helping prevent the harmful effects of a sedentary lifestyle.Keith Diaz, Associate Professor of Behavioral Medicine, Columbia UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1941932022-12-14T19:03:32Z2022-12-14T19:03:32ZWhy humans walk on two legs: a close look at chimpanzees puts some old theories to the test<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/494461/original/file-20221109-11066-rc0uqn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Issa chimpanzees live in a woodland dominated environment interspersed with riparian forests, grasslands, and rocky out-crops.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Photo: R. Drummond-Clarke/GMERC</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>There’s no trait that distinguishes humans from all other mammals more clearly than the way we walk. Human habitual bipedalism – obligatory walking on two legs – has long been a defining trait of our species, as well as our <a href="https://www.pnas.org/doi/epdf/10.1073/pnas.1403659111">ancestors</a> as far back as 4.5 million years ago. </p>
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<p>Science’s growing understanding of chimpanzee <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/user/identity/landing?code=BvsF9eoluiU4PM_ggq_BzJQI_X1w3TYEkicwlleS&state=retryCounter%3D0%26csrfToken%3D15935e62-4880-4120-b3d0-6bb49e549aff%26idpPolicy%3Durn%253Acom%253Aelsevier%253Aidp%253Apolicy%253Aproduct%253Ainst_assoc%26returnUrl%3D%252Fscience%252Farticle%252Fpii%252FS0003347217304190%253Fcasa_token%253DqVoj9ufZbcMAAAAA%253AhcJ8zDmjghQ1kChZJabBl7nx3qGIAPvifk0mXaNdWe5bLP9jVeRwW0aYK16PqKUl-lcH9f_tWg%26prompt%3Dnone%26cid%3Darp-2498874e-3b20-4793-977f-25ad0d95aa49">culture</a>, communication and <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/03949370.2022.2044390?casa_token=elxIS7F_x4sAAAAA%3AwB4IuVnWfxzrKePJ9cE4QhBImDX7CM_9xbumEWGJ-lS-5GbAKNAh1DC1IXvoFB6k9Te23N1vM1NW">emotion</a> may have blurred the understanding of “distinctly human”, but our obligatory bipedalism has stood the test of time. </p>
<p>Why, when, and where bipedalism evolved remains debated, however. Numerous evolutionary pressures have been proposed. Most are about the economics and <a href="https://www.pnas.org/doi/abs/10.1073/pnas.0703267104">energy use</a> of walking on two legs (bipedalism is far more efficient than quadrupedalism). Other theories describe the advantages of <a href="https://www.cell.com/fulltext/S0960-9822(12)00082-6">carrying objects</a>. Bipedalism frees the hands to do interesting things like make and use tools and reach for fruit. It also enables us to see over tall grass.</p>
<p>But almost all the theories suggest that bipedalism is an adaptation to getting around on land. It’s clear that early bipeds evolved when <a href="https://besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/j.1365-2745.2007.01323.x">savanna grasslands</a> became increasingly common as forests retreated 4-8 million years ago. Walking on two legs made it easier to forage and travel on the ground. </p>
<p>But there’s also evidence that contradicts this idea. Hominin anatomy, palaeo-ecology and the behaviour of some ape species present challenges to the theory. For example, early hominins had a long list of <a href="https://www.science.org/doi/full/10.1126/sciadv.abf2474">adaptations</a> to life in the trees. These included long limbs, mobile shoulders and wrists, and curved fingers. All these features are present in our current tree-dwelling primate cousins. </p>
<p>Studies of what <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0047248418302902?casa_token=zpa8_BZQXvAAAAAA:c-tr7PRhAWte_RzlQnyDGdILAd04q0V9ezzraZWCt2-TWYBzxWX8y0SZq3vDgG9goRFENvcjvQ">hominins ate</a> and the animals they lived with (bushbucks, colobus monkeys) also suggest that these hominins did not live in grasslands. Instead, they inhabited mosaic landscapes, consisting most likely of a mixture of riparian forests and woodlands. </p>
<p>Finally, evidence from the only non-African great ape – the orangutan – suggests bipedalism was an <a href="https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.1140799?url_ver=Z39.88-2003&rfr_id=ori:rid:crossref.org&rfr_dat=cr_pub%20%200pubmed">adaptation to living in trees</a>. It helped the apes to negotiate flexible branches high in the tropical rainforests of southeast Asia.</p>
<p>To further test hypotheses about how hominins may have foraged and moved in a mosaic habitat – and whether this habitat pushed them to evolve towards living on the ground and walking on two legs – <a href="http://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/sciadv.add9752">we investigated</a> the behaviour of wild chimpanzees in a savanna mosaic in the Issa valley in Tanzania. </p>
<h2>Issa chimpanzees</h2>
<p>Issa chimpanzees live in an environment dominated by woodland. It is interspersed with grasslands, rocky outcrops and forests alongside streams. We followed chimpanzees for 15 months, collecting data every two minutes on an individual’s positional behaviour, the vegetation type they were in (forest, woodland), and what they were doing (foraging, resting, grooming and so on).<br>
We expected that chimpanzees would spend more time on the ground and standing or moving upright in open vegetation like woodlands where they cannot easily travel via the tree canopy. We thought they would be more terrestrial overall compared with their forest-dwelling cousins in other parts of Africa.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/sciadv.add9752">We found</a> that Issa chimpanzees do indeed spend more time on the ground in woodlands than in forests. But they were not more terrestrial than other (forested) communities. In short, it is not a simple rule of fewer trees leads to more time on the ground. </p>
<p>It’s not clear why Issa chimpanzees spent so little time on the ground. It could be that they spend more time within feeding trees due to <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s42003-018-0115-6">tougher foods</a> that may take longer to process than those found in the forests. Alternatively, they could be staying out of the reach of Issa’s many predators, including wild dogs, hyenas, and lions. We don’t yet know what is driving Issa chimpanzees into the trees.</p>
<p>Our findings also suggest a decoupling between terrestial activity and bipedalism. Over 85% of bipedal events were when chimpanzees were in trees (mostly feeding), not on the ground, similar to what was described for orangutans.</p>
<p>Our data from Issa do not support the view that bipedalism evolved as a terrestrial behaviour, especially in more open habitats.</p>
<h2>Why it matters</h2>
<p>Our study represents the first test in a living ape of the long-held hypothesis that cool, dry and open environments during a critical junction in human evolution catalysed the evolution of terrestrial bipedalism.</p>
<p>Issa allows us to study ape-habitat interactions as they might have been millions of years ago. Hominins may not have responded to a mosaic landscape in exactly the same way as today’s chimpanzees do. But the way savanna chimpanzees move around and hold their bodies supports the idea that early hominin bipedalism evolved in the trees, not on the ground.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/194193/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Almost all theories of human bipedalism explain it as a terrestrial adaptation. A new study does not support that view.Fiona Stewart, Lecturer in Wildlife Conservation, Liverpool John Moores UniversityAlexander Piel, Asso. Professor in Anthropology, University College London, UCLLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1952462022-11-30T16:27:56Z2022-11-30T16:27:56ZWalking backwards has a surprising number of health benefits<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/497928/original/file-20221129-16-n1lfq3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C8%2C5751%2C3819&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/young-fitness-woman-hiker-legs-forest-271647923">izf/Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Walking doesn’t require any special equipment or gym memberships, and best of all, it’s completely free. For most of us, <a href="https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fnhum.2015.00246/full">walking is something we do automatically</a>. It doesn’t require conscious effort, so many of us fail to remember the benefits of walking for health. But what happens if we stop walking on auto-pilot and start challenging our brains and bodies by walking backwards? Not only does this change of direction demand more of our attention, but it may also bring additional health benefits.</p>
<p>Physical activity doesn’t need to be complicated. Whether you’re regularly active or not, even a brisk ten-minute daily walk can deliver a host of health benefits and can count towards the World Health Organization’s recommended minimum of <a href="https://bjsm.bmj.com/content/54/24/1451?s=09&int_source=trendmd&int_medium=cpc&int_campaign=usage-042019">150 minutes of aerobic activity a week</a>. </p>
<p>Yet walking is more complicated than many of us realise. Remaining upright requires coordination between our visual, <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/21922014/">vestibular</a> (sensations linked to movements such as twisting, spinning or moving fast) and proprioceptive (awareness of where our bodies are in space) systems. When we walk backwards, it takes longer for our brains to process the extra demands of coordinating these systems. However, this increased level of challenge brings with it increased health benefits.</p>
<p>One of the most well-studied benefits of walking backwards is <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30229667/">improving stability and balance</a>. Walking backwards can improve forward gait (how a person walks) and balance for <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4932084/">healthy adults</a> and those with <a href="https://bmcmusculoskeletdisord.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12891-019-2537-9">knee osteoarthritis</a>. Walking backwards causes us to take shorter, more frequent steps, leading to improved muscular endurance for the muscles of the lower legs while reducing the burden on our joints. </p>
<p>Adding changes in incline or decline can also alter the range of motion for joints and muscles, offering pain relief for conditions such as <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8819227/">plantar fasciitis</a> – one of the most common causes of heel pain. </p>
<p>The postural changes brought about by walking backwards also use more of the muscles supporting our lumbar spine - suggesting backwards walking could be a particularly beneficial exercise for people with <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6391229/">chronic lower back pain</a>. </p>
<p>Walking backwards has even been used to identify and treat balance and walking speed in patients with neurological conditions or following <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7967772/">chronic stroke</a>. </p>
<p>But the benefits of changing direction aren’t just therapeutic - an interest in backwards movement has led researchers to discover various other benefits.</p>
<p>While normal walking can help us maintain a healthy weight, walking backwards may be even more effective. Energy expenditure when walking backwards is <a href="https://journals.lww.com/acsm-msse/Fulltext/2011/08000/2011_Compendium_of_Physical_Activities__A_Second.25.aspx">almost 40% higher</a> than walking at the same speed forwards (6.0 Mets versus 4.3 Mets - <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/2204507/">one metabolic equivalent (Met)</a> is the amount of oxygen consumed while sitting at rest), with one study showing <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/15776337/">reductions in body fat</a> for women who completed a six-week backwards walk or run training programme. </p>
<p>When we become confident with travelling backwards, progressing to running can enhance the demands further. While often studied as a rehabilitation tool, backward running increases the strength of crucial muscles involved with <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/8467337/">straightening the knee</a>, which not only carries over to injury prevention but also our ability to generate power and athletic performance. </p>
<p>Sustained backward running decreases the energy we expend when we run forwards. These <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/26332781/">improvements in running economy</a> are even beneficial for experienced runners with an already economical running technique.</p>
<p>If walking backwards seems too easy, but space limitations affect your ability to run backwards, another way to increase the challenge further is to start dragging weights. Increasing the overall load increases the recruitment of the knee extensor muscles while placing heavy demands on your heart and lungs in a short space of time. </p>
<p>Loading a sledge and dragging it backwards carries a low risk of injury, as the most likely outcome if we’re too tired is that the sledge won’t move. But with lighter weights, this kind of exercise can produce an appropriate level of resistance to stimulate significant <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/24513621/">improvements in lower limb power</a>, with dragging weights as little as 10% of total body weight leading to improved sprint times among <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/24019061/">young athletes</a>.</p>
<h2>How to get started</h2>
<p>Walking backwards is simple, but that doesn’t mean it’s easy. So, how can you add walking backwards into your exercise regimen?</p>
<p>When walking backwards, we’re more likely to miss obstacles and hazards that we could crash into or fall over, so in the interest of safety, it’s best to start indoors where you won’t crash into someone or outside in a flat, open area. </p>
<p>Resist the urge to contort your body and look over your shoulder. Keep your head and chest upright while reaching back with your big toe for each step, rolling through the foot from toe to heel. </p>
<p>Once you become more confident walking backwards, you can begin to speed things up and even transition to a treadmill, being sure to use the guide rails when necessary. If using weights, start light. Focus on multiple sets rather than prolonged distances, and remember to maintain the integrity of your technique over no more than a 20-metre distance to begin with.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/195246/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Jack McNamara does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Walking backwards burns more calories and has many other health benefits.Jack McNamara, Lecturer in Clinical Exercise Physiology, University of East LondonLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1885592022-09-12T12:12:36Z2022-09-12T12:12:36ZHow do ants crawl on walls? A biologist explains their sticky, spiky, gravity-defying grip<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/478784/original/file-20220811-23-w41scx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C6%2C2272%2C1693&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Walking vertically – or even upside down – is a piece of cake for ants.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/photo/climbing-up-a-wall-royalty-free-image/175996454">pecchio/iStock via Getty Images Plus</a></span></figcaption></figure><figure class="align-left ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/281719/original/file-20190628-76743-26slbc.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/281719/original/file-20190628-76743-26slbc.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=293&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/281719/original/file-20190628-76743-26slbc.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=293&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/281719/original/file-20190628-76743-26slbc.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=293&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/281719/original/file-20190628-76743-26slbc.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=368&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/281719/original/file-20190628-76743-26slbc.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=368&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/281719/original/file-20190628-76743-26slbc.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=368&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption"></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p><em><a href="https://theconversation.com/us/topics/curious-kids-us-74795">Curious Kids</a> is a series for children of all ages. If you have a question you’d like an expert to answer, send it to <a href="mailto:curiouskidsus@theconversation.com">curiouskidsus@theconversation.com</a>.</em></p>
<hr>
<blockquote>
<p><strong>How do ants crawl on walls? – Ethan, age 9, Dallas, Texas</strong></p>
</blockquote>
<hr>
<p>When I first started my job <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=hrO-baMAAAAJ&hl=en&oi=ao">as a biologist</a> at the University of South Florida, I drove my Jeep to a grassy field, dug up a mound of fire ants and shoveled it into a 5-gallon bucket. Immediately, thousands of ants swarmed out of the soil and up the walls of the bucket headed for freedom. Luckily I had a lid.</p>
<p>How do ants make climbing walls, ceilings and other surfaces look so easy? <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?hl=en&view_op=list_works&gmla=AJsN-F7sTTsnLhAu39Zwg-90iH0Hwx9849J-UEbRISOmCR2ouYfcOp2_o8P0yqau7y64vL6XeYU3LFJ-RpqacVDz2Q8Qln7xBQ&user=hrO-baMAAAAJ">I’ve been studying ants for 30 years</a>, and their climbing abilities never cease to amaze me. </p>
<p>Worker ants – <a href="https://theconversation.com/six-amazing-facts-you-need-to-know-about-ants-100478">who are all female</a> – have an impressive <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/s00114-006-0194-y">toolbox of claws, spines, hairs</a> and sticky pads on their feet that enable them to scale almost any surface.</p>
<h2>Human hands vs. ant feet</h2>
<p>To understand ant feet, it helps to compare them with human hands. Your hand has one broad segment, the palm. Sprouting from your palm are four fingers and an opposable thumb. Each finger has three segments, while your thumb has only two segments. A hard nail grows from the tips of your fingers and thumb.</p>
<p>Humans have two hands – ants have six feet. Ant feet are similar to your hands but are more complex, with an additional set of weird-looking parts that enhance them. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/479207/original/file-20220815-14662-uvsojl.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A microscopic view of an ant's foot, with segments numbered. Labeled are claw, thick spine, thin spine and hairs." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/479207/original/file-20220815-14662-uvsojl.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/479207/original/file-20220815-14662-uvsojl.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/479207/original/file-20220815-14662-uvsojl.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/479207/original/file-20220815-14662-uvsojl.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/479207/original/file-20220815-14662-uvsojl.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/479207/original/file-20220815-14662-uvsojl.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/479207/original/file-20220815-14662-uvsojl.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">A closeup view of one multisegmented ant foot. Each foot is lined with spiky tools that help grip almost any surface.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Deby Cassill</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/">CC BY-ND</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Ant feet have five jointed segments, with the end segment sporting a pair of claws. The claws are shaped like a cat’s and can grip irregularities on walls. Each foot segment also has thick and thin spines and hairs that provide additional traction by sticking into microscopic pits on textured surfaces like bark. Claws and spines have the added benefit of protecting ant feet from hot pavement and sharp objects, just as your feet are protected by shoes. </p>
<p>But the feature that truly separates human hands from ant feet are inflatable sticky pads, called arolia.</p>
<h2>Sticky feet</h2>
<p><a href="https://pubs.rsc.org/en/content/articlehtml/2011/sm/c1sm06269g">Arolia are located between the claws at the tip of every ant foot</a>. These balloonlike pads allow ants to defy gravity and crawl on ceilings or ultrahard surfaces like glass.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/478782/original/file-20220811-27-lrnm6e.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A microscopic view of a fire ant's foot. The end shows two retracted claws revealing an inflated pillow like structure." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/478782/original/file-20220811-27-lrnm6e.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/478782/original/file-20220811-27-lrnm6e.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/478782/original/file-20220811-27-lrnm6e.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/478782/original/file-20220811-27-lrnm6e.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/478782/original/file-20220811-27-lrnm6e.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/478782/original/file-20220811-27-lrnm6e.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/478782/original/file-20220811-27-lrnm6e.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Inflatable sticky pads bring the cling.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Deby Cassill</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/">CC BY-ND</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>When an ant walks up a wall or across a ceiling, gravity causes its claws to swing wide and pull back. At the same time, its leg muscles pump fluids into the pads at the end of its feet, causing them to inflate. This <a href="https://bugunderglass.com/do-insects-have-blood/">body fluid is called hemolymph</a>, which is a sticky fluid similar to your blood that circulates throughout an ant’s body. </p>
<p>After the hemolymph pumps up the pad, some of it leaks outside the pad, which is how ants can stick to a wall or a ceiling. But when an ant picks up its foot, its leg muscles contract and suck most of the fluid back into the pad and then back up the leg. This way an ant’s blood is reused over and over – pumped from the leg into the pad, then sucked back up the leg – so none is left behind. </p>
<figure>
<img src="https://cdn.theconversation.com/static_files/files/2250/ezgif.com-gif-maker.gif?1660317974">
<figcaption><span class="Ant feet in action on glass. Courtesy of Deby Cassill.">Ant feet in action on glass. Courtesy of Deby Cassill.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Ants are feather-light, so six sticky pads are enough to hold them against the pull of gravity on any surface. In fact, at home in their underground chambers, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/s00114-006-0194-y">ants use their sticky pads to sleep on the ceiling</a>. By sleeping on the ceiling, ants avoid the rush-hour traffic of other ants on the chamber floors.</p>
<h2>A unique gait</h2>
<p>When you walk, your left and right feet alternate so one is on the ground while the other is in the air, moving forward. Ants also alternate their feet, with three on the surface and three in the air at a time. </p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/lduoLbm0_IU?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">A computer simulation showing an ant’s special walk. Created by Shihui Guo.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The walking pattern of ants is <a href="https://doi.org/10.1242/jeb.156.1.215">unique among six-legged insects</a>. In ants, the front and back left feet are on the ground with the middle right foot, while the front and back right feet and the middle left foot are in the air. Then they switch. It’s fun to try to copy this triangular pattern using three fingers on each hand. </p>
<p>The next time you see an ant crawling up a wall, look closely and you might witness some of these fascinating features at work.</p>
<hr>
<p><em>Hello, curious kids! Do you have a question you’d like an expert to answer? Ask an adult to send your question to <a href="mailto:curiouskidsus@theconversation.com">CuriousKidsUS@theconversation.com</a>. Please tell us your name, age and the city where you live.</em></p>
<p><em>And since curiosity has no age limit – adults, let us know what you’re wondering, too. We won’t be able to answer every question, but we will do our best.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/188559/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Deby Cassill does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Ant feet are equipped with an array of tools – from retractable sticky pads to claws to special spines and hairs – enabling them to defy gravity and grip virtually any surface.Deby Cassill, Associate Professor of Integrative Biology, University of South FloridaLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1893832022-09-05T00:47:38Z2022-09-05T00:47:38ZNZ’s most walkable towns and cities ranked: see how your neighbourhood stacks up<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/482632/original/file-20220904-39859-3ilmlw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=7%2C15%2C5153%2C3391&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Getty Images</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>If you live in a city or town, you have a mental map of the places you travel to most. But how accessible are those places, and how long does it take you to get there? Most of all, could you do everything you need to do without a car?</p>
<p>These are the kinds of questions advocates for more liveable urban areas are asking now with greater urgency. Climate change, rising fuel costs and social connectedness are driving the move towards “15-minute cities” – although the actual number of minutes can vary depending on a city’s ambition.</p>
<p>Copenhagen, for instance, is aiming to be a five-minute city, while Melbourne is opting for ten. New Zealand cities are also getting on board, with Christchurch and Wellington wanting to be 15-minute cities, and Hamilton a <a href="https://hamilton.govt.nz/environment-and-sustainability/climate-change/our-climate-change-response/">20-minute city</a>.</p>
<p>The idea is not that you can get across an entire city in that time, rather that your own neighbourhood has everything you need within reach by foot, bike or public transport. For simplicity, we just call it the “x-minute neighbourhood”.</p>
<p>Our <a href="https://authors.elsevier.com/c/1fg64y5jOnHws">recently published research</a> evaluates all of New Zealand’s urban areas and compares them with the largest 500 cities in the US for residents’ proximity to daily needs. So, how do they currently stack up and what are some of the key challenges? </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/482633/original/file-20220904-37832-uu9olo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/482633/original/file-20220904-37832-uu9olo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/482633/original/file-20220904-37832-uu9olo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/482633/original/file-20220904-37832-uu9olo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/482633/original/file-20220904-37832-uu9olo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/482633/original/file-20220904-37832-uu9olo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/482633/original/file-20220904-37832-uu9olo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Everything within easy reach: Copenhagen aims to be a five-minute city.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Getty Images</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>How we measured accessibility</h2>
<p>New Zealand’s <a href="https://environment.govt.nz/what-government-is-doing/areas-of-work/climate-change/emissions-reduction-plan/">emission reduction plan</a> requires a 20% decrease in urban vehicle travel by 2035. This shift towards sustainable transport modes will also require changes to the form of our urban areas. </p>
<p>New transport strategies are beginning to reflect this. But how do cities evaluate urban change, measure the impact of proposed development, or effectively retrofit existing neighbourhoods?</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/12-best-ways-to-get-cars-out-of-cities-ranked-by-new-research-180642">12 best ways to get cars out of cities – ranked by new research</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>By evaluating New Zealand’s 42 urban areas and the largest 500 US cities, our goal was to propose a consistent and transparent approach for reporting. We also wanted to help cities make the transition to sustainable urban design effectively and efficiently.</p>
<p>We developed a dashboard to show the proximity of neighbourhood blocks (the smallest geographical unit in the New Zealand census) to their nearest amenities. If you live in one of these urban areas you can check out your neighbourhood’s accessibility using our <a href="https://projects.urbanintelligence.co.nz/x-minute-city/">interactive guide</a>. </p>
<p>The dashboard enables councils to understand accessibility (and lack of it) in their towns and the neighbourhoods within them. Our ongoing research aims to identify the locations with the best accessibility, which should help with incentives and guidance for new development.</p>
<hr>
<p><iframe id="dnvKP" class="tc-infographic-datawrapper" src="https://datawrapper.dwcdn.net/dnvKP/4/" height="400px" width="100%" style="border: none" frameborder="0"></iframe></p>
<hr>
<h2>Mixed messages</h2>
<p>So how do New Zealand cities rate? Wellington is the most accessible, with 61% of residents living within 15 minutes’ walk of the amenities we studied. But this pales next to New York (88%) and San Francisco (73%).</p>
<p>Auckland has only 43% of residents within 15 minutes of core amenities. Hamilton (with the goal of becoming a 20-minute city) scored 39%. And Christchurch (with an unofficial target of 15 minutes) also came in at 39%.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/10-images-show-just-how-attractive-australian-shopping-strips-can-be-without-cars-186460">10 images show just how attractive Australian shopping strips can be without cars</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>Notably, it is access to the supermarket that is most detrimental to a city’s score. Accessible grocery stores are a key part of walkable neighbourhoods, and without them we’ll never achieve transport emission goals. </p>
<p>It’s disappointing, then, that this important factor was overlooked in the Commerce Commission’s <a href="https://comcom.govt.nz/news-and-media/media-releases/2022/grocery-market-study-recommends-changes-to-improve-competition-and-benefit-consumers">review of the supermarket sector</a>. This failure to factor in climate change to industry and competition policy was underscored by the <a href="https://www.1news.co.nz/2022/08/25/watch-ardern-given-tour-around-aucklands-costco-megastore/">prime ministerial visit</a> to US bulk retailer Costco on its arrival in New Zealand. </p>
<p>This type of car-dependent development is the antithesis of walkable, sustainable neighbourhoods, and of the government’s emissions reduction plan. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/482635/original/file-20220904-52062-gm8wvd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/482635/original/file-20220904-52062-gm8wvd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/482635/original/file-20220904-52062-gm8wvd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/482635/original/file-20220904-52062-gm8wvd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/482635/original/file-20220904-52062-gm8wvd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/482635/original/file-20220904-52062-gm8wvd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/482635/original/file-20220904-52062-gm8wvd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Wellington is NZ’s most accessible city: 61% of residents live within 15 minutes’ walk of the amenities we studied.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Getty Images</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>The benefits of accessible neighbourhoods</h2>
<p>The primary motivation for better urban design is to encourage active transport modes and reduce reliance on cars. But the benefits far exceed transport emissions alone. </p>
<p>Increased social cohesion is one co-benefit. In Paris, they call this form of urbanism “neighbourhoods of proximities” because they’re increasing proximity between people and places, but also between people themselves. This improves social connection and has mental health benefits. </p>
<p>Public health is another benefit. <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0160412019315223?via%3Dihub">Studies</a> have shown Barcelona’s approach (which also prioritises active transportation through urban design) has avoided around 700 premature deaths a year due to reductions in air pollution, noise and heat, and increases in physical activity. </p>
<p>There are also huge benefits for young, older and lower income families who become less reliant on cars. There are flow-on benefits in the form of economic vibrancy and urban safety, too.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/greening-the-greyfields-how-to-renew-our-suburbs-for-more-liveable-net-zero-cities-187261">Greening the greyfields: how to renew our suburbs for more liveable, net-zero cities</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>Getting out of our cars</h2>
<p>Finally, we also need to ask whether 20-minute and 15-minute neighbourhoods can achieve the benefits they seek. In reality, how likely are people to walk 20 minutes carrying groceries? Studies from overseas suggest much shorter distances between homes and amenities might be needed. </p>
<p>This will vary depending on the person, their age and fitness. But it will also depend on the amenities themselves. We might be happy to bike or walk further to school, for example, than we would be to walk home from the grocery store. </p>
<p>So while the concept of the 15-minute or 20-minute city might be useful to communicate a broad vision and bring people together, it shouldn’t be taken too literally. </p>
<p>The greater aim should be to improve accessibility as much as possible to reduce our dependence on cars and reclaim our neighbourhoods for people. This will benefit our health, sustainability and communities.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/189383/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Tom Logan is technical director of planning firm Urban Intelligence Ltd. He receives funding from MBIE and BRANZ. </span></em></p>A comparison of 42 urban areas in New Zealand with 500 towns and cities in the US shows how much better local urban design has to be if we’re serious about reducing reliance on cars.Tom Logan, Lecturer of Civil Systems Engineering, University of CanterburyLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1873912022-07-28T16:01:44Z2022-07-28T16:01:44ZSeven reasons Nordic walking is better for you than the normal kind<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/476037/original/file-20220726-24-fjx2f2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C7%2C5184%2C3437&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Nordic walking may be a great way to boost the benefits of your regular strolls.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/nordic-walking-middleage-woman-working-out-334252817">Jacek Chabraszewski/ Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Have you ever noticed people out walking with poles even on flat surfaces and wondered why they are doing it? This is known as Nordic walking, which is a little bit like cross country skiing but without the snow.</p>
<p>Walking with poles was first developed in Scandinavia and came to central Europe about 20 years ago. For some reason, it has not become particularly popular even though it has many health benefits. </p>
<p>Here’s why – alongside a few good reasons to give Nordic walking a try.</p>
<h2>1. You burn more calories</h2>
<p>As far back as 1995, researchers noticed that Nordic walking <a href="https://journals.lww.com/acsm-msse/Abstract/1995/04000/Energy_expenditure_during_submaximal_walking_with.21.aspx">burned more calories</a> than regular walking did. In fact, they found it burned up to 18% more calories than ordinary walking did.</p>
<p>Numerous studies have <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00421-009-1315-z">confirmed these findings</a> since – which is why it’s suggested that Nordic walking could be a great form of exercise for those looking to lose weight. One study from Italy even found that overweight people <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31695344/">lost weight faster</a> doing Nordic walking compared to ordinary walking. </p>
<p>While Nordic walking doesn’t burn more calories than other, more intense forms of exercise – such as running – it can be a great low-impact exercise option, or a way to boost the benefits of your regular daily walks.</p>
<h2>2. It may reduce limb pain</h2>
<p>Using poles while you walk can distribute your weight through the arms and torso, placing less strain on your back, knees and hips. In theory, this has the potential to improve back pain while walking.</p>
<p>However, research is mixed, with some studies showing Nordic walking can reduce <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/20146793/">lower back pain</a> and <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/11194099/">impact on the knees</a>, while others show it’s <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/27990219/">no more helpful</a> than <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/18208430/">ordinary walking</a>. </p>
<p>If you’re someone who suffers from lower back, hip or knee pain, Nordic walking could be helpful to you since it redistributes your weight somewhat. But it’s worth discussing with your doctor first before giving it a try, and stopping if your pain still persists even while using the poles.</p>
<h2>3. Improves upper body strength</h2>
<p>Nordic walking engages your arms and shoulders more than regular walking does, and that could improve your strength. Research has shown that Nordic walking can not only <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31316934/">increase hand grip strength</a> but also increases muscle activity in the shoulders. </p>
<p>Upper body strength – including how strong your grip is – is important for many of the things we do everyday, from carrying our shopping to filling up the kettle. Increasing muscle strength is also important to <a href="https://stretchcoach.com/articles/strength-training/#:%7E:text=Strength%20training%20is%20a%20very,when%20moving%20or%20under%20impact.">help prevent injury</a> as it helps stabilise the joints and protects them when moving under impact like carrying heavy shopping bags. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/how-strong-your-grip-is-says-a-lot-about-your-health-145861">How strong your grip is says a lot about your health</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>4. Increases core strength</h2>
<p>Nordic walking also <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/28926802/">engages the core muscles</a> (including those in the abdomen and your back) more than ordinary walking does. </p>
<p>Greater engagement of the core muscles will help strengthen them, which may in turn improve posture. <a href="https://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/fitness/in-depth/core-exercises/art-20044751">Better core strength</a> can also improve your balance as well as your ability to move. </p>
<h2>5. Reduce risk of falling</h2>
<p>Unfortunately as we get older we are <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6360922/#CD012424-bbs2-0188">more likely to trip and fall</a> when we are walking. This is mainly because of a decrease in muscle strength, balance issues and problems with the way we walk. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Two elderly ladies wearing winter coats stroll down a woodland path using walking poles." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/476042/original/file-20220726-19-qumep8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/476042/original/file-20220726-19-qumep8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/476042/original/file-20220726-19-qumep8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/476042/original/file-20220726-19-qumep8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/476042/original/file-20220726-19-qumep8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/476042/original/file-20220726-19-qumep8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/476042/original/file-20220726-19-qumep8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Nordic walking may improve balance.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/saint-petersburgrussia0109-elderly-women-autumn-park-2064141917">Alexey Smyshlyaev/ Shutterstock</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The benefit of Nordic walking is that you are placing the poles into the ground at the same time as you’re using your legs. This improves balance and makes you less likely to fall. </p>
<p>In fact, one study even showed that people who followed a Nordic walking training programme for three weeks had <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1177/0269215509337464">improved balance</a> – even when walking without poles. It’s no wonder Public Health England <a href="https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/721874/MBSBA_evidence_review.pdf">recommends Nordic walking</a> for improving balance in older people.</p>
<h2>6. Boosts cardiovascular health</h2>
<p>Research shows that Nordic walking can <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1877065717300180?via%3Dihub">improve cardiovascular fitness</a> in as little as four weeks. </p>
<p>Another study on obese women also showed Nordic walking was able to <a href="https://www.thieme-connect.de/products/ejournals/pdf/10.1055/s-0030-1268461.pdf">improve blood pressure</a>, though only to a similar extent as ordinary walking. In addition, Nordic walking has been <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/25803666/">shown in postmenopausal women</a> to improve resting blood sugar levels, which is important in preventing diabetes as well as improving cholesterol levels in the blood. </p>
<h2>7. You can walk faster</h2>
<p>Nordic walking can help you get where you want to be faster than ordinary walking can. In fact, a review showed Nordic walking increased <a href="https://www.minervamedica.it/en/getfreepdf/ai9kaGtXZHk5WmJRSUo1WlBrN0xsTlV5Yi9hOFhzcVUxM3BFTjRNVUVjN3NiU2x6K3lKOU5aRmhqRVZyQmRoag%253D%253D/R33Y2020N05A0607.pdf">average walking speed by up to 25%</a> compared to ordinary walking. As a consequence of <a href="https://sites.google.com/site/compendiumofphysicalactivities/Activity-Categories/walking">walking faster</a>, you can then burn more calories. So if you went for a 30-minute Nordic walk, you’d be able to walk further and burn more calories than you might on a regular walk. </p>
<p>There seem to be clear advantages to doing Nordic walking. It may especially be good for people who don’t like other types of exercise – such as running – but still want to do something of a higher intensity than brisk walking.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/187391/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Lindsay Bottoms does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Using poles while you walk can be a great, low-impact way to exercise.Lindsay Bottoms, Reader in Exercise and Health Physiology, University of HertfordshireLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1827352022-05-31T12:10:25Z2022-05-31T12:10:25ZDeaths and injuries in road crashes are a ‘silent epidemic on wheels’<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/465585/original/file-20220526-20-xx46kf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C10%2C6699%2C4456&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Pedestrians pass the aftermath of a crash in Gaza City in the Gaza Strip on Oct. 11, 2021.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/palestinians-walk-next-to-a-car-that-was-involved-in-a-news-photo/1235821622">Majdi Fathi/NurPhoto via Getty Images</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>The COVID-19 pandemic has generated mind-numbing statistics over the past two years: half a billion cases, 6 million deaths, 1 million in the U.S. alone. But another, less-publicized global scourge preceded it and is likely to outlast it: traffic deaths and injuries. </p>
<p>Around <a href="https://www.who.int/data/gho/data/indicators/indicator-details/GHO/estimated-number-of-road-traffic-deaths">1.35 million people die each year</a> on the world’s roads, and another 20 million to 50 million are seriously injured. Half of these deaths and many of the injuries involve pedestrians, cyclists and motorcyclists – the most vulnerable users of roads and streets. </p>
<p>Around the world, someone dies from a road accident every 25 seconds. The head of the United Nations Road Safety Fund has called road deaths and injuries <a href="https://genevasolutions.news/global-news/road-accidents-are-a-silent-epidemic-on-wheels-says-un-road-safety-fund-boss">a “silent epidemic on wheels</a>”.</p>
<p>I have <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=oMPNYhQAAAAJ&hl=en">studied cities and urban policy</a> for many years, including <a href="https://theconversation.com/why-is-the-u-s-unwilling-to-pay-for-good-public-transportation-56788">transportation</a> and <a href="https://theconversation.com/why-us-cities-are-becoming-more-dangerous-for-cyclists-and-pedestrians-111713">road safety</a>. In my view, making <a href="https://www.iii.org/insuranceindustryblog/reducing-traffic-fatalities-and-injuries-through-vision-zero/">transportation systems safer</a> is <a href="https://www.un.org/en/un-chronicle/role-united-nations-system-improving-road-safety-save-lives-and-advance-sustainable">feasible</a> and isn’t rocket science. The key is for governments to prioritize safer roads, speeds and vehicles, and to promote policies such as <a href="https://www.ite.org/technical-resources/traffic-calming/traffic-calming-measures/">traffic calming</a> that are known to reduce the risk of crashes. </p>
<p><iframe id="APeot" class="tc-infographic-datawrapper" src="https://datawrapper.dwcdn.net/APeot/6/" height="400px" width="100%" style="border: none" frameborder="0"></iframe></p>
<h2>The costs</h2>
<p>It may seem like hyperbole to talk about road deaths as equivalent to pandemic diseases, but the numbers make the case. Road fatalities are now the <a href="https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/the-top-10-causes-of-death">top cause of death</a> for children and young adults worldwide between the ages of 5 and 29, and the <a href="https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/the-top-10-causes-of-death">seventh-leading cause of death</a> overall in low-income countries. </p>
<p>Crashes cause serious economic harm to victims and their families, as well as to the broader society. A 2019 study estimated that between 2015 and 2030, road injuries will cost the global economy almost <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/S2542-5196(19)30170-6">$1.8 trillion</a>. </p>
<p>Because death and injury rates are highest in low- and middle-income countries, dangerous roads add to the costs of being poor and are a <a href="https://www.worldbank.org/en/news/press-release/2018/01/09/road-deaths-and-injuries-hold-back-economic-growth-in-developing-countries">major inhibitor of economic growth</a>. That is why one of the U.N.’s Sustainable Development Goals is to <a href="https://www.who.int/data/gho/data/themes/topics/sdg-target-3_6-road-traffic-injuries#cms">halve the number of global deaths and injuries</a> from traffic incidents by 2030. </p>
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<h2>More deaths in lower-income countries</h2>
<p>There is <a href="https://www.who.int/data/gho/data/indicators/indicator-details/GHO/estimated-number-of-road-traffic-deaths">considerable variation in traffic fatality rates worldwide</a>. Road traffic death rates range from 27 per 100,000 population in Africa to only 7 per 100,000 in Europe. </p>
<p>Richer nations have had mass automobile traffic longer than lower-income countries, so they have had more time to develop strategies and tactics to reduce accidents and fatalities. For example, in 1937 – in an era when traffic death in the streets of cities like New York was considered a <a href="http://cup.columbia.edu/book/down-the-asphalt-path/9780231083911">routine part of metropolitan life</a> – the U.S. road death rate was <a href="https://injuryfacts.nsc.org/motor-vehicle/historical-fatality-trends/deaths-and-rates/">31 per 100,000</a>. That’s about the same as today’s rate in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. </p>
<p>Lower-income countries tend to have vehicles that are less safe; poorer roads; more vulnerable road users, such as pedestrians and cyclists, sharing urban space with vehicles; and poorer medical care, which means injury can more easily lead to death. These nations also have less ability to introduce or enforce traffic laws. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/465167/original/file-20220524-21-fbg07g.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A crowded minibus moves through an urban square" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/465167/original/file-20220524-21-fbg07g.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/465167/original/file-20220524-21-fbg07g.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=314&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/465167/original/file-20220524-21-fbg07g.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=314&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/465167/original/file-20220524-21-fbg07g.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=314&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/465167/original/file-20220524-21-fbg07g.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=394&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/465167/original/file-20220524-21-fbg07g.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=394&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/465167/original/file-20220524-21-fbg07g.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=394&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Traffic in Manila, Philippines.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">John Rennie Short</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/">CC BY-ND</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Traffic incidents in higher-income counties often only involve one or two people. In lower-income countries, incidents tend to involve multiple passengers. </p>
<p>For example, in 2021 in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, a fuel truck collided with a crowded bus 110 miles outside the capital of Kinshasa, <a href="https://www.trtworld.com/africa/deadly-crash-between-bus-and-fuel-truck-leaves-dozens-dead-in-drc-48866">killing 33 people</a>. Deadly road incidents are frequent in the DRC, where the roads are poor, there are many unsafe older vehicles, many drivers are not properly trained and drinking and driving is common. </p>
<p>For many <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.iatssr.2020.12.006">middle-income countries</a>, the challenge is a very rapid increase in vehicular traffic as the population becomes more urban and more people earn enough money to buy motorcycles and cars. This quick rise can overwhelm the carrying capacity of urban roads. </p>
<h2>In the US, less regulation and more deaths</h2>
<p>There also are differences among richer countries. In 1994, Europe and the United States had the same traffic death rates, but by 2020 Americans were over <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/transportation/2022/05/21/road-deaths-fatalities-safety/">three times more likely to die on the road</a> than Europeans. </p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/jLMm83I4dqc?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">Traffic deaths in the U.S. rose by more than 10% from 2020 to 2021.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Today, 12 people are killed in traffic per 100,000 annually in the U.S., compared to 4 per 100,000 in the Netherlands and Germany, and only 2 per 100,000 in Norway. The difference reflects more aggressive programs across Europe to reduce speeds, greater investment in mass transit and stricter drunk driving enforcement. </p>
<p>The U.S. doesn’t just <a href="https://www.vox.com/the-big-idea/2016/11/30/13784520/roads-deaths-increase-safety-traffic-us">lag behind</a> other rich countries in promoting road safety. In recent years, traffic deaths in the U.S. have increased. After a gradual reduction over 50 years, fatalities soared to a 16-year high in 2021 when almost 43,000 people died. Pedestrian deaths hit a 40-year high at 7,500. </p>
<p>What caused this <a href="https://www.latimes.com/world-nation/story/2021-12-08/traffic-deaths-surged-during-covid-19-pandemic-heres-why">surge in deaths</a>? Roads were less busy during COVID-19 lockdowns, but proportionately more people engaged in riskier behaviors, including <a href="https://newsroom.aaa.com/2022/02/solving-a-puzzle-with-fewer-drivers-on-the-road-during-covid-why-the-spike-in-fatalities/">speeding, drinking and driving, distracted driving and not using seat belts</a>.</p>
<p><a href="https://theconversation.com/why-us-cities-are-becoming-more-dangerous-for-cyclists-and-pedestrians-111713">Cyclist and pedestrian traffic deaths</a> were rising even before the pandemic, as cities encouraged walking and biking without providing adequate infrastructure. Painting a white line on a busy street is not a substitute for providing a fully protected, designated bicycle lane. </p>
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<h2>Two harmful narratives about traffic safety</h2>
<p>Two narratives often cloud discussions of traffic fatalities. First, calling these events “accidents” normalizes what I view as a slaughter of innocents. It is part of the cult of <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tra.2018.10.008">automobility</a> and the primacy that the U.S. affords to fast-moving vehicular traffic. </p>
<p>Automobility has created a <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/17450101.2021.1981118">special form of space</a> – roads and highways – where deaths and injuries are considered “accidents.” In my view, this is an extreme form of environmental injustice. Historically disadvantaged groups and poorer communities are <a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/26622434?seq=1">overrepresented in traffic deaths and injuries</a>.</p>
<p>The second misleading narrative holds that nearly all road deaths and injuries <a href="https://usa.streetsblog.org/2020/10/14/the-94-solution-we-need-to-understand-the-causes-of-crashes/">are caused by human error</a>. Public officials regularly blame poor drivers, distracted pedestrians and aggressive bicyclists for street deaths. </p>
<p>People do take too many risks. In recent years, AAA’s annual traffic safety culture survey has found that a majority of drivers view unsafe driving behaviors, such as texting while driving or speeding on highways, as extremely or very dangerous. But significant numbers of drivers report <a href="https://aaafoundation.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/2020-Traffic-Safety-Culture-Index-October-2021.pdf">engaging in those behaviors anyway</a>. </p>
<p>But as urban studies expert <a href="https://www.davidzipper.com/">David Zipper</a> has pointed out, a <a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2021/11/deadly-myth-human-error-causes-most-car-crashes/620808/">persistent myth</a> often cited by government agencies and the media asserts that 94% of accidents in the U.S. are caused by individual drivers. This bloated figure has successfully shifted responsibility away from other factors such as <a href="https://www.iihs.org/news/detail/suvs-other-large-vehicles-often-hit-pedestrians-while-turning">car design</a>, <a href="https://smartgrowthamerica.org/dange;%20rous-by-design/">traffic infrastructure</a> and the need for <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3893966/">more effective public policies</a>. </p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/vTRPg6wqjn4?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">Former New York City transportation commissioner Janette Sadik-Khan visits a street in Queens that was closed to cars during the COVID-19 pandemic. Advocates are campaigning to make the closure permanent.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Governments have the tools</h2>
<p>As I see it, road traffic deaths and injuries are not accidents. They are incidents that can be <a href="https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/road-traffic-injuries">prevented and reduced</a>. Doing that will require governments and urban planners to reimagine transportation systems not just for speed and efficiency, but also for safety and livability. </p>
<p>That will mean protecting motorcyclists, bicyclists and pedestrians from vehicular traffic and reducing traffic speed on urban roads. It also will require <a href="https://www.pps.org/article/livememtraffic">better road design</a>, <a href="https://extranet.who.int/roadsafety/death-on-the-roads/#speed">enforcement of traffic laws</a> that make the roads safer, and more effective and enforceable measures that promote safety devices like seat belts, child restraints, and helmets for bikers and motorcyclists. </p>
<p>Unlike the COVID-19 pandemic, making streets safer doesn’t require designing new solutions in laboratories. What’s needed is the will to apply tools that have been shown to work.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/182735/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>John Rennie Short does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Traffic crashes kill and injure millions worldwide every year and are a major drain on economic development. Improving road safety would produce huge payoffs, especially in lower-income countries.John Rennie Short, Professor, School of Public Policy, University of Maryland, Baltimore CountyLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1738752022-05-13T16:00:31Z2022-05-13T16:00:31ZWalking is a state of mind – it can teach you so much about where you are<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/462960/original/file-20220513-12-rguvrd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Walking connects you to your city.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://unsplash.com/photos/CWy7qOyv9ME">Cerqueira | Unsplash</a>, <a class="license" href="http://artlibre.org/licence/lal/en">FAL</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>During lockdown in 2020, governments across the world encouraged people to take short walks in their neighbourhoods. Even before COVID hit though, amid the renewal of city centres and <a href="https://theconversation.com/five-walks-to-save-the-world-how-psychogeography-can-help-you-confront-the-climate-crisis-178239">environmental</a> and <a href="https://theconversation.com/cycling-and-walking-to-work-lowers-risk-of-cancer-heart-disease-and-death-new-research-139075">public health</a> concerns, <a href="https://theconversation.com/encouraging-walking-and-cycling-isnt-hard-here-are-three-tried-and-tested-methods-147490">walking</a> was promoted in many places as a form of active travel, to replace car journeys. </p>
<p>This resurgence in urban walking has been a long time coming. Our first baby steps might still be celebrated. But since the explosion of car use in the 1950s, people in Europe and North America have <a href="http://rebeccasolnit.net/book/wanderlust">walked less and less</a>. </p>
<p>UK <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/transport-statistics-great-britain-2019">transport statistics</a> show an annual increase of about 4.8 billion passenger motor vehicle miles (from car and taxi use) in the four decades to 1990. The last decade of the 20th century saw that growth slow. But until recently, our collective motor use just kept climbing.</p>
<p>The pandemic changed that. Passenger motor vehicle miles decreased <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/tsgb07#road-traffic">by over 68 billion</a>. And surveys <a href="https://www.ipsos.com/sites/default/files/ct/news/documents/2021-03/a_year_of_life_under_lockdown.pdf">suggest</a> that 38% of the people who took up walking as a new pursuit aim to stick with it. <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Aled-Singleton/publication/348382991_Pursuing_the_Post-war_Dream/links/5ffc2b8c45851553a0365655/Pursuing-the-Post-war-Dream.pdf">My research</a> shows <a href="https://vimeo.com/373090583">walking</a> is more than an activity: it both ties you to where you are and unlocks your memories.</p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/F1FxyuswhYI?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">Walking through Caerleon in the 1960s and 1970s, a film about Aled Singleton’s project by Tree Top Films.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>How walking connects you to your city</h2>
<p>In the 2000s, as part of their <a href="http://www.rescuegeography.org.uk/about.htm">Rescue Geography</a> project, geographers Paul Evans and Phil Jones facilitated group walks in the Eastside district of Birmingham, Britain’s third largest city. The idea was to “rescue” local people’s understandings of an area before it is redeveloped. They accompanied older former residents on foot through streets they’d known as children, before these inner-city neighbourhoods were demolished in the 1950s and 1960s and they had relocated to suburbia – a shift which saw the car become their only option for everyday transport.</p>
<p>Similarly, in my <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Aled-Singleton/publication/348382991_Pursuing_the_Post-war_Dream/links/5ffc2b8c45851553a0365655/Pursuing-the-Post-war-Dream.pdf">doctoral research</a> I used <a href="https://vimeo.com/373090583">walking</a> to understand how a neighbourhood of Caerleon in south Wales had expanded in the 1960s and 1970s. I did many one-to-one interviews with people not sat down in a room, but strolling through streets they knew well. It became a way of exploring how spaces act as thresholds to memories and to levels of the unconscious, which may not otherwise reveal themselves. </p>
<p>People showed me the streets where they had lived at points through their lives. One person took me on the route he took to school during the 1970s, as a teenager. Passing certain shops prompted stories of how he’d walk to pick up a block of cheese or rashers of bacon for his mother. He told me how his family’s shopping habits had changed over time. After getting a freezer in the late 1970s, they started driving to the out-of-town supermarket. </p>
<p>I met another family who had lived on the same street for three generations. The grandfather was in his 70s, his daughter middle-aged, and his granddaughter 11. His daughter described how the streets she’d known as a child in the 1980s were now so much busier, and more dangerous, because of the cars. She described her daughter’s world as being “narrower”, as a result.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Two people in jeans walk past a boarded up B&B on a Scottish street." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/463006/original/file-20220513-24-m5mk5s.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/463006/original/file-20220513-24-m5mk5s.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=375&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/463006/original/file-20220513-24-m5mk5s.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=375&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/463006/original/file-20220513-24-m5mk5s.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=375&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/463006/original/file-20220513-24-m5mk5s.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=471&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/463006/original/file-20220513-24-m5mk5s.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=471&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/463006/original/file-20220513-24-m5mk5s.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=471&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Research shows how walking down streets you once knew well can trigger memories you might not otherwise have recalled.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/montrose-scotland-june-16-2018-gritty-1923096278">Stephen Bridger | Shutterstock</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>How walking unlocks our memories</h2>
<p>Walking changes the way we tell our life stories. Taking a street we once took often unlocks things: we might not struggle as much to remember specific dates. We find a freedom of sorts to go deeper into our memories. </p>
<p>This chimes with the <a href="https://www.oxfordbibliographies.com/view/document/obo-9780199874002/obo-9780199874002-0117.xml">non-representational theories</a> championed by geographer Nigel Thrift. Broadly this approach highlights how physically being in a specific place can help us retrieve feelings or knowledge that are deep within the subconsious.</p>
<p>In her research with migrant communities in the UK, sociologist <a href="https://eprints.ncrm.ac.uk/id/eprint/4120/">Maggie O'Neill</a> has used walking and participatory theatre as what she calls biographical methods for exploring ideas of borders, risk and belonging. </p>
<p>In a similar way, I collaborated on two public group walks with a dancer, <a href="https://groundworkpro.com/people/marega-palser/">Marega Palser</a>. I planned lines on the ground which linked environments such as houses, shops, schools, busy roads, paths, and green spaces. And Palser turned material I’d gathered from my walking interviews into short pieces of street theatre that we would share, as a collective. </p>
<p>Palser’s interpretations were deliberately disarming and playful, and they triggered unexpected responses. In one case she used toy vehicles to recall a car crash from the late 1960s. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A group of walkers take part in an outdoor performance." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/462331/original/file-20220510-24-tsnpqb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/462331/original/file-20220510-24-tsnpqb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/462331/original/file-20220510-24-tsnpqb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/462331/original/file-20220510-24-tsnpqb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/462331/original/file-20220510-24-tsnpqb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/462331/original/file-20220510-24-tsnpqb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/462331/original/file-20220510-24-tsnpqb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Dancer Marega Palser intervenes on a group walk in Caerleon.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Author provided</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>One person recalled how a relative in the 1960s had accidentally pierced the gas pipe (a very new technology at the time) in their council house kitchen. While the anecdote had initially seemed unimportant, we learned that the incident had happened on Christmas Eve and that the council had come straight away to sort out the problem. </p>
<p>Minds were cast back to a time when technologies now common were only just emerging. Many more attendees came forward and shared stories from their lives in the mid-1950s to mid-1970s. They relayed how central heating had arrived with new-build houses on suburban housing estates and how supermarkets had offered more choice. </p>
<p>As with Evans and Jones’ Rescue Geography project, I found that it was through touching and feeling these geographical spaces that people were able to connect with their memories. Walking, one person in middle-age told me, “takes you back yourself, on a journey, to the places you’ve lived”. They spoke about the “packed connections” these places hold, of being taken back to childhood and thinking about people who have spent their entire lives living in one place.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Sun setting with lens flare and warm colours, over a traditional British neighbourhood." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/463002/original/file-20220513-25-iuuv5g.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/463002/original/file-20220513-25-iuuv5g.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/463002/original/file-20220513-25-iuuv5g.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/463002/original/file-20220513-25-iuuv5g.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/463002/original/file-20220513-25-iuuv5g.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=565&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/463002/original/file-20220513-25-iuuv5g.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=565&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/463002/original/file-20220513-25-iuuv5g.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=565&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Traipsing through a neighbourhood you once knew well brings back memories you aren’t aware you had.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/sun-setting-over-traditional-british-neighbourhood-737841997">K303 | Shutterstock</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Walking is about slowing life down and thinking about the local. It enables conversations. <a href="https://www.runnersworld.com/runners-stories/a25628489/ultrarunner-rickey-gates-runs-san-francisco-streets/">It develops empathy.</a>. More than a simple physical activity, it is a way of thinking and a state of mind. From <a href="https://walkcreate.gla.ac.uk/resources/">online resources</a> for composing walks and <a href="https://citystrides.com/">apps</a> for tracking them to the online walking communities of people who cover each street in their city – <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2022/may/04/every-single-streeters-explorers-city-street-urban-landscape">the every-single-streeters</a> – there are plenty of ideas for you to get walking too.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/173875/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Dr Aled Mark Singleton receives funding from the Economic and Social Research Council, grant reference ES/W007568/1. </span></em></p>Walking roots us in new places. It also unlocks memories of those we’ve moved away from.Aled Mark Singleton, Research Fellow in Geography, Swansea UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1806422022-04-14T11:46:42Z2022-04-14T11:46:42Z12 best ways to get cars out of cities – ranked by new research<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/457758/original/file-20220412-58861-p0678w.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=93%2C270%2C3013%2C1793&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">A stretch of the Champs-Élysées around the Arc de Triomphe in Paris is due to be pedestrianised by 2030.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/traffic-jam-cars-paris-city-france-1028874577">Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><iframe id="noa-web-audio-player" style="border: none" src="https://embed-player.newsoveraudio.com/v4?key=x84olp&id=https://theconversation.com/12-best-ways-to-get-cars-out-of-cities-ranked-by-new-research-180642&bgColor=F5F5F5&color=D8352A&playColor=D8352A" width="100%" height="110px"></iframe>
<p><em>You can listen to more narrated articles <a href="https://theconversation.com/uk/topics/audio-narrated-99682">here</a>.</em></p>
<hr>
<p>Question: what do the following statistics have in common?</p>
<ul>
<li>The second-largest (and growing) source of <a href="https://theicct.org/transport-could-burn-up-the-eus-entire-carbon-budget/">climate pollution in Europe</a>.</li>
<li>The leading killer of children in both <a href="https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/nejmsr1804754">the US</a> and <a href="https://www.thelancet.com/action/showPdf?pii=S2352-4642%2818%2930095-6">Europe</a>.</li>
<li>A principal cause of stress-inducing <a href="https://www.eea.europa.eu/signals/signals-2020/articles/noise-pollution-is-still-widespread">noise pollution</a> and life-shortening <a href="https://www.transportenvironment.org/discover/cities-where-chances-dying-transport-pollution-are-highest-are-all-europe/">air pollution</a> in European cities. </li>
<li>A leading driver of the widening <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41560-020-0579-8">gap between rich and poor</a> urban residents.</li>
</ul>
<p>Answer: the vehicles on our streets, primarily the not-so-humble passenger car.</p>
<p>Despite the (slow) migration to electric-powered cars, consumer trends are making driving even more wasteful and unequal. A <a href="https://www.iea.org/commentaries/global-suv-sales-set-another-record-in-2021-setting-back-efforts-to-reduce-emissions">recent analysis</a> found the emissions saved from electric cars have been more than cancelled out by the increase in gas-guzzling Sport Utility Vehicles (SUVs). Around the world, <a href="https://www.iea.org/commentaries/global-suv-sales-set-another-record-in-2021-setting-back-efforts-to-reduce-emissions">SUVs alone</a> emit more carbon pollution than <a href="http://www.globalcarbonatlas.org/en/CO2-emissions">Canada or Germany</a>, and are causing a bigger increase in climate pollution <a href="https://www.iea.org/commentaries/global-suv-sales-set-another-record-in-2021-setting-back-efforts-to-reduce-emissions">than heavy industry</a>.</p>
<hr>
<figure class="align-right ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/288776/original/file-20190820-170910-8bv1s7.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/288776/original/file-20190820-170910-8bv1s7.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/288776/original/file-20190820-170910-8bv1s7.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/288776/original/file-20190820-170910-8bv1s7.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/288776/original/file-20190820-170910-8bv1s7.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/288776/original/file-20190820-170910-8bv1s7.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/288776/original/file-20190820-170910-8bv1s7.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<p><strong><em>This story is part of Conversation Insights</em></strong>
<br><em>The Insights team generates <a href="https://theconversation.com/uk/topics/insights-series-71218">long-form journalism</a> and is working with academics from different backgrounds who have been engaged in projects to tackle societal and scientific challenges.</em></p>
<hr>
<p>While cars are sometimes necessary for people’s mobility and social inclusion needs – not least <a href="https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5d30896202a18c0001b49180/t/620bd77ea6a7065a0dec6fe1/1644943920058/Nobody+Left+Behind+Envisioning+inclusive+cities+in+a+low+car+future.pdf">those with disabilities</a> – car-centric cities particularly disadvantage the already-marginalised. In the UK, women, young and older people, those from minority communities and disabled people are concentrated in the lowest-income households, of which <a href="https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/784685/future_of_mobility_access.pdf">40% do not have a car</a>. In contrast, nearly 90% of the highest-income households own at least one car.</p>
<p>So the driving habits of a minority <a href="https://vtpi.org/distort.pdf">impose high costs on society</a>, and this is especially true in cities. Copenhagen, for example, <a href="https://cyclingsolutions.info/cost-benefit-of-cycling-infrastructure/">has calculated</a> that whereas each kilometre cycled benefits society to the tune of €0.64 (53 pence), each kilometre driven incurs a net loss of -€0.71 (-59p), when impacts on individual wellbeing (physical and mental health, accidents, traffic) and the environment (climate, air and noise pollution) are accounted for. So each kilometre travelled where a car is replaced by a bicycle generates €1.35 (£1.12) of social benefits – of which only a few cents would be saved by switching from a fossil-fuelled to an electric-powered car, according to this analysis.</p>
<h2>Reducing car use in cities</h2>
<p>Half a century ago, the Danish capital was dominated by cars. But following grassroots campaigns to change policies and streets, including replacing car parking with safe, separated bike lanes, Copenhagen has increased its biking share of all trips from <a href="https://gridchicago.com/2012/danish-history-how-copenhagen-became-bike-friendly-again/">10% in 1970</a> to 35% today. In 2016, for the first time, <a href="https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2018/10/what-makes-copenhagen-the-worlds-most-bike-friendly-city/">more bicycles</a> than cars made journeys around the city over the course of that year.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="View of central Copenhagen, Denmark" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/457762/original/file-20220412-37887-5iu91.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/457762/original/file-20220412-37887-5iu91.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/457762/original/file-20220412-37887-5iu91.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/457762/original/file-20220412-37887-5iu91.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/457762/original/file-20220412-37887-5iu91.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/457762/original/file-20220412-37887-5iu91.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/457762/original/file-20220412-37887-5iu91.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Bicycles rule the centre of Copenhagen following campaigns to replace parking with safe bike lanes.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/editor/image/blurred-people-going-by-bike-copenhagen-344982284">Shutterstock</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>But while many other car-limiting initiatives have been attempted around the world, city officials, planners and citizens still do not have a clear, evidence-based way to reduce car use in cities. Our latest research, carried out with <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/paula-kuss/">Paula Kuss</a> at the <a href="https://www.lucsus.lu.se/about-lucsus">Lund University Centre for Sustainability Studies</a> and published in <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2213624X22000281">Case Studies on Transport Policy</a>, seeks to address this by quantifying the effectiveness of different initiatives to reduce urban car use.</p>
<p>Our study ranks the 12 most effective measures that European cities have introduced in recent decades, based on real-world data on innovations ranging from the “carrot” of bike and walk-to-work schemes to the “stick” of removing free parking. The ranking reflects cities’ successes not only in terms of measurable reductions in car use, but in achieving improved quality of life and sustainable mobility for their residents.</p>
<p>In all, we have screened nearly 800 peer-reviewed reports and case studies from throughout Europe, published since 2010, seeking those that quantified where and how cities had successfully reduced car use. The most effective measures, according to our review, are introducing a congestion charge, which reduces urban car levels by anywhere from 12% to 33%, and creating car-free streets and separated bike lanes, which has been found to lower car use in city centres by up to 20%. Our full ranking of the top 12 car-reducing measures is summarised in this table:</p>
<iframe title="City car use reduction strategies ranked" aria-label="Table" id="datawrapper-chart-NDMp4" src="https://datawrapper.dwcdn.net/NDMp4/12/" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" style="border: none;" width="100%" height="1215"></iframe>
<h2>The inequality of car use</h2>
<p>Cars are inherently inefficient and inequitable in their use of land and resources. On average, they spend <a href="https://www.reinventingparking.org/2013/02/cars-are-parked-95-of-time-lets-check.html">96%</a> of their time parked, taking up valuable urban space that could be put to more beneficial uses such as housing and public parks. In Berlin, car users on average take up <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/01441647.2020.1762795">3.5 times more public space</a> than non-car users, primarily through on-street parking.</p>
<p>And it is <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41560-020-0579-8">overwhelmingly richer people</a> who drive the most: in Europe, <a href="https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/global-sustainability/article/unequal-distribution-of-household-carbon-footprints-in-europe-and-its-link-to-sustainability/F1ED4F705AF1C6C1FCAD477398353DC2">the top 1%</a> by income drive nearly four times more than the median driver, accounting for some 21% of their personal climate footprint. For these highest emitters, climate pollution from driving is second only to flying (which, on average, generates twice as many emissions).</p>
<p>Prioritising cars as a means of transport also favours suburban sprawl. City suburbs typically possess larger homes that generate higher levels of consumption and energy use. North American suburban households consistently have higher <a href="https://rael.berkeley.edu/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/Jones-Kammen-EST_proof-NationalCarbonMap.pdf">carbon footprints</a> than urban ones: one study in Toronto found suburban footprints were <a href="https://ascelibrary.org/doi/epdf/10.1061/%28ASCE%290733-9488%282006%29132%3A1%2810%29">twice as high</a>.</p>
<p>It’s also clear that road traffic levels swell to <a href="https://www.wired.com/2014/06/wuwt-traffic-induced-demand/">fill the size of the roads built</a> – yet traffic planning <a href="https://journals.open.tudelft.nl/ejtir/article/view/2967/3155">routinely ignores</a> the fact that this “induced demand” exaggerates the benefits and underestimates the costs of building more roads. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/we-transformed-a-london-borough-into-a-game-to-get-fewer-people-travelling-by-car-heres-what-happened-171035">We transformed a London borough into a game to get fewer people travelling by car -- here's what happened</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>Electric vehicles are necessary, but they’re not a panacea. Since cars tend to be on the road for a long time, the migration to electric vehicles is very slow. <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0306261919307834">Some studies</a> anticipate relatively small emissions reductions over the coming decade as a result of electric vehicle uptake. And even if there’s nothing damaging released from an electric car’s exhaust pipe, the <a href="https://www.emissionsanalytics.com/news/pollution-tyre-wear-worse-exhaust-emissions">wear of car brakes and tyres</a> still creates toxic dust and microplastic pollution. However a car is powered, can it ever be an efficient use of resources and space to spend up to <a href="https://slate.com/business/2011/06/american-cars-are-getting-heavier-and-heavier-is-that-dangerous.html">95% of that energy</a> moving the weight of the vehicle itself, rather than its passengers and goods?</p>
<h2>COVID-19: a missed opportunity?</h2>
<p>Our study assesses urban mobility innovations and experiments introduced before the pandemic was declared. In response to COVID-19, travel habits (to begin with, at least) changed dramatically. But following <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-020-18922-7">large reductions in driving</a> during the spring of 2020, road use and the associated levels of climate pollution have since <a href="https://www.icos-cp.eu/gcp-covid19">rebounded</a> to near pre-pandemic levels. Indeed, in Sweden, while public transport use <a href="https://www.wsp.com/sv-SE/insikter/wsps-stora-mobilitetsstudie-2021">declined by around 42%</a> during the first year of the pandemic, car travel declined by only 7% in the same period, leading to an overall increase in the proportion of car use.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Commuter traffic in Stockholm" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/457765/original/file-20220412-17-c5gkqt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/457765/original/file-20220412-17-c5gkqt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/457765/original/file-20220412-17-c5gkqt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/457765/original/file-20220412-17-c5gkqt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/457765/original/file-20220412-17-c5gkqt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/457765/original/file-20220412-17-c5gkqt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/457765/original/file-20220412-17-c5gkqt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Commuter traffic in Stockholm in November 2021. Sweden has seen an overall increase in its proportion of car use during the pandemic.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/stockholm-sweden-nov-8-2021-commuter-2072347784">Shutterstock</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>While entrenched habits such as car commuting are hard to shift, times of disruption can offer an effective moment to <a href="https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/1748-9326/aaad73">change mobility behaviour</a> – in part because people forced to try a new habit may discover it has unexpected advantages. For such behaviour to stick, however, also requires changes in the physical infrastructure of cities. Unfortunately, while European cities that added pop-up bike lanes during the pandemic <a href="https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.2024399118">increased cycling rates by a stunning 11-48%</a>, we are now seeing a <a href="https://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/local-news/spaces-people-end-summer-26520105">return to car-centric cities</a>, with extra car lanes and parking spaces once again displacing cycle lanes and space for pedestrians.</p>
<p>Overall, the opportunities to align pandemic recovery measures with climate targets have largely been squandered. <a href="https://wedocs.unep.org/bitstream/handle/20.500.11822/36991/EGR21_ESEN.pdf">Less than 20%</a> of government spending on pandemic measures globally were likely to also reduce greenhouse gas emissions.</p>
<p>The extent to which workers resume driving to their offices is another key issue determining future car use in cities. Thoughtful travel policies to reduce unnecessary travel, and opportunities for faraway participants to fully participate in meetings and conferences digitally, could slash emissions by <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-021-27251-2">up to 94%</a> – and save time to boot. Those who work remotely <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0965856422000738?via%3Dihub">three or more days per week</a> travel less overall than their peers. But long car commutes can quickly wipe out such emissions savings, so living close to work is still the best option. </p>
<h2>No silver bullet solution</h2>
<p>The research is clear: to improve <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0091743514003144">health</a> outcomes, <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41558-020-00921-7">meet climate targets</a> and create more <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/29807292/">liveable cities</a>, reducing car use should be an urgent priority. Yet many governments in the US and Europe continue to <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0921800921003943?via%3Dihub">heavily subsidise</a> driving through a combination of incentives such as <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-021-02847-2">subsidies for fossil fuel production</a>, tax allowances for commuting by car, and incentives for company cars that promote driving over other means of transport. Essentially, such measures pay polluters while imposing the social costs on wider society. </p>
<p>City leaders have a wider range of policy instruments at their disposal than some might realise – from economic instruments such as charges and subsidies, to behavioural ones like providing feedback comparing individuals’ travel decisions with their peers’. Our study found that <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2213624X22000281">more than 75%</a> of the urban innovations that have successfully reduced car use were led by a local city government – and in particular, those that have proved most effective, such as congestion charges, parking and traffic controls, and limited traffic zones.</p>
<p>But an important insight from our study is that narrow policies don’t seem to be as effective – there is no “silver bullet” solution. The most successful cities typically combine a few different policy instruments, including both carrots that encourage more sustainable travel choices, and sticks that charge for, or restrict, driving and parking.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/457766/original/file-20220412-13-nb8ha0.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/457766/original/file-20220412-13-nb8ha0.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/457766/original/file-20220412-13-nb8ha0.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=484&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/457766/original/file-20220412-13-nb8ha0.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=484&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/457766/original/file-20220412-13-nb8ha0.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=484&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/457766/original/file-20220412-13-nb8ha0.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=608&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/457766/original/file-20220412-13-nb8ha0.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=608&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/457766/original/file-20220412-13-nb8ha0.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=608&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption"></span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://www.emmalijohansson.com/illustrations/">Illustration: Emma Li Johansson, LiLustrations</a>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>So here are the 12 best ways to reduce city car use:</p>
<p><strong>1. Congestion charges</strong></p>
<p>The most effective measure identified by our research entails drivers paying to enter the city centre, with the revenues generated going towards alternative means of sustainable transport. London, an early pioneer of this strategy, has reduced city centre traffic by a <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cstp.2018.06.002">whopping 33%</a> since the charge’s introduction by the city’s first elected mayor, Ken Livingstone, in February 2003. The fixed-charge fee (with exemptions for certain groups and vehicles) has been raised over time, from an initial £5 per day up to £15 since June 2020. Importantly, 80% of the revenues raised are used for public transport investments.</p>
<p>Other European cities have followed suit, adopting similar schemes after referenda in <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/15568318.2015.1083638">Milan</a>, <a href="https://www.transportportal.se/swopec/CTS2014-7.pdf">Stockholm</a> and <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tra.2015.03.011">Gothenburg</a> – with the Swedish cities varying their pricing by day and time. But despite congestion charges clearly leading to a significant and sustained reduction of car use and traffic volume, they cannot by themselves entirely <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2213624X17302912">eliminate the problem of congestion</a>, which persists while the incentives and infrastructure favouring car use remain.</p>
<p><strong>2. Parking and traffic controls</strong></p>
<p>In a number of European cities, regulations to remove parking spaces and alter traffic routes – in many cases, replacing the space formerly dedicated to cars with car-free streets, bike lanes and walkways – has proved highly successful. For example, Oslo’s replacement of parking spaces with walkable car-free streets and bike lanes was found to have reduced car usage in the centre of the Norwegian capital by <a href="https://www.eltis.org/resources/case-studies/oslo-promoting-active-transport-modes">up to 19%</a>.</p>
<p><strong>3. Limited traffic zones</strong></p>
<p>Rome, traditionally one of Europe’s most congested cities, has shifted the balance towards greater use of public transport by restricting car entry to its centre at certain times of day to residents only, plus those who pay an annual fee. This policy has reduced car traffic in the Italian capital by <a href="https://civitas.eu/mobility-solutions/implementing-access-restrictions">20% during the restricted hours, and 10%</a> even during unrestricted hours when all cars can visit the centre. The violation fines are used to finance Rome’s public transport system.</p>
<p><strong>4. Mobility services for commuters</strong></p>
<p>The most effective carrot-only measure identified by our review is a campaign to provide mobility services for commuters in the Dutch city of Utrecht. Local government and private companies collaborated to provide free public transport passes to employees, combined with a private shuttle bus to connect transit stops with workplaces. This programme, promoted through a marketing and communication plan, was found to have achieved a <a href="https://civitas.eu/sites/default/files/measure_evaluation_results_4_1_mobility_management_policy.pdf">37% reduction</a> in the share of commuters travelling into the city centre by car.</p>
<p><strong>5. Workplace parking charges</strong></p>
<p>Another effective means of reducing the number of car commuters is to introduce workplace parking charges. For example, a large medical centre in the Dutch port city of <a href="https://trid.trb.org/view/1225595">Rotterdam</a> achieved a 20-25% reduction in employee car commutes through a scheme that charged employees to park outside their offices, while also offering them the chance to “cash out” their parking spaces and use public transport instead. This scheme was found to be around three times more effective than a more extensive programme in the UK city of <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S2213624X19301063">Nottingham</a>, which applied a workplace parking charge to all major city employers possessing more than ten parking spaces. The revenue raised went towards supporting the Midlands city’s public transport network, including expansion of a tram line.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Norwich city centre, Norfolk." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/457768/original/file-20220412-54572-2nsa6f.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/457768/original/file-20220412-54572-2nsa6f.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/457768/original/file-20220412-54572-2nsa6f.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/457768/original/file-20220412-54572-2nsa6f.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/457768/original/file-20220412-54572-2nsa6f.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/457768/original/file-20220412-54572-2nsa6f.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/457768/original/file-20220412-54572-2nsa6f.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Norwich reduced car commuters by nearly 20% with its workplace travel plan, including swapping car for bike parking.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/30th-april-2021-norwich-city-walk-1965395566">Shutterstock</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p><strong>6. Workplace travel planning</strong></p>
<p>Programmes providing company-wide travel strategies and advice to encourage employees to end their car commutes have been widely used in cities across Europe. A major study, published in 2010, assessing <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0965856410000492">20 cities across the UK</a> found an average of 18% of commuters switched from car to another mode after a full range of measures were combined – including company shuttle buses, discounts for public transport and improved bike infrastructure – as well as reduced parking provision. In a different programme, Norwich achieved near-identical rates by adopting a comprehensive plan but without the discounts for public transport. These carrot-and-stick efforts appear to have been more effective than <a href="https://civitas.eu/sites/default/files/bhcc20school20travel20plans_20deliverable20report.pdf">Brighton & Hove’s</a> carrot-only approach of providing plans and infrastructure such as workplace bicycle storage, which saw a 3% shift away from car use.</p>
<p><strong>7. University travel planning</strong></p>
<p>Similarly, university travel programmes often combine the carrot of promotion of public transport and active travel with the stick of parking management on campus. The most successful example highlighted in our review was achieved by the University of Bristol, which reduced car use among its <a href="https://www.bristol.ac.uk/media-library/sites/transportplan/0879%20UoB%20Staff%20Travel%20Survey%20Report%20FINAL.pdf">staff by 27%</a> while providing them with improved bike infrastructure and public transport discounts. A more ambitious programme in the Spanish city of San Sebastián targeted both staff and students at Universidad del País Vasco. Although it achieved a more modest <a href="https://civitas.eu/sites/default/files/arc_mert_83_f_dss_university_campus_annex.pdf">reduction rate of 7.2%</a>, the absolute reduction in car use was still substantial from the entire population of university commuters.</p>
<p><strong>8. Mobility services for universities</strong></p>
<p>The Sicilian city of <a href="https://www.eltis.org/resources/case-studies/you-study-you-travel-free">Catania</a> used a carrot-only approach for its students. By offering them a free public transport pass and providing shuttle connections to campus, the city was found to have achieved a 24% decrease in the share of students commuting by car.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Catania, Sicily" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/457770/original/file-20220412-22029-u8x49x.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/457770/original/file-20220412-22029-u8x49x.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/457770/original/file-20220412-22029-u8x49x.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/457770/original/file-20220412-22029-u8x49x.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/457770/original/file-20220412-22029-u8x49x.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/457770/original/file-20220412-22029-u8x49x.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/457770/original/file-20220412-22029-u8x49x.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Catania achieved a 24% decrease in the share of students commuting by car.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/catania-italy-december-16-2016-street-2135260221">Shutterstock</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p><strong>9. Car sharing</strong></p>
<p>Perhaps surprisingly, car sharing turns out to be a somewhat divisive measure for reducing car use in cities, according to our analysis. Such schemes, where members can easily rent a nearby vehicle for a few hours, have showed promising results in <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2352146516302046?via%3Dihub">Bremen, Germany</a> and <a href="https://civitas.eu/sites/default/files/CARAVEL%20D5%20-%20GENOA%20MERS%2009.04.pdf">Genoa, Italy</a>, with each shared car replacing between 12 and 15 private vehicles, on average. Their approach included increasing the number of shared cars and stations, and integrating them with residential areas, public transport and bike infrastructure. </p>
<p>Both schemes also provided car sharing for employees and ran awareness-raising campaigns. But <a href="https://www.iges.or.jp/en/pub/15-degrees-lifestyles-2019/en">other studies</a> point to a risk that car sharing may, in fact, induce previously car-free residents to increase their car use. We therefore recommend more research into how to design car sharing programmes that truly reduce overall car use.</p>
<p><strong>10. School travel planning</strong></p>
<p>Two English cities, Brighton & Hove and Norwich, have used (and assessed) the carrot-only measure of school travel planning: providing trip advice, planning and even events for students and parents to encourage them to walk, bike or carpool to school, along with providing improved bike infrastructure in their cities. Norwich found it was able to reduce the share of car use for <a href="https://civitas.eu/sites/default/%20files/11-320norwich.pdf">school trips by 10.9%,</a> using this approach, while <a href="https://civitas.eu/sites/default/files/bhcc20school20travel20plans_20deliverable20report.pdf">Brighton’s</a> analysis found the impact was about half that much. </p>
<p><strong>11. Personalised travel plans</strong></p>
<p>Many cities have experimented with personal travel analysis and plans for individual residents, including <a href="http://epomm.eu/sites/default/files/files/EPOMM_strategy_book.pdf">Marseille in France</a>, <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0965856416306462">Munich in Germany</a>, <a href="https://www.eltis.org/discover/case-studies/maastricht-bereikbaar-integrated-mobility-management-targeting-employers-and">Maastricht in the Netherlands</a> and <a href="https://civitas.eu/sites/default/files/arc_mert_34_f_dss_personalisedtravelplans.pdf">San Sebastián in Spain</a>. These programmes – providing journey advice and planning for city residents to walk, bike or use (sometimes discounted) public transport – are found to have achieved modest-sounding reductions of 6-12%. However, since they encompass all residents of a city, as opposed to smaller populations of, say, commuters to school or the workplace, these approaches can still play a valuable role in reducing car use overall. (San Sebastián introduced both university and personalised travel planning in parallel, which is likely to have reduced car use further than either in isolation.)</p>
<p><strong>12. Apps for sustainable mobility</strong></p>
<p>Mobile phone technology has a growing role in strategies to reduce car use. The Italian city of Bologna, for example, developed an app for people and teams of employees from participating companies to track their mobility. Participants competed to gain points for walking, biking and using public transport, with local businesses offering these app users rewards for achieving points goals.</p>
<p>There is great interest in such gamification of sustainable mobility – and at first glance, the data from the Bologna app looks striking. <a href="https://www.eltis.org/resources/tools/eu-good-practices-sustainable-mobility-planning-and-sump">An impressive 73%</a> of users reported using their car “less”. But unlike other studies which measure the number or distance of car trips, it is not possible to calculate the reduction of distance travelled or emissions from this data, so the overall effectiveness is unclear. For example, skipping one short car trip and skipping a year of long driving commutes both count as driving “less”. </p>
<p>While mobility data from apps can offer valuable tools for improved transport planning and services, good design is needed to ensure that “smart” solutions actually decrease emissions and promote sustainable transport, because the <a href="https://www.annualreviews.org/doi/abs/10.1146/annurev-environ-012320-082424">current evidence is mixed</a>. For instance, a <a href="https://www.cell.com/iscience/fulltext/S2589-0042(20)31130-5">2021 study</a> found that after a ride-hailing service such as Uber or Lyft enters an urban market, vehicle ownership increases – particularly in already car-dependent cities – and public transport use declines in high-income areas.</p>
<h2>Cities need to re-imagine themselves</h2>
<p>Reducing car dependency is not just a nice idea. It is essential for the survival of people and places around the world, which the recent <a href="https://www.ipcc.ch/report/sixth-assessment-report-working-group-ii/">IPCC report on climate impacts</a> makes clear hinges on how close to 1.5°C the world can limit global warming. Avoiding irreversible harm and meeting their Paris Agreement obligations requires industrialised nations such as the UK and Sweden to reduce their emissions by <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/14693062.2020.1728209">10-12% per year</a> – about 1% <em>every month</em>. </p>
<p>Yet until the pandemic struck, transport emissions in Europe were steadily increasing. Indeed, current policies are predicted to deliver transport emissions in 2040 that are almost unchanged from <a href="https://www.eea.europa.eu/ims/greenhouse-gas-emissions-from-transport">50 years earlier</a>.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/457772/original/file-20220412-10942-qu7v7t.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/457772/original/file-20220412-10942-qu7v7t.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=389&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/457772/original/file-20220412-10942-qu7v7t.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=389&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/457772/original/file-20220412-10942-qu7v7t.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=389&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/457772/original/file-20220412-10942-qu7v7t.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=489&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/457772/original/file-20220412-10942-qu7v7t.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=489&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/457772/original/file-20220412-10942-qu7v7t.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=489&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Local buses in the Swedish city of Lund, home of the Centre for Sustainability Studies.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/july-10-2021-lund-sweden-local-2026029437">Shutterstock</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>To meet the planet’s health and climate goals, city governments need to make the necessary transitions for sustainable mobility by, first, avoiding the need for mobility (see <a href="https://www.citiesforum.org/news/15-minute-city/">Paris’s 15-minute city</a>); second, shifting remaining mobility needs from cars to active and public transport wherever possible; and finally, improving the cars that remain to be zero-emission. </p>
<p>This transition must be fast <em>and</em> fair: city leaders and civil society need to engage citizens to build political legitimacy and momentum for these changes. Without widespread public buy-in to reduce cars, the EU’s commitment to deliver 100 climate-neutral cities in Europe <a href="https://ec.europa.eu/info/research-and-innovation/funding/funding-opportunities/funding-programmes-and-open-calls/horizon-europe/eu-missions-horizon-europe/climate-neutral-and-smart-cities_en">by 2030</a> looks a remote prospect.</p>
<p>Radically reducing cars will make cities better places to live – and it can be done. A 2020 <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0959378020307512">study</a> demonstrated that we can provide decent living standards for the planet’s projected 10 billion people using <a href="https://theconversation.com/how-10-billion-people-could-live-well-by-2050-using-as-much-energy-as-we-did-60-years-ago-146896">60% less energy than today</a>. But to do so, wealthy countries need to build three times as much public transport infrastructure as they currently possess, and each person should limit their annual travel to between 5,000 kilometres (in dense cities) and <a href="https://theconversation.com/how-10-billion-people-could-live-well-by-2050-using-as-much-energy-as-we-did-60-years-ago-146896">15,000 kilometres</a> (in more remote areas).</p>
<p>The positive impact from reducing cars in cities will be felt by all who live and work in them, in the form of more convivial spaces. As a journalist visiting the newly car-free Belgian city of Ghent <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/jan/20/the-streets-are-more-alive-ghent-readers-on-a-car-free-city-centre">put it in 2020</a>: </p>
<blockquote>
<p>The air tastes better … People turn their streets into sitting rooms and extra gardens.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Cities need to re-imagine themselves by remaking what is possible to match what is necessary. At the heart of this, guided by better evidence of what works, they must do more to break free from cars.</p>
<hr>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/313478/original/file-20200204-41481-1n8vco4.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/313478/original/file-20200204-41481-1n8vco4.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=112&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/313478/original/file-20200204-41481-1n8vco4.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=112&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/313478/original/file-20200204-41481-1n8vco4.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=112&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/313478/original/file-20200204-41481-1n8vco4.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=140&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/313478/original/file-20200204-41481-1n8vco4.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=140&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/313478/original/file-20200204-41481-1n8vco4.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=140&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption"></span>
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</figure>
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<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Kimberly Nicholas was funded for this work by the Swedish Research Council Formas, grant 2019-02051</span></em></p>A new study finds congestion charging and creating car-free streets and separated bike lanes have been most effective at reducing car use in European cities.Kimberly Nicholas, Associate Professor of Sustainability Science, Lund UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.