Children’s Transport Built Environments: A Mixed Methods Study of Associations between Perceived and Objective Measures and Relationships with Parent Licence for Independent Mobility in Auckland, New Zealand
Abstract
:1. Introduction
1.1. Children’s Independent Mobility
1.2. Factors Associated with Children’s Independent Mobility
1.2.1. Child and Household Characteristics
1.2.2. Parental Neighbourhood Perceptions
1.2.3. Objective Measures of the Environment
1.3. Study Aim and Objectives
2. Materials and Methods
2.1. Protocol and Study Context
2.2. Measures
2.2.1. Socio-Demographic Information
2.2.2. Independent Mobility Licence
2.2.3. Parent-Reported Needs
2.2.4. Objectively-Assessed Neighbourhood Built Environment Features
Ratio of High- to Low-Speed Roads
Number of Signalised Crossings
Ratio of Cycle Path Lengths to Road Lengths
Pedestrian Network Connectivity (PedShed)
2.3. Data Analysis
2.3.1. Objective 1
2.3.2. Objective 2
2.3.3. Objective 3
3. Results
3.1. Objective 1: Parent-Reported Needs
“I feel that this area is very community focused and it feels quite safe and feels quite child friendly.”
Slower and safer drivers, for example: “If people keep to the speed limit it would make me feel safer”Less traffic: “The road traffic is busy and too hard for the kids to use.”more traffic-calming infrastructure: “More speed bumps and more signs near the schools so people can see them and slow down.”Lower speed limits: “Lower speed limits or speed bumps around the area as the people tend to speed down the road and there are a lot of kids in the area that play near the roads.”Signage such as “kids around” to slow traffic and encourage safe driver behaviour: “More caution signs on [X] Road where we live as the traffic whizzes through…More caution signs in the hope that people will pay attention to these signs.”Safer places to cross: “More pedestrian crossings on the roads as cars speed around the area”Safer places to cycle: “I’d like to see a dedicated cycle lanes attached to the footpaths that link up to the school.”Safer places to walk: “Decent footpaths as we have no footpaths on our side of the road and so this is a big deterrent. Also cycle ways would be great as in the bays here we have narrow winding roads.”
“I guess if we all get together as a neighbourhood and get to know each other very well then we could all look out for each other’s kids and we would get to trust each other.”
3.2. Quantitative Modelling
3.2.1. Descriptive Characteristics
3.2.2. Objective 2: Differences in Objectively-Assessed Neighbourhood Features by Parent-Reported Needs
3.2.3. Objective 3: Relationships between Parental Licence for Independent Mobility and Objective Neighbourhood Features and Parent-Reported Needs
4. Discussion
4.1. Objective 1: Parents’ Perceptions on What Would Make Their Neighbourhood Better for Independent Mobility
4.2. Objective 2: Perceived and Objective Aspects of the Neighbourhood Transport Environment
4.3. Objective 3: Factors Associated with Parent Licence for Independent Mobility
5. Strengths and Limitations
6. Conclusions
Author Contributions
Funding
Acknowledgments
Conflicts of Interest
References
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Parent-Reported Needs | Objectively-Assessed Neighbourhood Features | Key Considerations Regarding Making Direct Comparisons |
---|---|---|
Less, slower, and safer traffic | Ratio of high to low speed roads | Objective measure provides an estimate only of traffic safety based on road hierarchy (and does not account for actual driver behavior irrespective of regulatory environment); parent-reported traffic safety needs included a broad range of strategies to reduce speeds and volume of traffic |
More and safer crossings | Number of signalised crossings | Objective measure only takes signalled crossings into account; parent-reported needs included comments about non-signalled crossings |
Safer and designated cycle lanes | Ratio of cycle path lengths to road lengths | Objective measure is limited to data available for the cycle network; parent-reported needs included bike paths and also the quality of places to cycle safely |
More and better walking paths | PedShed | Objective measure provides an indication of the relative prevalence of places to walk only; parent-reported needs noted additional considerations such as wider and better-maintained footpaths |
Topic and Subtopics | na | % a |
---|---|---|
Safety from traffic: Less, slower, and safer traffic | 185 | 19.9 |
Less busy traffic | 65 | 7.0 |
Slower speeds | 56 | 6.0 |
Traffic calming infrastructure (e.g., humps) | 38 | 4.1 |
Lowering speed limits | 37 | 4.0 |
Reducing dangerous driving | 34 | 3.7 |
Improving traffic safety in general | 19 | 2.0 |
Signage to slow traffic (e.g., “kids around”, “slow down”) | 6 | 0.6 |
Safety from traffic: More and safer crossings | 125 | 13.4 |
More and safer pedestrian crossings | 121 | 13.0 |
Lights at pedestrian crossings | 4 | 0.4 |
Supervised crossings | 1 | 0.1 |
Safety from traffic: Safer and designated cycle lanes | 91 | 9.8 |
Cycle lanes—designated, away from road, on footpaths | 66 | 7.1 |
Bike tracks and paths | 26 | 2.8 |
Safety from traffic: More and better walking paths | 67 | 7.2 |
Safety from others | 112 | 12.0 |
Reduced “stranger danger” | 50 | 5.4 |
Community surveillance | 43 | 4.6 |
Reduced crime (drugs and gang activity) | 19 | 2.0 |
Fewer roaming dogs | 12 | 1.3 |
Reduced perceived danger from others especially youth | 9 | 1.0 |
Less bullying | 4 | 0.4 |
More and better destinations | 37 | 4.0 |
More destinations in the neighbourhood | 23 | 2.5 |
More and better facilities at the destinations | 16 | 1.7 |
Better social environment | 33 | 3.5 |
More connected community | 25 | 2.7 |
More children/people out and about | 9 | 1.0 |
Others | 232 | 24.9 |
Better street lighting | 56 | 6.0 |
Child too young | 45 | 4.8 |
Nothing | 38 | 4.1 |
Positive Comments | 31 | 3.3 |
Less hilly | 14 | 1.5 |
Safer neighbourhood | 12 | 1.3 |
Other | 10 | 1.1 |
More public transport and school buses | 9 | 1.0 |
Fewer cars parked on street | 8 | 0.9 |
Better general infrastructure | 8 | 0.9 |
More walking school buses (adult accompanying group of children to school) | 7 | 0.8 |
Better upkeep of public spaces | 6 | 0.6 |
Better visibility of the streets | 4 | 0.4 |
Improved connectivity | 3 | 0.3 |
Uncodeable | 3 | 0.3 |
Socio-Demographic Variables | n | % | Licence for Independent Mobility | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Mean (SD) | p-Value | |||
Sex | <0.001 c | |||
Male | 469 | 50.4 | 5.65 (1.73) | |
Female | 462 | 49.6 | 5.00 (1.67) | |
School level | <0.001 c | |||
Primary (years 5–6) | 486 | 52.2 | 4.58 (1.32) | |
Intermediate (years 7–8) | 445 | 47.8 | 6.04 (1.69) | |
Ethnicity | 0.001 d | |||
New Zealand European/Pākehā/Other European | 394 | 42.3 | 5.41 (1.61) | |
Māori | 112 | 12.0 | 5.49 (1.67) | |
Pacific | 125 | 13.4 | 4.94 (1.73) | |
Asian | 120 | 12.9 | 5.04 (1.62) | |
MELAA a/Other/Not stated | 180 | 19.3 | 5.25 (1.77) | |
Area-level deprivation b | 0.106 d | |||
Low Deprivation (decile 1–3) | 357 | 38.3 | 5.36 (1.67) | |
Medium Deprivation (decile 4–7) | 324 | 34.8 | 5.31 (1.65) | |
High Deprivation (decile 8–10) | 250 | 26.9 | 5.13 (1.71) |
Objectively-Assessed Neighbourhood Features a | Minimum | Maximum | Mean (SD) |
---|---|---|---|
Ratio of high to low speed roads | 0.00 | 1.00 | 0.37 (0.11) |
Number of signalised crossings | 0.00 | 7.00 | 1.01 (1.40) |
Ratio of cycle paths to road lengths | 0.00 | 0.74 | 0.12 (0.13) |
PedShed b | 0.01 | 0.63 | 0.32 (0.11) |
Parent-Reported Need a n (%) of Parents Reporting Need | Less, Slower, and Safer Traffic n = 185 (19.9%) | More and Safer Crossings n = 125 (13.4%) | Safer and Designated Cycle Lanes n = 91 (9.8%) | More and Better Walking Paths n = 67 (7.2%) | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Objective Measure | Ratio of High to Low Speed Roads | Number of Signalised Crossings | Ratio of Cycle Path to Road Lengths | PedShed b | ||||
OR (95% CI) c | p-Value | OR (95% CI) c | p-Value | OR (95% CI) c | p-Value | OR (95% CI) c | p-Value | |
Objective measure (higher vs. lower) d | ||||||||
Lower | Reference | Reference | Reference | Reference | ||||
Higher | 0.79 (0.54, 1.14) | 0.208 | 0.90 (0.72, 1.11) | 0.314 | 1.02 (0.56, 1.87) | 0.944 | 0.77 (0.34, 1.73) | 0.527 |
Sex | ||||||||
Male | Reference | Reference | Reference | Reference | ||||
Female | 0.93 (0.67, 1.31) | 0.693 | 0.73 (0.49, 1.09) | 0.125 | 0.78 (0.49, 1.24) | 0.296 | 0.87 (0.47, 1.60) | 0.527 |
School level | ||||||||
Intermediate (years 7–8) | Reference | Reference | Reference | Reference | ||||
Primary (years 5–6) | 1.54 (1.09, 2.19) | 0.014 | 1.01 (0.67, 1.52) | 0.980 | 0.48 (0.29, 0.77) | 0.003 | 1.41 (0.66, 3.00) | 0.372 |
Ethnicity | ||||||||
NZ European/Pākehā/Other European | Reference | Reference | Reference | Reference | ||||
Māori | 0.78 (0.43, 1.44) | 0.432 | 0.60 (0.27, 1.34) | 0.214 | 0.12 (0.03, 0.52) | 0.004 | 0.30 (0.06, 1.53) | 0.147 |
Pacific | 0.36 (0.17, 0.76) | 0.008 | 0.13 (0.03, 0.59) | 0.008 | 0.06 (0.01, 0.50) | 0.009 | 0.29 (0.05, 1.55) | 0.148 |
Asian | 0.61 (0.34, 1.10) | 0.103 | 0.48 (0.22, 1.03) | 0.058 | 0.28 (0.11, 0.75) | 0.012 | 0.37 (0.07, 1.82) | 0.220 |
MELAA a/Other/Not stated | 0.85 (0.51, 1.42) | 0.543 | 0.93 (0.49, 1.75) | 0.816 | 0.51 (0.26, 1.00) | 0.049 | 2.01 (0.73, 5.52) | 0.174 |
Area-level deprivation b | ||||||||
Low | Reference | Reference | Reference | Reference | ||||
Medium | 1.08 (0.72, 1.61) | 0.708 | 0.83 (0.53, 1.28) | 0.396 | 0.84 (0.51, 1.39) | 0.504 | 0.15 (0.07, 0.33) | <0.001 |
High | 1.08 (0.60, 1.96) | 0.796 | 0.50 (0.22, 1.18) | 0.113 | 0.40 (0.15, 1.08) | 0.071 | 0.22 (0.07, 0.67) | 0.008 |
Neighbourhood Variables in Model | Comparison | Estimate (95% CI) a | p-Value |
---|---|---|---|
Ratio of high to low speed roads b | Higher vs. lower | −0.05 (−0.26, 0.17) | 0.682 |
Less, slower, and safer traffic c | Parent reported vs. didn’t report need | −0.03 (−0.2, 0.21) | 0.811 |
Number of signalised crossings b | Per additional crossing | −0.04 (−0.15, 0.06) | 0.421 |
More and safer crossings c | Parent reported vs. didn’t report need | 0.01 (−0.27, 0.29) | 0.944 |
Ratio of cycle path to road lengths b | Higher vs. lower | −0.46 (−0.71, −0.20) | 0.001 |
Safer and designated cycle lanes c | Parent reported vs. didn’t report need | 0.56 (0.24, 0.88) | 0.001 |
PedShed b,d | Higher vs. lower | 0.20 (−0.01, 0.41) | 0.058 |
More and better walking paths c | Parent reported vs. didn’t report need | −0.14 (−0.55, 0.27) | 0.506 |
© 2019 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
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Smith, M.; Amann, R.; Cavadino, A.; Raphael, D.; Kearns, R.; Mackett, R.; Mackay, L.; Carroll, P.; Forsyth, E.; Mavoa, S.; et al. Children’s Transport Built Environments: A Mixed Methods Study of Associations between Perceived and Objective Measures and Relationships with Parent Licence for Independent Mobility in Auckland, New Zealand. Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2019, 16, 1361. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph16081361
Smith M, Amann R, Cavadino A, Raphael D, Kearns R, Mackett R, Mackay L, Carroll P, Forsyth E, Mavoa S, et al. Children’s Transport Built Environments: A Mixed Methods Study of Associations between Perceived and Objective Measures and Relationships with Parent Licence for Independent Mobility in Auckland, New Zealand. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health. 2019; 16(8):1361. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph16081361
Chicago/Turabian StyleSmith, Melody, Rebecca Amann, Alana Cavadino, Deborah Raphael, Robin Kearns, Roger Mackett, Lisa Mackay, Penelope Carroll, Euan Forsyth, Suzanne Mavoa, and et al. 2019. "Children’s Transport Built Environments: A Mixed Methods Study of Associations between Perceived and Objective Measures and Relationships with Parent Licence for Independent Mobility in Auckland, New Zealand" International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health 16, no. 8: 1361. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph16081361