The Influence of Urban Land-Use and Public Transport Facilities on Active Commuting in Wellington, New Zealand: Active Transport Forecasting Using the WILUTE Model

Joreintje Dingena Mackenbach, Edward Randal, Pengjun Zhao and Philippa Howden-Chapman
Additional contact information
Joreintje Dingena Mackenbach: Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, EMGO Institute for Health and Care Research, VU University Medical Center, Amsterdam 1081HV, The Netherlands
Edward Randal: NZ Centre for Sustainable Cities, University of Otago, Wellington 6242, New Zealand
Pengjun Zhao: Department of Urban and Regional Planning, College of Urban and Environmental Sciences, Peking University, Beijing 100871, China
Philippa Howden-Chapman: NZ Centre for Sustainable Cities, University of Otago, Wellington 6242, New Zealand

Sustainability, 2016, vol. 8, issue 3, 1-14

Abstract: Physical activity has numerous physical and mental health benefits, and active commuting (walking or cycling to work) can help meet physical activity recommendations. This study investigated socioeconomic differences in active commuting, and assessed the impact of urban land-use and public transport policies on active commuting in the Wellington region in New Zealand. We combined data from the New Zealand Household Travel Survey and GIS data on land-use and public transport facilities with the Wellington Integrated Land-Use, Transportation and Environment (WILUTE) model, and forecasted changes in active commuter trips associated with changes in the built environment. Results indicated high income individuals were more likely to commute actively than individuals on low income. Several land-use and transportation factors were associated with active commuting and results from the modelling showed a potential increase in active commuting following an increase in bus frequency and parking fees. In conclusion, regional level policies stimulating environmental factors that directly or indirectly affect active commuting may be a promising strategy to increase population level physical activity. Access to, and frequency of, public transport in the neighbourhood can act as a facilitator for a more active lifestyle among its residents without negatively affecting disadvantaged groups.

Keywords: active commuting; transport policy; forecasting; built environment; physical activity (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2016
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (6)

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/8/3/242/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/8/3/242/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:8:y:2016:i:3:p:242-:d:65174

Access Statistics for this article

Sustainability is currently edited by Ms. Alexandra Wu

More articles in Sustainability from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().