An Examination of the Socio-Demographic Characteristics and Perceptions of Cycling among Students at Georgia State University

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1 Georgia State University Georgia State University Public Health Theses School of Public Health Spring An Examination of the Socio-Demographic Characteristics and Perceptions of Cycling among Students at Georgia State University Nancy B. Pope Georgia State University Follow this and additional works at: Part of the Public Health Commons Recommended Citation Pope, Nancy B., "An Examination of the Socio-Demographic Characteristics and Perceptions of Cycling among Students at Georgia State University." Thesis, Georgia State University, This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the School of Public Health at Georgia State University. It has been accepted for inclusion in Public Health Theses by an authorized administrator of Georgia State University. For more information, please contact scholarworks@gsu.edu.

2 ABSTRACT AnExaminationofSocio demographiccharacteristicsandperceptionsofcyclingamong StudentsatGeorgiaStateUniversity (UnderthedirectionofChristineStauber,FacultyMember) Background:Bicyclingasaformoftransportationisimportanttopublichealthandthe improvementoftheenvironmentbywayofsustainabletransportation.active transportationisinverselyrelatedtoall causemortality,obesity,andlevelsofozoneand greenhousegases.universitycommunitieshavebeenshowntobicyclemorethanbig cities.however,downtownsettingofthegeorgiastateuniversity(gsu)campusposes uniquebarrierstobicycling. Methods:Across sectionalstudywasconductedinfall,2009atgsu.todetermine perceptionsandbarrierstobicycling,thesamplewasdividedintocyclistsandnon cyclists. Chisquareanalysis,oddsratios,andmultivariatelogisticregressionwereusedtocompare thesocio demographiccharacteristicsandperceptionssurroundingbicyclingbetweenthe groups. Results:Thesurveyincluded314students;60%female,11.1%bicyclists,andmeanageof 23.Ofthesocio demographiccharacteristicsexamined,genderwastheonlyfactor significantlyassociatedwithbicycling,withmalesbeing6.82timesmorelikelytocycle. Independentt testsfoundthatbicyclistsviewedthebuiltenvironment,socialsupport,and futurebicyclingsupportmorefavorablythannon cyclists.ofthebuiltenvironment factors,distancewasthemostimportantbarriertobicycling(or=2.156,95%ci= ).Cyclistsandnon cyclistswereinagreementthatbicyclingwasunsafeduetomotor vehicletraffic,roadwayconditions,andtheftrisk Conclusions:Overall,thefindingswereconsistentwithcurrentknowledgeabout bicycling.thefindingsshowthatdistanceappearstobethemostsignificantbarrierto bicycling.althoughsafetyduetoroadwayconditionsandmotorvehicletrafficandriskof bicycletheftdidnotproducesignificantresults,thesefactorsshouldbeaddressedinfuture studiesand/orprograms.furtherinvestigationintohowtoaltertheseperceptionsand createsaferenvironmentsforthecommunitywouldbebeneficial. Keywords:bicycle,builtenvironment,socialsupport,barrierstobicycling I

3 AnExaminationofthesocio demographiccharacteristicsandperceptionsofcycling amongstudentsatgeorgiastateuniversity ByNancyBraxtonPope B.S.,UniversityofGeorgia,2004 AThesisSubmittedtotheGraduateFacultyofGeorgiaStateUniversityinPartial FulfillmentoftheRequirementsfortheDegree MasterofPublicHealth Atlanta,GA II

4 AnExaminationofsocio demographiccharacteristicsandperceptionsofcycling amongstudentsatgeorgiastateuniversity By NancyBraxtonPope Approved: ChristineStauber,Ph.D.,M.S. CommitteeChair FrancesMcCarty,Ph.D.,M.Ed. CommitteeMember JohnSteward CommitteeMember April8,2010 Date III

5 Acknowledgements Iwouldliketothankmythesiscommitteemembers,Dr.ChristineStauber,Dr.Frances McCarty,andProfessorJohnStewardforprovidingtheguidance,supportandencouragement neededtocompletetheprocess.iwouldalsoliketothankthegsubikesteamfortheir dedicationtoencouragingbicyclingonthegsucampus. Ihavegreatlyappreciatedthesupportofmyfamilyandfriendsthroughouttheprocess. Iwouldliketothankmythesisworkgroup,JessicaMastrodominicoandShannonKraft,for yoursupportandcomicrelief.finally,iwouldliketothankoctanecoffeeforprovidingme withaniceplacetoworkandalotofcaffeine! IV

6 Authors Statement Inpresentingthisthesisasapartialfulfillmentoftherequirementsforanadvanceddegree fromgeorgiastateuniversity,iagreethatthelibraryoftheuniversityshallmakeit availableforinspectionandcirculationinaccordancewithitsregulationsgoverning materialsofthistype.iagreethatpermissiontoquotefrom,tocopyfrom,ortopublishthis thesismaybegrantedbytheauthoror,inherabsence,bytheprofessorunderwhose directionitwaswritten,orinhisabsence,bytheassociatedean,collegeofhealthand HumanSciences.Suchquoting,copying,orpublishingmustbesolelyforscholarlypurposes andwillnotinvolveanypotentialfinancialgain.itisunderstoodthatanycopyingfromor publicationofthisdissertationwhichinvolvespotentialfinancialgainwillnotbeallowed withoutwrittenpermissionoftheauthor. NancyB.Pope SignatureoftheAuthor V

7 NoticetoBorrowers AllthesedepositedintheGeorgiaStateUniversityLibrarymustbeusedinaccordancewith thestipulationsdescribedbytheauthorintheprecedingstatement. Theauthorofthisthesisis: NancyBraxtonPope 914BrookhavenWay Atlanta,GA30319 TheChairofthecommitteeforthisthesisis: ChristineStauber,Ph.D.,M.S. UsersofthisthesiswhonotregularlyenrolledasstudentasGeorgiaStateUniversityare requiredtoattestacceptanceoftheprecedingstipulationbysigningbelow.libraries borrowingthisthesisfortheuseoftheirpatronsarerequiredtoseethateachuserrecords heretheinformationrequested. NAMEOFUSER ADDRESS DATE TYPEOFUSE (EXAMINATIONONLY FORCOPYING VI

8 NancyB.Pope 914BrookhavenWay Atlanta,Georgia30319 (404) QUALIFICATIONSSUMMARY ProficientinMSWord,PowerPointandExcel.Graduatecourseworkandmastersthesisrequiredtheuseof EpiInfoandSPSSfordataanalysis.Exposuretoavarietyofculturesthroughextensiveinternationaltravel. ProficientinspokenSpanish. EDUCATION MasterofPublicHealthJanuary2009 May2010 GeorgiaStateUniversity,Atlanta,Georgia GPA:4.0 StudentLead:BikingforTransportationatGeorgiaStateUniversity P3Award:ANationalStudentDesignCompetitionforSustainabilityFocusingonPeople,Prosperity andtheplanet;epa G2009 P3 Q6 BuiltEnvironmentandEPA G2009 P3 Q3 Energy PrincipalInvestigator:JohnA.Steward,MPH MastersThesis: Anexaminationofthesocio demographiccharacteristicsandperceptions surroundingbicyclingamongstudentsatgeorgiastateuniversity. CompletedcourseworkinBiostatistics,EnvironmentalHealth,HumanToxicology,Epidemiology, ChronicDiseaseEpidemiology,IntermediateEpidemiology,HealthResearchMethods,Principalsof TobaccoControl,SocialandBehavioralAspectsofPublicHealth,andHealthCareSystems. BachelorofScienceinBiologyAugust2000 December2004 UniversityofGeorgia,Athens,Georgia GPA:3.8 Honors:HOPEScholarshiprecipientandNationalDeansList EXPERIENCE StudentGuestResearcherNovember2009 present CentersforDiseaseControlandPrevention:CommunityMeasuresTaskForce:ScienceUnit,Atlanta, Georgia Workedwithteamtobuildsituationalawarenessandformalsurveillanceofcommunityactivitiesfor preparednessandresponsetoh1n1influenza Assistedininitiating,implementingandanalyzingscientificinvestigations Completeddailytasksincluding:surveydataentry,datacoding,managementandanalysis,literature reviews,andtelephoneinterviewsforspecificstudies. OralPresentation: Don tgetcaughtwithyourpreparednesspantsdown, AnnualAmericanCamp AssociationConference,Denver,CO.,February2010. AdministrativeAssistant/AccountingSupportMay2006 September2009 BrunningandStangConstructionManagement,Inc.,Atlanta,Georgia Managedphonesystem,officesupplies,shipping,andphysicalandelectronicfilingsystem Wroteandexecutedcontractsbetweenprojectownersandsubcontractors SalesAssociateOctober2005 May2006 Swoozies,Dallas,Texas/Atlanta,Georgia Personalizedanddesignedproductsforcustomersat10differentstoresinthesoutheast PrivilegingCoordinatorMarch2005 October2005 StaffCare,Inc.,Dallas,Texas Coordinatedwithclientsandproviderstoobtainprivilegesathospitals,clinicsandothervenues Maintainedconstantcommunicationwithmyproductionteam,clients,andproviders VII

9 TableofContents ListofTables... X ListofFigures... XI ChapterI... 1 Introduction Background PurposeofStudy ResearchQuestions... 3 ChapterII... 4 LiteratureReview PhysicalActivity,EnvironmentalandPublicHealth ActiveTransportation:PublicandEnvironmentalHealthBenefits... 5 PublicHealthBenefits...5 EnvironmentalHealthBenefits BicyclingInUnitedStates Individual,andPhysicalandSocialEnvironmentalFactors PhysicalEnvironment...16 SocialEnvironment...20 RisksassociatedwithActiveTransportation BicyclingandPhysicalActivityamongCollegeStudents PhysicalActivity...22 CollegeCampusesandBicycling...23 GeorgiaStateUniversityCampus Summary ChapterIII Methodology DataSources StudyBackgroundandExplanation...26 SurveyDevelopment StudyPopulation StudyMeasures StatisticalAnalysis ChapterIV Results Socio demographicvariables PerceptionVariables Reliability...35 ModeresponseandChi squareanalysis...36 T testanalysis...42 PredictionsofBicyclingbasedonOddsRatios...42 VIII

10 ChapterV DiscussionandConclusion Discussion DemographicCharacteristics...52 PerceptionsVariables Limitations Conclusion References AppendixA Survey AppendixB DataCleaning IX

11 ListofTables Table1.Socio demographicvariables,code,andtype...31 Table2.Perceptionvariablesbycategoryandcoding...32 Table3.DemographiccharacteristicsofthestudypopulationandtheGSUstudent populationin Table4.Chi squaredanalysisofdemographiccharacteristicsassociatedwithbicyclingfor transportationatgsu...45 Table5.FrequenciesofbicyclingbehavioramongcyclistsatGSU Table6.Demographiccharacteristicsofcyclistsbyinterviewlocation Table7.Univariatebinarylogisticregressionanalysisoftheassociationbetween independentdemographicvariablesandbicyclingfortransportationatgsu Table8.Adjustedoddsratioscomputedfrommultivariatebinarylogisticregression analysisoftheassociationbetweenindependentdemographicvariablesandbicyclingfor transportationatgsu...48 Table9.Themostfrequentlyreportedresponsesandchi squareanalysisofperception variablesbycyclistsandnon cyclists...49 Table10.Scalereliabilityofperceptioncategories,BuiltEnvironment,Facilities/Support ongsucampus,socialsupportatgsu,andfuturebicyclesupportongsucampus, reportedbycronbachs salpha...50 Table11.Oddsratiosadjustedforgenderand95%confidenceintervalsofbinarylogistic regressionforperceivedbuiltenvironment,socialsupport,facilities/supportoncampus, andfuturesupportfactorsassociatedwithbicyclingtocampus...51 Table12.Overallperceptiondifferencesbetweencyclistsandnon cyclistsbasedontscores...51 X

12 ListofFigures Figure1.Theenvironmentalandpublichealthbenefitsofactivetransportation....5 Figure2.Mapsshowingthedistributionofbicycle/walkingtrips(top)andthedistribution ofadultobesity(bottom)....8 Figure3.BicycleTripsbyCountry...11 Figure4.ModeofTransportationforU.S.workers...12 Figure5.DistributionofBicycleTripsacrosstheUnitedStates Figure6.BicycletripstoworkbygenderandfortransportationbyageintheUnited States Figure7.DistributionofbicycletripsbyethnicityintheU.S Figure8.BicycleFacilitiesusedbyBicyclists:Findingsfromthe2002NationalSurveyof PedestrianandBicyclistAttitudesandBehaviors Figure9.Distributionofresponsestothevariable distanceisreasonableforbicycling stratifiedbybicyclingbehavior...37 Figure10.Distributionofresponsestothevariable bicyclingisapleasantexperience stratifiedbybicyclingbehavior...37 Figure11.Distributionofresponsestothevariable mybicyclemightbestolenonthegsu campusevenwhenproperlysecured stratifiedbybicyclingbehavior...38 Figure12.Distributionoftheresponsestothefuturesupportvariable bettersafetyand securityforbicycleparkingandstorage stratifiedbybicyclingbehavior...39 Figure13.Distributionofresponsestothevariable mybicyclemightbestolenatgsu evenwhenproperlysecured stratifiedbygender...40 Figure14.Distributionofresponsestothevariable routeisunsafeduetomotorvehicle traffic stratifiedbygender...41 Figure15.Distributionofresponsestothevariable routeisunsafeduetoroadway conditions stratifiedbygender XI

13 ChapterI Introduction 1.1 Background Theuseofbicyclingasaformoftransportationisimportanttopublichealthandto theimprovementoftheenvironmentbywayofsustainabletransportation.obesityand physicalinactivityareseriouspublichealthconcernsintheunitedstates.overtwothirds oftheadultpopulationintheu.s.donotengageintherecommendedamountofphysical activityperweekand40%donotparticipateinanyphysicalactivity(u.s.departmentof HealthandHumanServices,2000).Inadditiontophysicalinactivity,outdoorurbanair pollutionisassociatedwithnegativehealthoutcomesandbotharepartofthetop15global causesofhealthimpairment(marshall,brauer,&frank,2009). Themodeoftransportationthatindividualsusehasgreatpotentialtoeither promoteorhinderpublicandenvironmentalhealth.activemodesoftransportationare inverselyrelatedtoall causemortalityandobesity,withbicyclinggenerallyproducinga strongerrelationshipthanwalking(barengoetal.,2004;matthewsetal.,2007;tintin, Woodward,Thornley,&Ameratunga,2009;Wen&Rissel,2008)Modelshaveshownthat activetransportationcanhelptoreducethelevelsofozoneandgreenhousegasesintheair (Maibach,Steg,&Anable,2009;Woodcocketal.,2009). UtilitarianbicyclinglevelsintheUnitedStateslagbehindotherdevelopednations, withonly0.9%ofalltripsbeingmadebybicycle(liss,mcguckin,moore,&reuscher,2001; 1

14 Pucher&Renne,2003).IntheU.S.,bicyclingfortransportationratesarehigherinurban, mixed useenvironmentsettings(steele,2010).researchhasshownthatphysicaland socialenvironmentsalongwithpersonalfactorsandperceptionsareassociatedwith bicyclingfortransportation(dill,2009;frank,kerr,sallis,miles,&jimchapman,2008;de Geus,DeBourdeaudhuij,Jannes,&Meeusen,2008;Moudonetal.,2005;Pikora,Giles Corti, Bull,Jamrozik,&Donovan,2003).Anationalsurveyfoundthatuniversitycommunitiesare morelikelytousebicyclestocommutethancitydwellersand,onaverage,10%ofthe populationinuniversitytownscyclefortheircommute,comparedtoonly1%inbigcities. (FederalHighwayAdministration,1992). Traditionally,universitycampuseshaveauniqueenvironmentaldesignwhichoften discouragesmotorizedvehiclesbyrelegatingparkingtotheperipheryandconcentratesa densenetworkofdestinationsthatareeasilynegotiablebybicycle(sisson,mcclain,& Tudor Locke,2008;Balsas,2003).However,GeorgiaStateUniversity(GSU)isnota traditionalcampus.gsuisthesecondlargestuniversityinthestateandisuniquebecause ofitsdowntownlocationinabigcity.thenon traditional,downtownsettingofthe campusposesbarrierssuchasperceptionsthatdowntownstreetsandtrafficare dangerous,lackoflocationstostoreorparkbicycles,andbicyclethefttopotentialbicycle riders. GSUplanstosignificantlyexpandresidentialhousingleadingtoanincreaseof students,whichposesaneedformoreefficienttransportationaroundthecampusas downtownatlantaisalreadyhighlycongestedwithtraffic.bicyclingfortransportationisa viablealternativetodrivingandsuccessfulbicycleprogramshavebeenimplementedat EmoryUniversityandAgnesScottUniversityinAtlanta,Georgia.However,thereisvery 2

15 littleresearchaddressingbicyclingoncollegecampuses,specificallyurban,non traditional campuses. 1.2PurposeofStudy Thisstudyaimedtoaddtotheknowledgeofbicyclingonnon traditionalcollege campusesthroughaninvestigationofthebicyclingcommunityatgsu.thepurposeofthis studyistodescribetheperceptionsandattitudessurroundingbicyclingto,fromand aroundcampusatgsu.negativeperceptionsoftensurroundbicyclingfortransportation especiallyinacongesteddowntowncampusarea.thisprojectwillexplainthestudents ideas,perceptionsandknowledgeaboutbicyclingtocampusinordertoexaminewaysto effectivelyencouragebicyclingtocampus.thisprojectwilldeterminewhatthemajor barriersaretobicyclingatgsuandprovidemoreinformationabouthowtoincreasethe likelihoodofactivetransportationatgsu.thishasbothenvironmentalandpublichealth implicationsasitistiedtopollutionreductionandtophysicalhealth. 1.3ResearchQuestions 1 Howdothesocio demographiccharacteristicsandperceptionsaboutbicyclingdiffer betweencyclistsandnon cyclists? 2 WhatarethemostimportantbarrierstobicyclingfortransportationatGSU? 3

16 ChapterII LiteratureReview 2.1PhysicalActivity,EnvironmentalandPublicHealth AccordingtotheSurgeonGeneral s2010visionforahealthyandfitnation, significanthealthbenefitscanbeobtainedbyincludingmoderateamountsofphysical activityonmost,ifnotall,daysoftheweek.physicalactivitynotonlyreducestheriskof all causemortalitybutalsoimprovesmentalhealth.adultsshouldparticipateinatleast 150minutesofmoderatephysicalactivityperweekor30minutesmostdaysoftheweek inordertoobtainthesebenefits( 2008PhysicalActivityGuidelinesforAmericans:Chapter 4, 2008).Despitetheprovenbenefitsofphysicalactivity,40%ofAmericansdonot participateinanyregularphysicalactivityandovertwothirdsofadultsdonotengagein therecommendedamountofphysicalactivity(u.s.departmentofhealthandhuman Services,2000).AnestimatedtwothirdsofadultsintheU.S.areoverweightorobese (Flegal,Carroll,Ogden,&Curtin,2010). Alongwithphysicalinactivity,outdoorurbanairpollutionisassociatedwith negativehealthoutcomesandbotharepartofthetop15globalcausesofhealth impairment(marshalletal.,2009).dailymotorvehicletransportationcontributestoair pollutionandglobalwarmingthroughthereleaseofvolatileorganiccompounds(vocs), nitrogenoxides(nox),andcarbondioxide(co2)intotheair.co2accountsfor80%of greenhousegasemissionsintheu.s.andtransportationaccountsforapproximatelyone thirdofthattotal(the'carbonfootprint'ofdailytravel:nhtsbrief,2009).theu.s. 4

17 DepartmentofEnergyestimatedthatpercapitagreenhousegasemissionsarecloseto20 tonsperpersonperyear,whichaccountsforonefifthofthetotalglobalco2(2008).vocs andnoxsinteractwithsunlighttoformozone.ozoneisalungirritantandisthemost significantcontributortoatlanta,georgia sairqualityproblem(goldberg,jimchapman, Frank,Kavage,&McCann,2007).Solutionssurroundingthegrowingpollutionandobesity problemscanconvergetoachievemultiplebenefitsthroughactivetransportation. 2.2ActiveTransportation:PublicandEnvironmentalHealthBenefits Transportationmodehasthepotentialtopromoteorhinderpublichealthand environmentalhealthgoalssimultaneously.theschematicbelowgivesanoverviewof howactivetransportationcanbenefithealthandtheenvironment. Figure1.Theenvironmentalandpublichealthbenefitsofactivetransportation. PublicHealthBenefits HealthyPeople2010 sphysicalactivityandfitnessgoalwastoimprovehealth, fitness,andqualityoflifethroughdailyphysicalactivity(u.s.departmentofhealthand HumanServices,2000).Inordertoachievehigherlevelsofphysicalactivity,emphasishas beenplacedonactiveliving,whichincorporateslessstructured,moderate intensity 5

18 physicalactivityintodailyactivities.activecommutingfitswellwiththese recommendationsasitisaneasywaytoincreasephysicalactivitylevelsandmaybemore likelytobeadoptedandsustainedthanotherexerciseprograms(tintinetal.,2009; Troped,Saunders,Pate,Reininger,&Addy,2003).Ithasbeenshownthatbicycle commutingisanactivitythatdoesmeetthesephysicalactivityrecommendations(dill, 2009;Moudonetal.,2005).AstudyconductedonbicyclistsinPortland,Oregonfoundthat amajorityoftheparticipantsmettherecommendedlevelsofphysicalactivityperweek throughbicycling(dill,2009).inanotheru.s.study,moudonetal(2005)foundthat cyclistsweremorelikelytoengageinasufficientamountofvigorousphysicalactivityper weekthannon cyclists.healthypeople2010 ssection22.15specifiesthegoaltoincrease theproportionoftripsmadebybicyclingfrom0.6%in1995to2.0%in2010foradultsand from %forchildren(5 15)(U.S.DepartmentofHealthandHumanServices,2000). Multiplestudieshaveshownthepositivehealthimpactsassociatedwithbicycling (Frank,Greenwald,Winkelman,JamesChapman,&Kavage,2010;Shephard,2008;TinTin etal.,2009;wen&rissel,2008).areviewofactivecommutingandcardiovascularevent riskliteraturefoundthat,onaverage,activecommutingwasassociatedwithan11% reductionincardiovasculareventrates(tintinetal.,2009).studiesinfinlandandchina concludedthatactivecommutingwasassociatedwithreducedall causemortalityin women(barengoetal.,2004;matthewsetal.,2007).similarly,astudyincopenhagen foundthatthosewhocycledtoworkexperienceda28%lowerriskofmortality(shephard, 2008). Activetransportationhasalsobeenshowntohelpcombattheobesityepidemic.In Australia,apopulationbasedstudyfoundthatmenwhocycledtoworkweresignificantly 6

19 lesslikelytobeoverweightandobesethanthosewhodrovetowork(or=0.49;95%ci: )(Wen&Rissel,2008).Wenetal(2008)alsofoundthatofactivetransportation modes,bicyclinginparticularshowedastronginverserelationshipwithobesity.the AllianceforBikingandWalkingproducedarecentreportincludingacomparisonofthe distributionofobesitylevelsacrossthestatestothedistributionofbicycle/walkingtripsto workacrossthestates.themapsareshowninfigure2.thecomparisonfoundthatstates withthelowestlevelsofbicyclingandwalkingtoworkhadthehighestlevelsofobesity (Steele,2010). Obesityandphysicalinactivityareincreasingglobalproblemsthatalreadycostthe U.S.healthcaresystemmorethan$147billionayear(Franketal.,2010).Tounderstand thehealthbenefitsindifferentterms,theycanbeexpressedintermsofhealthcarecost savings.multiplestudiesassessinghealthcaresavingswerereviewedtocompileaportion ofthe GuidelinesforAnalysisofInvestmentsinBicycleFacilities.Althoughthevalues variedduetodifferingstudydesigns,theyallshowedapositiveassociation.thehealth savingsresultingfromphysicalactivity,measuredin10differentstudies,rangedupto $1,175perperson,peryear.Themedianannualpercapitavalueofthetenstudieswas $128(TransportationResearchBoard,2006).Additionally,increasingactivecommuting hasgreatpotentialtoreducethemanyenvironmentalburdenscausedbythetransport sector. 7

20 Figure2.Mapsshowingthedistributionofbicycle/walkingtrips(top)andthedistributionofadultobesity (bottom). (MapsusedwithpermissionfromSteele,2010) 8

21 EnvironmentalHealthBenefits Activetransportationhasthepotentialtosavefuelandreducenoiseandair pollution.inmostu.s.cities,motorvehiclesarethemainsourcesofnoiseandairpollution. TheUrbanLandInstituteconductedacomprehensivereviewofmultiplestudiesand projectedthatintheus,transportationrelatedco2emissionswillcontinuetorisedueto presenttrendsindriving,despiteanygainsresultingfromtechnologicaladvancessuchas changesinfueltypeandhybridvehicles(ewing,bartholomew,winkelman,walters,& Chen,2008).AstudybyWoodcock,etal(2009)estimatedthehealtheffectsofalternative urbanlandtransportscenariosfortwosettings:london,uk,anddelhi,india.they consideredlower emissionmotorvehicles,increasedactivetravel,andacombinationof thetwoscenarios.itwasfoundthatreductionincarbondioxideemissionsthroughan increaseinactivetravelandlessuseofmotorvehicleshadlargerhealthbenefitsper millionpopulationsinoneyearinbothcitiesthanfromincreaseduseoflower emission motorvehicles.withmotorvehiclescontributingconsiderablytoglobalwarming, alternateformsoftransportationarehighlightedandbeingpromotedasviableresources tohelpcurbtheincreaseinpollution.approximatelyonehalfofthecartripsintheu.s.are lessthanfivemilessothereisconsiderablecapacitytoreplacethesetripswithactive transport(maibachetal.,2009). Replacingtripstoschoolandworkviamotorvehiclewithactivetransportation couldhelptoreducethelevelsofozoneandgreenhousegassesintheairsothatcitiescan meetthefederalairqualitystandardsmoreconsistently.forexample,astudyintheu.s. predictedthata38%reductioninoilconsumptioncouldberealizedifrecommendeddaily 9

22 exercisewasswappedfortransportation.specificallyforbicycling,an11.9%reductionof theu.s. s1990netemissionscouldbeobserved(higgins,2005).theunitedstateshas greatpotentialtoexperiencenoticeablebenefitsfromatransitiontoalternative transportation,astheunitedstatesiscurrentlyahighlymotorvehicledependentcountry. 2.3BicyclingInUnitedStates TheUnitedStatesDepartmentofTransportationFederalHighwayAdministration (FHWA)housestheBicycleandPedestrianProgram.Theprogram sgoalsaretopromote bicycleandpedestriantransportationuse,safety,andaccessibility.eachstateis responsibleforadministeringitsownprogramandthefhwaprovidesguidanceand federalfundingwhenproposedstateprogramsmeetthefederalsurfacetransportation fundingrequirements( BicycleandPedestrianProgram PlanningandEnvironment FHWA, 2010).Whilethepotentialforbicyclingasamodeoftransportationhasbeen recognized,overall,theunitedstateshasfallenbehindotherdevelopedcountrieswhen comparingtheamountofindividualsregularlybicyclingfortransportation(dill,2009; Pucher,Dill,&Handy,2010).Figure3demonstratesthisscenariobyshowingtheshareof bicycletripsforselectcountries.eventheminimalamountofbicycleusereportedinthe U.S.isforrecreationforthemostpart,nottransportation(Lissetal.,2001). 10

23 30% 27% Percentoftripsbybicycle 25% 20% 15% 10% 5% 0% 1% 1% 1% 2% 2% 3% 3% 4% 5% 6% 8% 10% 10% 11% 18% Figure3.BicycleTripsbyCountry (GraphusedwithpermissionfromPucher,etal,2008) The2001NationalHouseholdTravelSurvey(NHTS)reportedthattherearenine millionbiketripsforallpurposesintheunitedstateseveryday.however,thatonly accountsfor0.9%ofdailytripsforallpurposesandallmodesoftransportation.ofthe ninemillionbicycletrips,approximately50%wereforsocial/recreationalpurposesand only16%ofthebicycletripswereforcommutingtowork.accordingtothe2000census, only0.4%ofadultworkersintheunitedstatestraveledtoworkviabicycle(reschovsky, 2004).Theaveragebicycletriptoworkwas2.9milesone way(lissetal.,2001;pucher& Renne,2003).ThepiechartinFigure4showsthedistributionoftransportmodesusedby workersintheu.s.accordingtothe2007americancommunitysurvey(steele,2010). Bicyclingratesalsovarybyregionofthecountry,withthePacificregion(Alaska,California, Hawaii,Oregon,andWashington)havingthehighestpercentage(1.1%)oftripsmadeby bicycle.theeastsouthcentralregion(alabama,kentucky,mississippi,andtennessee) 11

24 hadthelowestlevelofbicycling(0.4%)whiletherestofthecountryhadroughlythesame levelsofbicycling(0.7%to0.9%)(p.hu&reuscher,2004;pucher&renne,2003).these regionalvariationsaredepictedinfigure5. 3.6% 0.9% 0.4% 4.7% 2.5% 0.3% 87.6% Bicycle PublicTransporta[on Walking TaxicaborMotorcycle Car,TruckorVan WorkfromHome Othermeans Figure4.ModeofTransportationforU.S.workers. Figure5.DistributionofBicycleTripsacrosstheUnitedStates. (MapusedwiththepermissionofSteele,2010) 12

25 Multipledemographicfactorshavebeenexaminedwithrespecttoactive transportationintheunitedstates.genderhasthegreatestimpactonthemodalsplitfor bicyclingthanforanyothertransportationchoice(pucher&renne,2003).tripsby bicyclemadeup1.2%oftotaltripsmadebymalesandonly0.5%oftripsmadebyfemales (P.Hu&Reuscher,2004;Pucher&Renne,2003).Figure6showsbicyclingtripssplitby genderaccordingtothe2007americancommunitysurvey(steele,2010).in2005,au.s. studyfoundthat66%ofthe128respondentsreportingcyclingatleastonceaweekwere male(moudonetal.,2005).thesefindingsareconsistentwithinternationalstudiesfrom CanadaandAustralia,whichgenerallyfindthatcyclistsaresignificantlymorelikelytobe male(wood,lacherez,marszalek,&king,2009;garrard,rose,&lo,2008).however, Pucheretal(2008)showedthatcyclingisfairlygenderneutralincountrieswithhigh utilitarianbicyclinglevelssuchasthenetherlands,denmark,andgermany. Ageisalsoanimportantindicatorofbicyclingfortransportation.Theage distributionfoundinthe2001nhtsisshowninfigure7.in2002thenationalsurveyof BicyclistandPedestrianAttitudesandBehaviorsfoundthatpeopleage16to20rode bicyclesmoreofteninthepast30daysthananyoftheolderagegroups(royal&miller Steiger,2008).AU.S.studyfoundthatmiddle agedandyoungadultstendtobicyclemore thanolderadults(moudonetal.,2005).anactivetransportationstudyincanadafound thattheyoungestagebrackets(15 29yearsold)weresignificantlymorelikelytocycle thanmiddleagedandolderadults(butler,orpana,&wiens,2007). 13

26 4% 23% Female 77% Male 38% 58% Underage16 Age16 65 Overage65 Figure6.BicycletripstoworkbygenderandfortransportationbyageintheUnitedStates. TheAmericanCommunitySurveyfoundthatethnicitywasevenlydistributed amongcyclistsasshowninfigure8.theethnicbreakdownintheu.s.accordingtothe samesurveywas66%white,15%hispanic,12%black,4%asian,and3%other(steele, 2010).Thedistributionofbicycletripsacrossallincomelevelswasfoundtoberoughly equalshowingthatthebicyclemodesharewas0.9%forallincomeclasses,(p.hu& Reuscher,2004;Pucher&Renne,2003). 4% 2% White/nonhispanic 11% Hispanic 22% 61% Black Asian Other Figure7.DistributionofbicycletripsbyethnicityintheU.S. (Source:Steele,2010) 14

27 Carownershipandlocationhavealsobeenshowntobeindicatorsofbicyclingfor transportation.reportsfromthe2007americancommunitysurveysupportthisfinding showingthatcitieswiththehighestlevelsofbicyclingandwalkinghavethelowestcar ownershiprates.similarly,astudyinatlanta,georgiafoundhouseholdswithmore vehiclestobeassociatedwithsignificantlylessenergyexpendedfromwalking(franketal., 2010).AdifferentstudybasedinAtlanta,Georgiafoundthatallidentifiedsubgroupswere morelikelytoparticipateinactivetransportationiftheylivedinneighborhoodswith greaterresidentialdensity,streetconnectivity,andgreaterlandusemix(frank,andresen, &Schmid,2004). 2.4Individual,andPhysicalandSocialEnvironmentalFactors Inadditiontodemographiccharacteristics,numerousstudieshaveshownthe importanceofattitudes,motives,perceivedbenefitsandbarriers,self efficacyandsocial influencefortheparticipationinphysicalactivity(hoehner,brennanramirez,elliott, Handy,&Brownson,2005;Suminski,Poston,Petosa,Stevens,&Katzenmoyer,2005; Tropedetal.,2001).Multiplestudiesusesocial ecologicalmodelstoassessphysical activity(giles Corti,2006;Pikoraetal.,2003;Titze,Stronegger,Janschitz,&Oja,2007). Giles Corti(2006)usedanecologicalmodeltoexaminetherelativeinfluenceofindividual, socialenvironment,andphysicalenvironmentfactorsonarangeofphysicalactivities. Oddsratiosadjustedfordemographicfactorsshowedthatrespondentswithfavorable scoresforthethreecategories(positivecognitions,andsupportivesocialandphysical environments)wereatleasttwiceaslikelytowalkasthosewithlowscores.pikora,etal (2003)identifiedfourareasofthephysicalenvironmentthatpotentiallyinfluencebicycling fortransportation:functionality,safety,aestheticsanddestination.theseitemscanallbe 15

28 consideredpartofthebuiltenvironmentassafetyherereferstothingssuchasstreetlights andcrossingaids. PhysicalEnvironment Urbandesignershavedescribedbikeableneighborhoodsasthosecharacterizedby highpopulationdensity,mixedlanduse,highconnectivity,anddesignfeaturessuchas sidewalksandbicyclelanes(saelens,sallis,&frank,2003).findingsfromthe transportation,urbandesign,andplanningfieldssupportthehypothesisthatthebuilt environmentisassociatedwithphysicalactivity(saelensetal.,2003).manystudieshave investigatedtheroleofthebuiltenvironmentinphysicalactivityandhaveshownthat characteristicsofthebuiltenvironmentinfluencebicyclingfortransportationboth objectivelyandsubjectively(dill,2009;moudonetal.,2005;reynolds,harris,teschke, Cripton,&Winters,2009;Titzeetal.,2007,2008;Tropedetal.,2003).Astudyofbicyclists inportland,oregoninvestigatedtherolethatinfrastructureplaysinencouragingbicycling fortransportationandindicatedthatasupportiveenvironmentwithbicycleinfrastructure thataddressespeople sconcernsaboutsafetyisnecessarytoencouragebicyclingfor everydaytravel(dill,2009).themostcommonfacilitiesusedbybicyclistsaccordingtothe 2002NationalSurveyofPedestrianandBicyclistAttitudesandBehaviorsareshownin Figure9withpavedroadsbeingthemostpopular. 16

29 5.20% 2.10% 5.20% PavedRoads Sidewalks 12.80% 13.10% 13.60% 48.10% BicyclePaths Shouldersof pavedroads Bicyclelaneson roads Unpavedroads Figure8.BicycleFacilitiesusedbyBicyclists:Findingsfromthe2002NationalSurveyofPedestrianandBicyclistAttitudes andbehaviors. (Source:Royal&Miller Steiger,2008) Withrespecttofunctionalityandsafetyoffacilitiessupportingphysicalactivityand morespecificallybicyclefacilitiessuchaspathsandtrails,betteraccesstoorcreationof placesforphysicalactivity,suchasbicyclingfacilitieswillincreasephysicalactivitylevels (Librett,Yore,&Schmid,2006).Similarly,individualswithaccesstobicycletrailsaremore likelytoreportphysicalactivity(dill,2009).astudyof33largeu.s.citiesshowedthat eachadditionalmileofbicyclelaneisassociatedwithanapproximateone percentincrease intheshareofbike to worktrips(dill&carr,2003).amongaustriancitydwellersthe presenceofbikelaneconnectivitywaspositivelyassociatedwithbicyclingfor transportation(titzeetal.,2008).areviewoftheimpactoftransportationinfrastructure onbicyclingfoundthatthepresenceofbicyclefacilitiessuchason roadbicycleroutesand lanesandoff roadbicyclepathswasassociatedwiththelowestriskofinjuries(reynoldset al.,2009). Preferencesandactualbehaviorsofbicyclistshaveshownthatbicyclefacilitiesare preferable.simplestatedpreferencestudiesgenerallyfindthatpeoplepreferbicyclepaths 17

30 andlanesorindicatethatthisinfrastructurewouldencouragethemtobicycle(dill,2009). Bicyclistshavealsobeenshowntochoosealongertraveltimeinordertouseabicyclelane oroff streetpath(dill,2009;stinson&bhat,2003;tilahun,levinson,&krizek,2007). TwostudiesinMinneapolis,MNfoundthatcyclistswerewillingtotravelsignificantlyout oftheirwaytousebicyclefacilities.thefirststudyconcludedthatbicyclistswouldchoose alongerrouteifitincludedabicyclelane85%ofthetimeandtheywerewillingtoaddan additional16.3minutestoa20minutecommuteinordertouseanon streetbicyclelane (Krizek,2006).Thesecondstudyfoundthatbicyclistswerewillingtotravel,onaverage, 2.6milesoutoftheirwaytouseahigh qualityoff streetbicyclefacility(krizek,el Geneidy, &K.Thompson,2007). Aestheticsandbuiltenvironmentfeaturesotherthanbicycletrailshavecanalso effectlevelsofutilitarianbicycling.researchersfoundthatpresenceofstreetlights, enjoyablescenery,andneighborhoodsidewalksweresignificantlypositivelyassociated withincreasedminutesoftransportationphysicalactivity(p=0.05,0.03,and0.04 respectively)(tropedetal.,2003).acomparisonofnon cycliststocyclistsintheu.s. foundthatmorebikelanesandtrails,goodlightingatnight,andbicycleracksat destinationswouldhelpthembicyclemore(moudonetal.,2005).girlswhoagreedthatit wassafetowalkorjogintheirneighborhoodandwhoreportedmoretreesandinteresting thingstolookatweremorelikelytoreporthigherlevelsofphysicalactivitythanthosewho disagreed.additionally,girlswhoreportedbicyclingandwalkingtrailsintheir neighborhoodweremorelikelytoreportactivetransporttoschool(evenson,herring,& Huston,2005). 18

31 Commutedistanceisanotherphysicalenvironmentalfactoreffectingbicycling. Tropedetal(2003)foundthatincreasingdistancefromarespondents hometoanaccess pointofatrailwasnegativelyassociatedwithactivetransportation.across sectional studyofadolescentsage15 17inIrelandfoundthatdistanceisalsoaperceivedbarrierto activelycommutingtoschool,showingthatdistanceswithin2.5milesareachievablefor adolescentwalkerandcyclist(nelson,foley,o'gorman,moyna,&woods,2008).degeus etal(2008)foundthatwhenestimatingthetimetheywouldspendgoingtodestinationsby bicycle,non cyclistsgenerallyalwaysestimatedthetimeaslongerthanthecyclists.this findingcouldimplythatnon cyclistshaveanexaggeratedperceptionofthetimeitwould taketomakeeverydaytripsbybicycleandthereforecreatingabarriertobicyclingfor transportation. Inadditiontofacilitiesanddistance,weatherisoftenconsideredwhenbicyclingfor transportation.acanadianstudyfoundthatincreasedprecipitationanddaysoffreezing temperaturesweresignificantlyassociatedwithdecreasedutilitariancycling. Interestingly,utilitariancyclingamongstudentswasnotsignificantlyassociatedwith increasedprecipitationandwasonlyslightlysignificantlyassociatedwithincreaseddays withfreezingtemperatures(winters,friesen,koehoorn,&teschke,2007).however, theseresultswereconfinedtocanada.pucher,etal(2006)comparedcanadianbicycling tobicyclingintheu.s.andfoundthatbicyclingratesincanadaarehigherdespitetheir loweryear roundtemperatures.also,wheninvestigatingaveragetemperaturesacrossthe statescomparedtostatebicyclingrates,montanaandalaskawereamongthestateswith thelowesttemperatures,yetwerealsoamongthestateswiththehighestlevelsofbicycling (Steele,2010). 19

32 SocialEnvironment Theassociationbetweensocialenvironmentsandphysicalactivityhasbeenstudied andshowntobesignificant(degeusetal.,2008;titzeetal.,2007;tropedetal.,2003; Wendel Vos,Droomers,Kremers,Brug,&vanLenthe,2007).Arecentreviewof47 publicationsfoundsocialsupporttobeconvincinglyassociatedwithphysicalactivity (Wendel Vosetal.,2007).Socialenvironmentfactorsmayincludeitemssuchas: Presenceofpeersbicycling Presenceofabicyclingpartner Encouragementfromclosefriendsorfamily Supportfromclosefriendsorfamilythroughbicyclingtogether(Accompaniment) Supportfromclosefriendsorfamilythroughbicyclingseparately(Modeling) AstudyofuniversitystudentsinAustriafoundthatstudentswhoreportedhaving friendswhocycletotheuniversityweremorethantwiceaslikelytocyclethanthosewho didnothavefriendscyclingtotheuniversity(titzeetal.,2007).in2008,titzeetalfound thatsocialsupport,specificallyencouragement,modeling,andpeerbicycling,was significantlypositivelyrelatedtobicyclingfortransportationamongadults.degeusetal (2008)reportedsimilarfindingswiththosereportingaccompanimentbeingroughlytwice aslikelytobicyclefortransportationthanthosenotreportingaccompaniment. RisksassociatedwithActiveTransportation Bicyclingfortransportationdoesintroducehealthrisksthroughinjuriesand exposuretopollution.theserisksareamajorbarriertobicyclingfortransportation, especiallyinmotorvehicledependentdevelopedcountries(shephard,2008).statistics showthattheunitedstatesisfarlesssafeforbicycliststhanotherdevelopedcountries. 20

33 Between2002and2005intheUS,theaverageofbicyclistfatalitieswas5.8per100million kilometersbicycledversus1.7ingermany,1.5indenmark,and1.1inthenetherlands indicatingthatbicyclingisoverfivetimesmoredangerousintheu.s.(pucher&buehler, 2008).TheNetherlands,Germany,andDenmarkhavemuchhigherlevelsofutilitarian bicycling(27%,10%,and18%respectively)whencomparedtotheu.s.(1%),makingthe abovecomparisonmuchmoredramatic(pucher&buehler,2008). Perceivedsafetyshouldnotbeoverlooked,asitisequallyimportantasactualsafety documentedbyitemssuchascrashincidentreports.cho,etal(2009)foundthatlow densityandnon mixedlanduseincreasedindividualsperceptionofcrashrisk.when comparingtheperceivedcrashrisklevelstotheactualcrashrates,thisstudyfoundthatthe increasedperceptionofriskandunfriendlyenvironmentreducedtheactualcrashratesas aresultofbehavioralchanges. Otherstudies(Franketal.,2010;Jacobsen,2003;Steele,2010)haveconsistently indicatednegativecorrelationsbetweenlevelsoftransportationphysicalactivityand bicycle/pedestrianfatalityrates.thesestudiesconsistentlyshowthatcitieswithhigher levelsofutilitarianbicycleusegenerallyhavelowerlevelsofbicyclefatalityrates.this couldsignifythatwithbicycling,thereissafetyinnumbers. Bicycleparkingsafetyisalsoaconcern.Over1.5millionbicyclesarestoleninthe U.S.eachyearaccordingtothestolenbicycleregistry(Steele,2010).In2006,asurveyof approximately1,800bicyclistsinsanfranciscofoundthatthenumberonereasonforno bicyclingmorewasthefearofbicycletheft(sanfranciscobicyclecoalition,2006). ConsistentresultswereshowninanAustrianstudyconductedbyTitze,etal.(2007)that 21

34 foundthatstudentswhowerenotconcernedwithbicycletheftweremorethantwiceas likelytobicycleregularlytocampusthanthosewhoconsideredbicycletheftasadanger. 2.5BicyclingandPhysicalActivityamongCollegeStudents PhysicalActivity Overall,mostcollegestudentsfailtoparticipateintherecommendedamountof physicalactivityandfemalestendtobelessactivethanmales(reed&ainsworth,2007). Accordingtothespring2008NationalCollegeHealthAssessment,roughly50%ofmale and57%offemalecollegestudentsreportedthattheydidnotparticipateinvigorousor moderateexerciseonatleastthreeoftheprevioussevendays(americancollegehealth Association,2008).Supportiveresultshavebeenconsistentlyreported(Keating,Guan, Piñero,&Bridges,2005;Reed&Ainsworth,2007).Whilethesenumbershavebeenslightly reducedsince2000(57%:menand61%:women),studentsarestillnotmeetingthe recommended30minutesofmoderatephysicalactivitymostdaysoftheweek.ametaanalysisofcollegestudents physicalactivityhighlightedthatcollegestudentsweremore activeonweekdaysasopposedtootheradultpopulationswhoweremoreactiveonthe weekends(keatingetal.,2005).thisfindingdifferentiatesthephysicalactivitypatternsof collegestudentsfromthoseinotheradultpopulations,indicatingthatinterventionsto increaseoradvocatephysicalactivityshoulddifferbetweenthesegroups(keatingetal., 2005).Bicyclingoncampuscouldhelptodecreasethelevelsofinactivityamongcollege students. 22

35 CollegeCampusesandBicycling Collegecampusesaretraditionallyverydistinct,self containedcommunities. Traditionallyuniversitycampuseshaveauniqueenvironmentaldesignthatoften discouragesmotorizedvehiclesbyrelegatingparkingtotheperipheryandconcentratinga densenetworkofdestinationsthatareeasilynegotiablebybicycle(sissonetal.,2008; Balsas,2003).Ruralcampusestendtoexhibithorizontalconnectivity,meaningthatthese campusesaregenerallylargeandspreadout.whereas,urbancampusestendtoexhibit verticalconnectivity,meaningthatthecollegeishousedinfewerbuildingsandisnotas spreadoutasruralcampuses(balsas,2003).promotionofsustainabletransportationon collegecampuseshasthepotentialnotonlytobenefitthecampusanditssurroundingsbut alsotohavewidespread,longtermaffectsontransportationhabitsandenvironmental awarenessasstudentsmovefromcollegetootherareasofsociety(balsas,2003). Universitycommunitiesaremorelikelytoridebicyclesfortransportationandin universitytowns,over10%oftheresidentscyclefortheircommute,comparedto1%in bigcities(federalhighwayadministration,1992).collegestudentscycleatmuchhigher ratesthanthegeneralpopulation(pucher,komanoff,&schimek,1999).in2003,a CanadianstudyusingtheCanadianCommunityHealthSurveytoinvestigateindividualand citylevelfactorsinfluencingutilitarianbicyclingratesinurbansettingsdiscoveredthat 7.9%oftheurbanpopulationreportedbicyclinginatypicalweekandstudentsweremore likelytocycle(17.2%)thannon students(6.0%).evidencefromanothercanadianstudy foundthatrespondentswhowerecurrentlyenrolledinschoolweresignificantlymore likelytobicyclefortransportation(butleretal.,2007). 23

36 Urbancampuseshavebeenshowntobesuccessfullybicyclefriendlyincludingthe UniversityofWisconsin,Madison;UniversityofBoulder,Colorado;StanfordUniversity; UniversityofCalifornia,Davis;UniversityofOregon,Eugene;andUniversityofWashington, Seattle(Balsas,2003).Throughmodestinvestments,theUniversityofCalifornia Santa BarbaraandDaviscampuseshaveincreasednon motorizedmodesoftransportationto over50%(toor&havlick,2004).emoryuniversityandagnesscottuniversityinatlanta, Georgiahaverecentlyimplementedbicycleprogramsthatofferbicyclesatdeeply discountedrates,incorporatebicycleshareavailability,bicyclerepairfacilities,andbicycle information. GeorgiaStateUniversityCampus GeorgiaStateUniversity,foundedin1913,istheSoutheast'sleadingurbanresearch institution,locatedindowntownatlanta.itisonthelistofthetop100publicuniversities fordoctoraldegreesawarded.morethan250fieldsofstudyareofferedthroughsome55 accrediteddegreeprogramsatthebachelor's,master s,specialistanddoctorallevels.asof fall2009,approximately30,000undergraduateandgraduatestudentswereenrolledat GSU. ThedowntownGSUcampusisthesecondlargestcampusinthestate.While universitycommunitiesaremorelikelytocommutebybicyclethancitydwellers,the downtownlocationofgsuposesuniquechallengesforthosewhobicyclefor transportationandtopromotingbicyclingfortransportation(pucheretal.,1999).gsu planstosignificantlyexpandresidentialhousingleadingtoanincreaseofstudents,which posesaneedformoreefficienttransportationaroundthecampus. 24

37 2.6Summary Bicyclingfortransportationhasbeenhighlightedinrecentresearchasaviable alternateformoftransportation.thishasbecomeanimportantresearchtopicbecause activetransporthasbeenshowntosignificantlyimprovethehealthofindividualsaswell astheenvironment.withphysicalinactivity,obesityandpollutionontherise,researchers worldwidehavebeeninvestigatingalternateformsoftransportation.manydeveloped countriessuchasdenmarkandthenetherlandshavebeensuccessfulinreplacingcartrips withbicycletrips.whileitisimperativeforcitiesaroundtheu.s.tolooktoforeign countriesasaresourceonincreasingbicyclingfortransportation,morenational investigationsareneeded,specificallyaddressingbicyclingoncollegecampuses.ithas beenshownthatthoselivinginurbanareasaremorelikelytocyclethanthoselivingin suburbanorruralareas.ithasalsobeenshownthatcollegecommunitiesaremorelikely tocyclethancities.verylittleresearchhasaddressedthecombinationofthesescenarios;a collegecampuslocatedinthecenterofanurbancityenvironment.thisstudyaimedtoadd totheknowledgeofbicyclingonnon traditionalcollegecampusesthroughaninvestigation ofthebicyclingcommunityatgsu. 25

38 ChapterIII Methodology 3.1DataSources StudyBackgroundandExplanation Across sectionalstudywasconductedinthefallof2009atgeorgiastateuniversity. ThesurveywascreatedandadministeredaspartoftheBikingforTransportationatGSU researchproject.theunitedstatesenvironmentalprotectionagency(epa),throughthe 7 th AnnualP3Awards:ANationalStudentDesignCompetitionforSustainability,provided supportforthesurvey.surveyswereconductedaspartofalargeroverallbicycling awarenesscampaignonthecampus.thegoalofthesurveywastoinvestigatestudent perceptionsandattitudessurroundingutilitarianbicycleuse.thesurveywasapprovedby theinstitutionalreviewboardofgsu(h10127). SurveyDevelopment ThequestionnaireusedbyTitze,etal(2007)inthe Environmental,Social,and PersonalCorrelatesofCyclingforTransportationinaStudentPopulation studywas adaptedtobettersuitgsu slocationandpopulation.thesurveywasoriginallygenerated fromalistofpotentiallyimportantbuiltenvironment,socialenvironment,andpersonal itemsforcyclingbasedonareviewofbicyclingstudiesandbehaviorchangemodels(titze etal.,2007).thefinalinstrumentincludedquestionsconcerningsocio demographic characteristics,perceivedhealth,transportationbehavior,perceivedphysicalenvironment 26

39 forbicycling,bicycleparkingfacilitiesatgsu,perceivedsocialenvironment,general perceptionoftheneighborhood,andperceivedbarrierstobicyclingfortransportation. Theseitemsweremeasuredonafour point,likert typescalerangingfromstrongly disagreetostronglyagree.inthepreviousstudy,thetest retestreliabilityofitemswas examinedandshowedacceptableagreementwithspearman scorrelationcoefficients rangingfrom (Titzeetal.,2007).ThesurveycanbefoundinAppendixA. 3.2StudyPopulation Non randomclustersamplingofcoursesectionsatgsuidentifiedparticipantsfor thissurvey.instructorsoftheundergraduateperspectivescoursesandselectgraduate courseswereaskedtovolunteertohavehisorherclassesparticipateinthesurvey. Interviewswerecarriedoutinallclasseswheretheinstructorvolunteered.Agroup administrationstrategywasusedtoadministerthesurveysinlectures.additionally,grab samplingofcyclistsatbicycleracksaroundcampuswasusedtoidentifyasmallportionof thesample.allstudentsvoluntarilyparticipatedinthesurvey.thedatawerecollectedin hardcopyandenteredintodataentryformscreatedinepiinfo. 3.3StudyMeasures Table1liststhesocio demographicvariablesused,theirfinalcoding,andtype.the four pointlikert typescalethattheperceptionvariablesweremeasuredonwasconverted toafive pointscaletoincorporatethe Idon tknow option(previouslycodedto77).this optionwastreatedasaneutraloptionandwasrecodedtofallbetweenthedisagreeand agreechoices.additionally,duetoquestionwording,thescaleforeightofthesevariables 27

40 wasreversedsothatbicyclingwasfavorable.thesevariablesareshownintable2. SpecificcodinginformationisdetailedinAppendixB. 3.4StatisticalAnalysis AllcollecteddatawasmanuallyenteredintoEpiInfo,exportedtoMicrosoftExcel, andthentransferredtospss17.0foranalysis.descriptivestatisticsofthevariables gender,major,andagewerecalculatedforthestudypopulationandusedtodetermineits representativenessoftheentiregsupopulation.twogroupswereidentified,cyclistand non cyclist,usingtheresponsetotheoutcomevariable, Sincethebeginningofthecurrent semester,haveyouusedabicyclefortransportationto,from,oraroundthegsucampusat leastonce?.thosewhoansweredyes(1)weregroupedascyclistandthosewho answeredno(0)weregroupedasnon cyclist.theremainderofthedataanalysis comparesthesetwogroups. Descriptivestatisticsofthecyclistvs.non cyclistgroupswereexaminedforthe variables:age,gender,major,healthstatus,exerciselevel,modeoftransportation,bicycle access,andbicyclingbehavior.chi squaredtestswerecarriedouttodetermineifthere weresignificantdifferencesbetweennon cyclistsandcyclistsforthesevariables.an independentsamplest testassumingequalvariancesusingapooledestimateofthe variancewasperformedtodeterminewhetherthemeanagesofthetwogroupswere equal. Bicyclingbehaviorcharacteristicsofthecyclistgroupweredescribedinorderto quantifythefrequenciesanddurationofbicyclecommutes.descriptivestatisticsofcyclists byinterviewlocation(lecturevs.bicyclerack)werealsogeneratedforthevariables:age, gender,major,healthstatus,exerciselevel,modeoftransportation,andbicyclingbehavior. 28

41 Oddsratiosweregeneratedusingunivariatelogisticregressiontoexaminethe associationbetweensocio demographicvariables(gender,major,healthstatus,and exerciselevel)andbicycling.multivariatelogisticregressionwasusedtoexaminemultiple variablestogetherandtherelationshipwithbicycling. Cronbach salphareliabilitycoefficientswerecalculatedfromeachsetofvariables makingupthefourperceptioncategories(builtenvironment,facilities/supportatgsu, SocialSupport,andFutureSupportatGSU)todeterminehowreliablytheseitemsmeasure theircategories.alphavaluesrangefromzerotooneandthecloserthevalueistoone,the morereliablethescale.thefollowingisthegenerallyacceptedruleofthumbwhen interpretingcronbach salpha(george&mallery,2002): >0.9 Excellent >0.8 Good >0.7 Acceptable >0.6 Questionable >0.5 Poor <0.5 Unacceptable Moderesponsesofcyclistsandnon cyclistsforeachperceptionvariablewere examined.additionally,chisquareanalysiswascarriedouttodetermineifthedistribution ofresponsefrequenciesalongthefive pointlikertscalevariedsignificantlybetweenthe twogroups.bonferroni adjustedp valuecutoffswereusedtomaintainα=0.05(built Environment:p ,Facilities/SupportatGSUandFutureSupportforBicycling: p ,andSocialSupport:p 0.013). 29

42 Inaddition,usingallresponsesforcyclistandnon cyclistgroups,arithmeticmean scoreswerecalculatedforeachperceptioncategory;builtenvironment,facilities/support atgsu,socialsupport,andfuturebicyclingsupport.theywerethencomparedbetween thegroups.independentsamplest testswereperformedtodeterminewhethertheoverall meanscoresweresignificantlydifferentbetweennon cyclistsandcyclists.additionally, genderadjustedoddsratioswerecalculatedusingmultivariatebinarylogisticregression analysistopredictbicyclingforeachindividualperceptionvariable. Barchartsweregeneratedasexamplestovisualizethedistributiondifferences betweencyclistsandnon cyclistsforselectedvariables: Distanceisreasonableforbicycling Bicyclingisapleasantexperience Bicyclemightbestolenevenwhenproperlysecured BettersafetyandsecurityforbicycleparkingonGSU scampus Additionally,responsedistributionsforsafetyvariables(unsafeduetoroadwayconditions, unsafeduetomotorvehicletraffic,andbicyclemightbestolenevenwhenproperly secured)werevisualizedonbarchartsbygender.thisstepwascarriedoutduetothe extensiveliteratureshowingmalestobemorelikelytobicyclethanfemalesandfemalesto bemoreconcernedwithsafetythanmales. 30

43 31 Table1.Socio demographicvariables,code,andtype. *Outcomevariable Variable Coding Type Gender 1=Male 2=Female Categorical Age Continuous Major 1=CollegeofArtsandSciences 2=CollegeofEducation 3=CollegeofHealthandHuman Services 4=Business/Policyrelateddisciplines 5=Uncertain Categorical HealthStatus 1=Excellent/VeryGood 2=Good/Fair/Poor Categorical ExerciseLevel 0=NotActive 1=ModeratelyActive 2=Active Categorical Formsoftransportationtoandfrom GSU: MotorVehicle Motorcycle/Scooter Bicycle PublicTransportation GSUPantherShuttleBus Foot/wheelchair 0=no 1=yes Categorical AccesstoaBicycle 0=no 1=yes Nominal Bicycleforfun Fall,2009 0=no 1=yes Nominal Bicyclefortransportation Fall,2009 0=no 1=yes Nominal BicyclefortransportationonGSU campus Fall,2009* 0=no 1=yes Nominal Duringpast7days,howmanydidyou bicyclefortransportationongsu campus? 1=0days 2=1 2days 3=3 7days Categorical Averagetimespentbicyclingonthose days? 1=0 20minutes 2=21=40minutes 3=41 60minutes 4=>60minutes Categorical LiveinGSUhousing 0=no 1=yes Nominal

44 Table2.Perceptionvariablesbycategoryandcoding. BuiltEnvironment 1. Distanceisreasonable 2. Pollutionlevelislow 3. Therearelotsoftrees,gardens,parks,orinterestingfeatures 4. Bicyclingisapleasantexperience WhereIlivenow: 5. Thereisabusstoportrainwithinareasonablebicyclingdistance 6. Isagoodneighborhoodforridingabicycle 7. Routeishilly 8. Unsafeduetomotorvehicletraffic 9. Unsafeduetoroadwayconditions 10. Havetotakedetoursfrommostdirectrouteinordertousebikepaths,lanes,or streetsmoresuitedforbicycles 11. Noiselevelishigh 12. Manyhouses,buildingsorotherpropertiesindisrepairorvacant 13. Weatheroftenmakesbicyclingdifficultorunpleasant Code 1=stronglydisagree 2=somewhatdisagree 3=Idon tknow 4=somewhatagree 5=stronglyagree 1=stronglyagree 2=somewhatagree 3=Idon tknow 4=somewhatdisagree 5=stronglydisagree Facilities/SupportatGSU 1. Thereareenoughbicycleracks 1=stronglydisagree 2. Bicycleracksareinconvenientlocations 2=somewhatdisagree 3. Bicycleracksareeasytofind 3=Idon tknow 4. Icanfindinformationaboutbicycling(safety,repairs,properlysecuring,and parking) 4=somewhatagree 5=stronglyagree 5. Icanfindaplacetorepairmybicycle 6. Bicyclemightbestolenevenifproperlysecured 1=stronglyagree 2=somewhatagree 3=Idon tknow 4=somewhatdisagree 5=stronglydisagree SocialEnvironmentatGSU 1. MyGSUfriendsridebicycles 2. Bicyclingfortransportationisconsideredcoolamongmyfriends 3. IknowthenameofonebicycleorganizationinAtlanta 4. IknowwheretogetinformationaboutbicycleroutesaroundAtlanta Futuresupportforbicycling 1. Bicycleracksoncampusthatallowparkinginlocationsthataremoreconvenient 2. EducationprogramsaboutbicyclingtoandfromGSUcampus 3. InformationaboutroutesforbicyclingtoandfromGSU 4. FacilityontheGSUcampustogethelpwithminorbicyclerepairs 5. BettersafetyandsecurityforbicycleparkingandstorageareasonGSUcampus 6. Bicyclesavailabletousebystudents,staff,orfacultyatlittleornocost 1=stronglydisagree 2=somewhatdisagree 3=Idon tknow 4=somewhatagree 5=stronglyagree Code 1=stronglydisagree 2=somewhatdisagree 3=Idon tknow 4=somewhatagree 5=stronglyagree 32

45 ChapterIV Results 4.1Socio demographicvariables ThesurveywasadministeredfromOctober21,2009toNovember23,2009and included314studentsafterthosewhodidnotsigntheconsentformwereremovedfrom thedataset.thegroupwas60%(n=189)femaleandanoverwhelmingmajority(n=163, 52.6%)ofthestudentsreportedmajorsofferedintheCollegeofArtsandSciences.The sampleconsistedof32studentswhowerecyclistsasdefinedinthemethodssection, makingup11.1%ofthesample.accordingtodatafromthefallof2009,30,431students wereenrolledatgsu.likethestudysample,roughly60%werefemale,themeanagewas 23,andamajorityofthestudents(43.4%)wereenrolledintheCollegeofArtsand Sciences.Whenlookingatthesedemographics,thestudysampleappearstobesomewhat representativeofthegeneralpopulation.initialdemographicsofthegroupaswellassome demographicsfromthegeneralpopulationareshownintable3. Inordertobetterunderstanddifferencesbetweenthepopulationsthatdidanddid notbicycletogsufortransportation,associationswereassessedandcomparedbetween thetwogroups.shownintable4aretheresultsofthecomparisonincludingstatistical analysisforeachfactor.thecyclistgroupwasoverwhelminglymale(81.3%)whilethe non cyclistgroupwasonly35%male.achi squaredtestshowedasignificantdifferencein genderbetweencyclistandnon cyclists(χ 2 =25.59,p=<0.001).Themeanagesofcyclists 33

46 andnon cyclistswerealsosignificantlydifferentwithcyclistsbeingonaverage,3years older.thedistributionofreportedhealthstatusesandexerciselevelsweresignificantly differentbetweennon cyclistsandcyclists.asignificantdifferencewasalsoobservedfor thevariablesmodeoftransportation,accesstobicycle,bicycleforfun,andbicyclefor transportation.whiletheseobservationswereexpected,itisimportanttonotethatof non cyclists,2.5%reportedusingabicycleasaformoftransportationtoandfromgsu; however,thisquestionwasnotspecifictoridingabicycleinthefallof2009.additionally, 44%reportedhavingaccesstoabicycle,20.7%reportedbicyclingforfuninfallof2009 and6.2%reportedbicyclingfortransportationinfallof2009.however,here,bicyclingfor transportationwasnotspecifictothegsucampus. Inordertoquantifythebicyclingbehaviorsofthecyclists,descriptivestatistics werecalculatedandareshownintable5.cyclistswereaskedtorecallhowmanydaysout oftheprevioussevendaystheybicycledto,from,oraroundgsu.amajority(61.3%) reportedbicyclingthreetosevendays.mostofthecyclists(73.3%)reportedbicycle commutesof40minutesorless.onlyonecyclistreportedhavingaround tripcommuteof greaterthan60minutes. Duetodifferingsamplestrategiestocapturecyclistsasdiscussedinthemethods, demographiccharacteristicsofthecyclistsbyinterviewlocation(bicyclerackandlecture) wereassessedasshownintable6.fifteenofthecyclistswereinterviewedatbicycleracks andseventeenwerecapturedthroughthelectureinterviews.themeanageofthose interviewedatbicycleracks(m=30)wasgreaterthanthatofthoseinterviewedinlectures (m=23).cyclistsinterviewedintheclassroomsweredistributedmoreevenlyamongthe collegesthanthoseinterviewedatbicycleracks. 34

47 Univariatebinarylogisticregressionmodelswereusedtoexaminetheeffectofthe independentdescriptivecharacteristics(gender,major,healthstatus,andexerciselevel) onbicycling.theresultsforthisanalysisareshownintable7.theanalysisshowedthat malesweresignificantlymorelikelytobecycliststhanfemales(or=8.04,95%ci: ).Studentsreportingexcellent/verygoodhealthstatuswereapproximatelythree timesmorelikelytobecycliststhanthosereportingagood/fair/poorhealthstatus(95% CI: ). Adjustedoddsratioswerethencalculatedfortheindependentvariables(gender, major,healthstatus,andexerciselevel)usingmultivariatebinarylogisticregressionand areshownintable8.thisanalysisshowedthatafteradjustingforallothervariablesin themodel,genderwastheonlydemographicvariablethatremainedsignificantly associatedwithbicycling(or=6.819,95%ci: ). 4.2 PerceptionVariables ThissectiondetailstheanalysisofperceptionsofGSUandthesurroundingbuilt environment. Reliability Table10showstheresultsfromthereliabilitytests.Asdiscussedinthemethods section,cronbach salpha,ameasureofreliability,wasusedtoanalyzethereliabilityofthe studentresponses.twoofthecategories,builtenvironmentandfacilities/supportongsu campus,hadquestionablereliabilitycoefficients,0.61and0.63respectively.allofthe othercategoriesratedatorabove0.7suggestingreasonablereliability.althoughthe individualcategoriesdidnotallreportascoreof0.70(standard)orgreater;collectively, 35

48 theoverallscale,composedof29items,wasfoundtohaveanacceptablereliability coefficientofα=0.74. ModeresponseandChi squareanalysis Moderesponsesofcyclistsandnon cyclistsforeachperceptionvariableareshown intable9.additionally,chisquareanalysiswascarriedouttodetermineifthedistribution ofresponsesvariedsignificantlybetweenthetwogroups.inordertocomparethemode responseforfouroftheperceptionvariablesbetweencyclistsandnon cyclists,frequencies ofresponsesweregraphed.thefollowingvariablesweregraphed: thedistanceis reasonableforbicycling, bicyclingisapleasantexperience, mybicyclemightbestolen onthegsucampus, and bettersafetyandsecurityforbicycleparkingandstorage. Thesevariableswereselectedfromthevariablesthathadsignificantlydifferent distributionsofresponsesbasedonthechisquareanalysis. Theanalysisofresponsefrequencies,includingmodes,showthatcyclistsandnoncyclistshadsimilarresponsefrequencieswithrespecttothebuiltenvironmentfactors exceptwiththeirperceptionsofdistance,bicyclingasapleasantexperience,andhouses and/orbuildingsindisrepair.theresponsedistributionofthedistancevariableisshown infigure9.amajorityofthenon cyclistsperceivethattheircommuteistoogreattouse cyclingasaformoftransportation.chi squareanalysisresultsshowthatthedistribution ofresponsesforeachiteminthiscategorywassignificantlydifferentbetweenthetwo groups.whilenon cyclistssomewhatagreedandcyclistsstronglyagreedthatbicycling wasapleasantexperience,thedistributionofthereportedresponseswassignificantly different,χ 2 =22.022,p=<0.001asseeninFigure10.Bothgroupshadthesamemode response,somewhatagree,forthevariable therearemanyhouses,buildings,orother 36

49 37 propertiesindisrepairorvacantontheroutetogsu. However,thedistributionof responsesbetweenthegroupswassignificantlydifferent,χ 2 =10.725,p= Figure9.Distributionofresponsestothevariable distanceisreasonableforbicycling stratifiedby bicyclingbehavior. Figure10.Distributionofresponsestothevariable bicyclingisapleasantexperience stratifiedby bicyclingbehavior..0% 10.0% 20.0% 30.0% 40.0% 50.0% 60.0% 70.0% 80.0% no yes BicycleforTransportaZonatGSU StronglyDisagree SomewhatDisagree Idon'tknow SomewhatAgree StronglyAgree.0% 10.0% 20.0% 30.0% 40.0% 50.0% 60.0% 70.0% no yes BicycleforTransportaZonatGSU StronglyDisagree SomewhatDisagree Idon'tknow SomewhatAgree StronglyAgree

50 Non cyclistsreportednotknowingaboutthemajorityoftheitemsinthe facilities/supportongsucampuscategory;however,theydidsomewhatagreethattheir bicyclewouldbestolen,asdidcyclists.althoughthemoderesponsewithrespecttobicycle theftwassomewhatagreeforeachgroup,thedistributionofresponseswassignificantly differentasshowninfigure % 30.0% 25.0% 20.0% 15.0% 10.0% 5.0% StronglyAgree SomewhatAgree Idon'tknow SomewhatDisagree StronglyDisagree.0% no yes BicycleforTransportaZonatGSU Figure11.Distributionofresponsestothevariable mybicyclemightbestolenonthegsucampuseven whenproperlysecured stratifiedbybicyclingbehavior. PerceptionsofsocialsupportatGSUwereoppositebetweencyclistsandnoncyclistswithcyclistsbeinginagreementwithallofthesocialsupportfactorsasshownin Table9.Additionally,thedistributionsofresponsesweresignificantlydifferentbetween thetwogroupsforeachiteminthiscategory. Cyclistsandnon cyclistshadsimilarmoderesponses,somewhatorstronglyagree, throughoutthefuturebicyclesupportatgsucategory.however,thedistributionsof 38

51 responsesforthevariables: moreconvenientbicycleracks, facilityoncampustoget minorrepairs, and bettersafetyandsecurityforbicycleparkingandstorage, were significantlydifferentbetweenthetwogroups(table9).figure12displaysthe distributionofresponsesrelatedtobettersafetyandsecurityforbicycleparking.over 80%ofthecycliststronglyagreedthatthiswouldmakecyclingmorelikelywhileroughly 45%ofnon cyclistsstronglyagreedthatthiswouldmakeitmorelikelythatheorshe bicyclefortransportation. 90.0% 80.0% 70.0% 60.0% 50.0% 40.0% 30.0% 20.0% 10.0% StronglyDisagree SomewhatDisagree Idon'tknow SomewhatAgree StronglyAgree.0% no yes BicycleforTransportaZonatGSU Figure12.Distributionoftheresponsestothefuturesupportvariable bettersafetyandsecurityfor bicycleparkingandstorage stratifiedbybicyclingbehavior. Moderesponsebygender:safety Inordertoinvestigatedifferencesinsafetyperceptionsbygender,thedistribution ofmoderesponsesweregraphedandareshowninfigures13 15.Thethreeperception variablesassessedwere:bicycletheft,unsafemotorvehicletraffic,andunsaferoadway 39

52 conditions.chi squareanalysisshowsthatthedistributionoftheseresponseswere significantlydifferent(χ 2 =21.727,p=<0.001;χ 2 =10.194,p=0.037;χ 2 =13.649,p=0.009, respectively).thegraphsshowthat,onaverage,femalesperceivedhigherrisk surroundingbicyclingwithrespecttomotorvehicletraffic,roadwayconditions,andbicycle theftthanmales. 40.0% 35.0% 30.0% 25.0% 20.0% 15.0% 10.0% StronglyAgree SomewhatAgree Idon'tknow SomewhatDisagree StronglyDisagree Figure13.Distributionofresponsestothevariable mybicyclemightbestolenatgsuevenwhenproperly secured stratifiedbygender. 5.0%.0% male female χ 2 =21.727,p=<