External link: http://amonline.trb.org/63532-trb-1.3393340/t026-1.3403500/290-1.3403688/17-00697-1.3403692/17-00697-1.3403693?qr=1

Publication date: January 1, 2017

Capsule summary: Compare the frequency of bicycling and population characteristics across rural, small, and low-density (RSLD) places in the United States.

Author(s): McAndrews, Carolyn; Okuyama, Kenta; Litt, Jill

Publisher(s): Transportation Research Board

Definition: Modeling travel demand
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Definition: Examining the public health impacts of transportation
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Definition: Planning practices for pedestrians, bikes and transit
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Definitions: The movement of people
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Definitions: Transportation by bicycle
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Definition: Article from an academic or professional journal
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Description: For bicycling advocacy programs to be successful, they must be sensitive to the conditions of the environment in which they are to be implemented. However, many of these programs and policies are created with densely-populated urban areas in mind, and the lessons derived from such areas may be less applicable in rural, small, and low-density (RSLD) places. In this study, the authors used binary logistic regression to compare the frequency of bicycling and the population characteristics across urban and RSLD places.

Objectives: In this study, researchers investigated the hypothesis that bicycling is a primarily urban activity. Through the use of data from the 2009 National Household Travel Survey (NHTS), which captures a wide range of RSLD environments as well as both utilitarian and recreational bike trips, the researchers used binary logistic regression to compare the frequency of bicycling and the population characteristics of bicyclists using two different definitions of urban-rural continua.

Findings: Researchers found that bicycling is primarily, though not exclusively, an urban activity. However, when comparing population characteristics, they found that women and youth were more likely to bicycle in RSLD places than in urban places. They also found that some particular types of RSLD environments, such as those with significant recreational economies and retirement communities, experienced a greater prevalence of bicycling.

Recommendations: While many of the most popular bicycling policies, such as Complete Streets policies and the promotion of bicycle commuting, are more targeted toward densely-populated urban cores, an urban-focused perspective could limit the success of bicycle initiatives in areas that lack those characteristics. Providing empirical evidence about bicycling patterns in RSLD places will enable RSLD communities to develop strategies for the promotion of active transportation and multimodal infrastructure that are uniquely suited for the characteristics of their built environments.

Research Theme: Planning for Pedestrians, Bikes, and Transit, Public Health, Travel Demand Modeling

Community Type: Rural

Transportation Mode: Bicycle, Personal

Planning Scope:

Organization Type:

Planning Subject: Analysis, Evaluation and Assessment, Facility or Land Use, Planning Methods, Strategic Planning, Transportation Planning