Citation

Roberts JD, Mandic S, Fryer CS, Brachman ML, Ray R. Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2019; 16(8): e16081313.

Affiliation

Department of Sociology, College of Behavioral and Social Sciences, University of Maryland, College Park, MD 20742, USA. rjray@umd.edu.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2019, MDPI: Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute)

DOI

10.3390/ijerph16081313

PMID

31013698

Abstract

The use of active transportation (AT), such as walking, cycling, or even public transit, as a means of transport offers an opportunity to increase youth physical activity and improve health. Despite the well-known benefits of AT, there are environmental and social variables that converge on the AT experiences of low-income youth and youth of color (YOC) that have yet to be fully uncovered. This study uses an intersectional framework, largely focusing on the race-gender-class trinity, to examine youth AT within a context of transportation inequity. Theoretically guided by the Ecological Model of Active Transportation, focus groups were completed with two groups of girls (15 participants) and two groups of boys (nine participants) ranging between the ages of 12-15 years who lived within the Washington D.C. area. This research found race, gender, and class to be inhibitors of AT for both boys and girls, but with more pronounced negative influences on girls.

Language: en

Keywords

PEAT Study; active transportation; transportation inequity; youth of color