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Assessment of Bicycle Use Among Residents in Affordable Housing in New York City

Received: 12 September 2018     Accepted: 4 October 2018     Published: 7 November 2018
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Abstract

Inadequate physical activity is associated with an increased risk of obesity. But most U.S. adults do not meet the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommendations for physical activity. Active transportation, such as bicycling to a destination, is associated with increased physical activity levels, but little research has been conducted regarding bicycle use in urban environments like New York City (NYC). A cross-sectional, self-administered survey was given to residents of two low-income neighborhoods in NYC to determine the prevalence of bicycle ownership and usage, and to assess potential community improvements to increase bicycle use. More than 80% of the 119 participants endorsed knowing how to ride a bicycle and nearly half of all participants reported that they or someone in their household own a bicycle. Of those who own a bicycle, the vast majority stored it in their apartment. More participants with a bicycle in their household reported better health status and moderate to high activity levels than those without a bicycle in their household. Those with a bicycle in their household were significantly more likely than those without a bicycle in their household to have used it for work or leisure in the last 30 days. The most commonly reported reason for not bicycling more frequently was lack of safe and secure designated bicycle storage areas in their apartment buildings. Other commonly reported reasons for not bicycling more frequently included perceived crime and lack of traffic safety. Participants suggested that clearly marked bicycle lanes and car-free bicycle paths may increase bicycle use in their neighborhoods.

Published in Science Journal of Public Health (Volume 6, Issue 5)
DOI 10.11648/j.sjph.20180605.12
Page(s) 127-132
Creative Commons

This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited.

Copyright

Copyright © The Author(s), 2018. Published by Science Publishing Group

Keywords

Active Transportation, Physical Activity, Bicycle Use, Built Environment, Bicycle Storage, Community Improvements, Active Design

References
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Cite This Article
  • APA Style

    Sadie Sanchez, Erin Thanik, Ganga Bey, Demetrios Papazaharias, Lynn Onyebeke, et al. (2018). Assessment of Bicycle Use Among Residents in Affordable Housing in New York City. Science Journal of Public Health, 6(5), 127-132. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.sjph.20180605.12

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    ACS Style

    Sadie Sanchez; Erin Thanik; Ganga Bey; Demetrios Papazaharias; Lynn Onyebeke, et al. Assessment of Bicycle Use Among Residents in Affordable Housing in New York City. Sci. J. Public Health 2018, 6(5), 127-132. doi: 10.11648/j.sjph.20180605.12

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    AMA Style

    Sadie Sanchez, Erin Thanik, Ganga Bey, Demetrios Papazaharias, Lynn Onyebeke, et al. Assessment of Bicycle Use Among Residents in Affordable Housing in New York City. Sci J Public Health. 2018;6(5):127-132. doi: 10.11648/j.sjph.20180605.12

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  • @article{10.11648/j.sjph.20180605.12,
      author = {Sadie Sanchez and Erin Thanik and Ganga Bey and Demetrios Papazaharias and Lynn Onyebeke and Jessica Oh and Moses Syldort and Sarah Wolf and Elizabeth Garland},
      title = {Assessment of Bicycle Use Among Residents in Affordable Housing in New York City},
      journal = {Science Journal of Public Health},
      volume = {6},
      number = {5},
      pages = {127-132},
      doi = {10.11648/j.sjph.20180605.12},
      url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.sjph.20180605.12},
      eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.sjph.20180605.12},
      abstract = {Inadequate physical activity is associated with an increased risk of obesity. But most U.S. adults do not meet the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommendations for physical activity. Active transportation, such as bicycling to a destination, is associated with increased physical activity levels, but little research has been conducted regarding bicycle use in urban environments like New York City (NYC). A cross-sectional, self-administered survey was given to residents of two low-income neighborhoods in NYC to determine the prevalence of bicycle ownership and usage, and to assess potential community improvements to increase bicycle use. More than 80% of the 119 participants endorsed knowing how to ride a bicycle and nearly half of all participants reported that they or someone in their household own a bicycle. Of those who own a bicycle, the vast majority stored it in their apartment. More participants with a bicycle in their household reported better health status and moderate to high activity levels than those without a bicycle in their household. Those with a bicycle in their household were significantly more likely than those without a bicycle in their household to have used it for work or leisure in the last 30 days. The most commonly reported reason for not bicycling more frequently was lack of safe and secure designated bicycle storage areas in their apartment buildings. Other commonly reported reasons for not bicycling more frequently included perceived crime and lack of traffic safety. Participants suggested that clearly marked bicycle lanes and car-free bicycle paths may increase bicycle use in their neighborhoods.},
     year = {2018}
    }
    

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    AU  - Sadie Sanchez
    AU  - Erin Thanik
    AU  - Ganga Bey
    AU  - Demetrios Papazaharias
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    AB  - Inadequate physical activity is associated with an increased risk of obesity. But most U.S. adults do not meet the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommendations for physical activity. Active transportation, such as bicycling to a destination, is associated with increased physical activity levels, but little research has been conducted regarding bicycle use in urban environments like New York City (NYC). A cross-sectional, self-administered survey was given to residents of two low-income neighborhoods in NYC to determine the prevalence of bicycle ownership and usage, and to assess potential community improvements to increase bicycle use. More than 80% of the 119 participants endorsed knowing how to ride a bicycle and nearly half of all participants reported that they or someone in their household own a bicycle. Of those who own a bicycle, the vast majority stored it in their apartment. More participants with a bicycle in their household reported better health status and moderate to high activity levels than those without a bicycle in their household. Those with a bicycle in their household were significantly more likely than those without a bicycle in their household to have used it for work or leisure in the last 30 days. The most commonly reported reason for not bicycling more frequently was lack of safe and secure designated bicycle storage areas in their apartment buildings. Other commonly reported reasons for not bicycling more frequently included perceived crime and lack of traffic safety. Participants suggested that clearly marked bicycle lanes and car-free bicycle paths may increase bicycle use in their neighborhoods.
    VL  - 6
    IS  - 5
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Author Information
  • Department of Environmental Medicine and Public Health, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, USA

  • Department of Environmental Medicine and Public Health, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, USA

  • Department of Environmental Medicine and Public Health, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, USA

  • Department of Environmental Medicine and Public Health, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, USA

  • Department of Environmental Medicine and Public Health, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, USA

  • Department of Environmental Medicine and Public Health, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, USA

  • Department of Environmental Medicine and Public Health, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, USA

  • Bureau of Chronic Disease Prevention and Tobacco Control, New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, New York, USA

  • Department of Environmental Medicine and Public Health, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, USA

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