The public health crisis

Radical changes to mobility habits over the last 100 years in Europe has led to an increasingly widespread adoption of a sedentary lifestyle. Despite the fact that the length of our journeys are generally longer, less are being made on foot or by bicycle, as car culture dominates modern life, and public transport grows in regularity and accessibility. This is combined with the widespread uptake of employment in the service economy, which accounts for two thirds of EU employment and is characterized by being stationary behind a computer screen. As a result, a third of Europeans are considered to be insufficiently active.

This sedentary lifestyle is taking its toll on Europe’s health. Obesity rates and chronic diseases linked to a lack of physical activity are increasing rapidly in the EU. Troubling statistics relay that a third of children between six and nine in the EU were recorded as overweight in 2010, and the World Health Organization has identified insufficient physical activity as the fourth leading risk factor for mortality.

What can be done?

Policy makers at all levels of government have the capacity to put a halt to this trend, and increase the levels of physical activity in Europe.

One effective approach is promoting and facilitating ‘active travel’ – defined as walking or cycling on everyday journeys as an alternative to motorized transport.

Tips and ideas for encouraging active travel

1. Start with a plan

Policy strategies, masterplans and programmes that promote physical activity is a good place to start.

> The Danish city Odense saw the modal share of cycling increase by 20% following the integration of a bicycle programme, consisting of an expanded bicycle network and bicycle road signing.

> Cycling in Troisdorf, Germany increased as much as 35% after the implementation of an extensive cycle project, with a corresponding decrease in car traffic by 80%.

Increasing physical activity does not necessarily have to be the central goal of the strategy, but can also be a by-product of a wider vision, and integrated with other environmental and health objectives.

> Scotland’s capital Edinburgh indirectly promoted active mobility by implementing the ‘sustainable Edinburgh 2020 vision’, which directs municipal policy towards creating a low carbon and recourse efficient city.

2. Infrastructure holds the key

Changing the physical environment of a city can unlock transport as an opportunity for daily physical activity. Urban infrastructure that makes cycling safer and easier helps to overcome the factors that are most prominently quoted as obstacles for using a bicycle to get around. In this way, town planners and policymakers hold huge power in fostering healthier and active communities.

> Copenhagen, Denmark
Project: A network of 28 Cycle Superhighways
Impact: Residential areas of the city are connected to places of work and study via fast, comfortable and safe cycle routes

> Barcelona, Spain
Project: The city converted nine-block areas into a single ‘Superblocks’, where cars were not able to enter
Impact: This created an urban living room in every district, where citizens were able to meet and play. This has become a renowned example of changing the public space to catalyze active mobility.

> Europe-wide
Project: The World Health Organization’s HEAT tool enables users to estimate the value of reduced mortality that results from specified amounts of walking or cycling.
Impact: Local authorities can use HEAT to justify investment in infrastructure projects that encourages cycling, by quantifying the health impact and benefit-cost ratio from the increased levels of active mobility.

3. Don’t go it alone

A successful approach is based in a multi-sectoral partnership, which utilizes and draws on a diverse amount of organisations with specialist knowledge. This can consist of involving stakeholders from within the public sphere, such as the transport and health sector. Integrating civil society and voluntary domains is also key. Involving stakeholders from the private sector also enhances an active mobility project, for example by integrating knowledge on technology and innovation from startups and private companies.

> The Carlisle Partnership  
Project: The local government in Carlisle, United Kingdom, sought to improve the health of their citizens by implementing policies that would achieve a ‘healthy city’ certification, which included increasing the accessibility of destinations without a car. This status was achieved with a cross-sectoral approach, which implemented a diverse number of policies including transport, education, agriculture, and taxation

> Bike Citizens
Project: An app that provides analytical tools to helps urban authorities plan cycle friendly citizens, by providing information about what could be done to improve conditions and facilities for cyclists.

4. Find the funding

Getting involved in EU projects is a great ware to secure the funding that will jumpstart your project, and helps get cycling on the agenda at all governmental levels.

> Ljubljana
Project: CIVITAS Mobilis
Impact: Joining this EU funded project enabled the city to substantially increase its number of bicycle racks

> Antwerp, Donostia/San Sebastian, London Hounslow, Gdansk and Vienna
Project: SWITCH campaigns 
Impact: This EU campaign enables its members to encourage people to swap their car for active modes of transport. They are provided with training documents, workshops and webinars to raise awareness, impart knowledge and induce behavior change. All participants have successfully reduced car kilometers taken in their cities.

Extra ideas for inspiration

> A cycling referral scheme has been set up in London, and sees doctors referring patients with health problems related to a lack of physical exercise to take up cycling to improve their condition. This legitimizes cycling as an effective means to improve public health.

> France recently introduced the provision of a Cycling Kilometric Allowance to commuters cycling to work, with cyclists receiving €0.25 per kilometer they cycled, which totted up to €200 annually.

> Successful projects that enable active mobility don’t have to be complex or expensive. Denmark promoted inter-modality in a simply yet effective way but installing bike racks on regional trains.