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68
Especially, significantly more girls walked or biked most days than boys for the trip
from school, X2 (1, N=100) =5.08, p<.05. It may partially confirm Valentines’
(1997a) observations that girls are perceived to have more self control than boys and
thus are more allowed to walk, especially for the trip from school when parents are
less available to pick up their child. It is however premature to conclude when other
factors (i.e., parents’ own travel activity or attitudes, a child’s perception, household
resources, environmental attributes, etc.) may as well interact with a child’s gender
in determining school travel mode.
Table 5.5 School Travel Mode by Gender (in percentage)
Gender
Girls (n=55) Boys(n=45) Total (n=100)
Mode T F T F T F
Walk/bike 38.2 58.2 31.1 35.6 35.0 48.0
Motorized 61.8 41.8 68.9 64.4 65.0 52.0
Total 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0
T= to school, F= from school
Overall, walking to or from school was perceived as safe by about 54 % of
the sample children, while 41% of them responded as unsafe (Figure 5.1).
Especially, a large proportion of children at the Norwood school (67%), which had
the highest rate of children walking from school, felt walking as safe way to travel to
school, whereas the Weemes with the lowest rates of children walking to and from
school had the largest proportion of children reporting unsafe to walk to school
(56%). As expected, children who perceived walking as safe were more likely to
actively travel to or from school. A higher rate of active commuting to school was
Object Description
| Title | Walkability as 'freedom': the ecology of school journey in inner city Los Angeles neighborhoods |
| Author | Uhm, Jung A |
| Author email | uhm@usc.edu; j_uhm@hotmail.com |
| Degree | Doctor of Philosophy |
| Document type | Dissertation |
| Degree program | planning |
| School | School of Policy, Planning, and Development |
| Date defended/completed | 2008-06-05 |
| Date submitted | 2008 |
| Restricted until | Unrestricted |
| Date published | 2008-10-17 |
| Advisor (committee chair) | Banerjee, Tridib |
| Advisor (committee member) |
Irazabal, Clara Stoner, Madeleine |
| Abstract | Over the past two decades, rising concerns over childhood obesity and its health effects have brought the issue of "walkability" to the forefront in creating a child friendly environment. Particularly, the idea of promoting children walking to and from school has gained widespread support among policy makers, public health officials, civic organizations, and planners as a way to increase physical activity among children to prevent obesity. Recent policies and programs however are based on an assumption about the direct influence of the built environment on school travel mode, of which parents' values and perceptions are considered prominent in determining environmental attributes related to children walking to school.; This research proposes a conceptual framework in understanding the relationship between the environment and children's travel by adding a crucial link generally missing in current walkability research - children. By proposing the notion of walkability as freedom, this study attempts to draw attentions to children's choices and real opportunities and factors that either facilitate or prohibit children in or from actualizing what they value (walking to school as one of many). With this goal, this research explored the elements of a walkable environment through the eyes of ethnic minority children attending five elementary schools in inner city Los Angeles.; Through the triangulation of capability approach, child-centered participatory methods, and ecological perspectives, the findings demonstrate children's capacity not only to observe and understand the environment, but also to evaluate and reflect on making their neighborhood environment safer and walkable on their own terms.; This research suggests a shift in policy focus from the provision and improvement of environmental resources to the enhancement of individual freedom by increasing children's participatory capability. The results of this study advance the discussion on the relationship between active school travel and the environment by bringing children into the foreground within the spheres of ecological transaction. |
| Keyword | capability; children; inner-city neighborhood; perception; school travel; walkability |
| Geographic subject | educational facilities: Foshay Learning Center; educational facilities: Norwood Street Elementary School; educational facilities: St. Agnes Parish School; educational facilities: Vermont Avenue Elementary School; educational facilities: Lenicia B. Weemes Elementary School |
| Geographic subject (city or populated place) | Los Angeles |
| Geographic subject (state) | California |
| Coverage date | circa 2008 |
| Language | English |
| Part of collection | University of Southern California dissertations and theses |
| Publisher (of the original version) | University of Southern California |
| Place of publication (of the original version) | Los Angeles, California |
| Publisher (of the digital version) | University of Southern California. Libraries |
| Provenance | Electronically uploaded by the author |
| Type | texts |
| Legacy record ID | usctheses-m1671 |
| Contributing entity | University of Southern California |
| Rights | Uhm, Jung A |
| Repository name | Libraries, University of Southern California |
| Repository address | Los Angeles, California |
| Repository email | cisadmin@lib.usc.edu |
| Filename | etd-Uhm-2224 |
| Archival file | uscthesesreloadpub_Volume29/etd-Uhm-2224.pdf |
Description
| Title | Page 78 |
| Contributing entity | University of Southern California |
| Repository email | cisadmin@lib.usc.edu |
| Full text | 68 Especially, significantly more girls walked or biked most days than boys for the trip from school, X2 (1, N=100) =5.08, p<.05. It may partially confirm Valentines’ (1997a) observations that girls are perceived to have more self control than boys and thus are more allowed to walk, especially for the trip from school when parents are less available to pick up their child. It is however premature to conclude when other factors (i.e., parents’ own travel activity or attitudes, a child’s perception, household resources, environmental attributes, etc.) may as well interact with a child’s gender in determining school travel mode. Table 5.5 School Travel Mode by Gender (in percentage) Gender Girls (n=55) Boys(n=45) Total (n=100) Mode T F T F T F Walk/bike 38.2 58.2 31.1 35.6 35.0 48.0 Motorized 61.8 41.8 68.9 64.4 65.0 52.0 Total 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 T= to school, F= from school Overall, walking to or from school was perceived as safe by about 54 % of the sample children, while 41% of them responded as unsafe (Figure 5.1). Especially, a large proportion of children at the Norwood school (67%), which had the highest rate of children walking from school, felt walking as safe way to travel to school, whereas the Weemes with the lowest rates of children walking to and from school had the largest proportion of children reporting unsafe to walk to school (56%). As expected, children who perceived walking as safe were more likely to actively travel to or from school. A higher rate of active commuting to school was |
