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majority of the street segments walked by the St. Agnes children contained two
major arterial roads (i.e., Adams Blvd. and Vermont Ave.) where the school was
located at their intersection. Another potential risk that may face children en route to
school is street crossing. According to the routes drawn by the children, children
would have to cross the street more than four times on average while traveling to or
from school on foot and about 13% of street crossing occurred at arterial or collector
streets. Especially, the Weemes children would have to cross the street most
frequently (8 times), often happened at a major arterial (i.e., Exposition Blvd.) where
children might face added risks from an ongoing construction.
Interestingly, when children walked to or from school, they often did not take
the shortest route between home and school, unlike previous studies normally
presume (e.g., Timperio et al., 2006). Figure 5.3 presents an example of the route
drawn by a boy who indicated to walk about 0.81 miles which was much longer than
the shortest route between his home and the school in network distance (0.45 miles).
Presumably there are various reasons: to avoid heavy trafficked roads or unsafe area,
to walk with friends on the way to or from school, to experience more pleasant
walking environment, and the like. This suggests that the notion of utility
maximization may not adequately explain the complexity of decision associated with
not only walking but also walking routes.
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 95 |
| Contributing entity | University of Southern California |
| Repository email | cisadmin@lib.usc.edu |
| Full text | 85 majority of the street segments walked by the St. Agnes children contained two major arterial roads (i.e., Adams Blvd. and Vermont Ave.) where the school was located at their intersection. Another potential risk that may face children en route to school is street crossing. According to the routes drawn by the children, children would have to cross the street more than four times on average while traveling to or from school on foot and about 13% of street crossing occurred at arterial or collector streets. Especially, the Weemes children would have to cross the street most frequently (8 times), often happened at a major arterial (i.e., Exposition Blvd.) where children might face added risks from an ongoing construction. Interestingly, when children walked to or from school, they often did not take the shortest route between home and school, unlike previous studies normally presume (e.g., Timperio et al., 2006). Figure 5.3 presents an example of the route drawn by a boy who indicated to walk about 0.81 miles which was much longer than the shortest route between his home and the school in network distance (0.45 miles). Presumably there are various reasons: to avoid heavy trafficked roads or unsafe area, to walk with friends on the way to or from school, to experience more pleasant walking environment, and the like. This suggests that the notion of utility maximization may not adequately explain the complexity of decision associated with not only walking but also walking routes. |
