Active transportation to school : how shared space may enhance active and sustainable travel among children

Abstract

The thesis discusses the topic of Active Transportation to School (ATS) and examines how Shared Space may enhance active and sustainable travel among children for school journeys. After having analysed current children's mobility patterns and the impacts tied to the car use as main mode of transport for school trips, the thesis explores the role of ATS as a promising tool for addressing the decline of walking and cycling among children. This has been linked to Shared Space concept, which has the potential to improve elements of the external built and traffic environment that may promote a greater willingness to use walking and cycling for school journeys. Such conclusion has also been corroborated by the parents views collected through the questionnaire-based survey in Castelfranco Veneto (North-Eastern Italy). A key finding of the thesis is the elaboration of a theoretical model to define children's mobility patterns.