ACTIVATE

Activating Children’s and Youth’s Active Travel in 15-minute Cities

Active mobility among children and youth, such as walking, cycling, and scootering, has steadily declined over the past few decades. Promoting active mobility from an early age is crucial, both for health benefits and for advancing the transition towards sustainable urban mobility, since establishing active travel habits early in life is essential for long-term sustainable mobility behaviour.

To address this, European cities are transforming urban landscapes to encourage active travel, in line with the 15-Minute City concept, which aims to provide essential services within a short walking or cycling distance. Despite these efforts, many children and youth still do not engage in active mobility, even in areas designed to support it. Recent studies suggest that proximity alone does not sufficiently explain the uptake of active mobility, and that other factors also influence its adoption. ACTIVATE seeks to explore these factors shaping children's and youths' mobility choices.

ACTIVATE aims to provide insights into:

01 Policy and built environment. How urban mobility policies and the built environment shape travel behaviour across diverse urban contexts, with a focus on mobility poverty, and how 15-Minute City planning affects these disparities.

02 Community and relationships. How social norms, peer influence, parental expectations, and educational and cultural institutions promote or discourage active mobility.

03 Socio-economic variation. How these contexts and community factors vary across socio-economic groups, and which life stages are key opportunities for shifting attitudes and reinforcing active mobility habits.

04 A practical toolbox. Policy recommendations, guidelines, and measurement tools for municipalities, schools, families, and other community stakeholders, designed to be place-sensitive and scalable.