School-Level Economic Disparities in Police-Reported Crimes and Active Commuting to School
Open Access
- 16 October 2021
- journal article
- research article
- Published by MDPI AG in International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health
- Vol. 18 (20), 10885
- https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph182010885
Abstract
Perceived safety remains one of the main barriers for children to participate in active commuting to school (ACS). This ecological study examined the associations between the number of police-reported crimes in school neighborhoods and ACS. The percentage of active travel trips was assessed from a teacher tally survey collected from students across 63 elementary schools that were primarily classified as high-poverty (n = 27). Geographic Information System (GIS) was used to create a detailed measure of police-reported crimes during 2018 and neighborhood covariates that occurred within a one-mile Euclidean buffer of the schools. Statistical analyses included linear fixed effects regressions and negative binomial regressions. In fully-adjusted models, reported crime did not exhibit significant associations with ACS. Medium-poverty schools were indirectly associated with ACS when compared to high- and low-poverty schools in all models (p < 0.05). Connectivity and vehicle ownership were also directly associated with ACS (p < 0.05). Low- and medium-poverty schools were indirectly associated with all types of reported crime when compared to high-poverty schools (p < 0.05). Although reported crime was not associated with school-level ACS, differences in ACS and reported crime do exist across school poverty levels, suggesting a need to develop and promote safe and equitable ACS interventions.Funding Information
- Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (1 R01 HD097669)
This publication has 26 references indexed in Scilit:
- U.S. School Travel, 2009: An Assessment of TrendsAmerican Journal of Preventive Medicine, 2011
- Reliability and validity of the Safe Routes to school parent and student surveysInternational Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity, 2011
- GIS measured environmental correlates of active school transport: A systematic review of 14 studiesInternational Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity, 2011
- Walkability and Safety Around Elementary Schools: Economic and Ethnic DisparitiesAmerican Journal of Preventive Medicine, 2008
- Critical Factors for Active Transportation to School Among Low-Income and Minority Students: Evidence from the 2001 National Household Travel SurveyAmerican Journal of Preventive Medicine, 2008
- Active Transportation to School: Trends Among U.S. Schoolchildren, 1969–2001American Journal of Preventive Medicine, 2007
- The relative influence of urban form on a child’s travel mode to schoolTransportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, 2007
- Physical Activity Levels of Children Who Walk, Cycle, or Are Driven to SchoolAmerican Journal of Preventive Medicine, 2005
- The broader impact of walking to school among adolescents: seven day accelerometry based studyBMJ, 2005
- Physical Activity and Environment Research in the Health Field: Implications for Urban and Transportation Planning Practice and ResearchJournal of Planning Literature, 2004