New Walking and cycling routes: Increased physical activity

Research in the Connect2 Program provides evidence that improved, high-quality, traffic-free routes for walking and cycling may help to increase overall physical activity levels in the local population and thereby contribute to the primary prevention of a range of noncommunicable diseases. This lends support to recent calls to increase the provision of such routes in local communities. The findings from case study sites may in principle be generalizable to other, similar projects planned within and beyond the Connect2 program. It is plausible that intervention effects will become even stronger as more destinations become connected by a high-quality network that constitutes a higher dose of intervention. Through such improvements to infrastructure (and its supporting evidence base), we hope that communities will progressively realize the substantial health and environmental benefits of making walking and cycling a convenient, safe, and attractive everyday activity. Read more here.