Urban and suburban children's experiences with school travel – A case study Douglas L. Race a,n , Joanie Sims-Gould a,b , Nolan C. Lee c , Amanda D. Frazer a , Christine Voss d , Patti-Jean Naylor e , Heather A. McKay a,b,f a Centre for Hip Health and Mobility, 7/F – 2635 Laurel Street, Vancouver, BC, Canada V5Z 1M9 b Department of Family Practice, Faculty of Medicine, University of British Columbia, 3rd Floor, 5950 University Boulevard, Vancouver, BC, Canada V6T 1Z3 c Vancouver Fraser Medical Program, Faculty of Medicine, University of British Columbia, 2350 Health Sciences Mall, Vancouver, BC, Canada V6T 1Z3 d Department of Pediatrics, Faculty of Medicine, 1F/4480 Oak Street, BC Children's Hospital, Vancouver, BC, Canada V6H 3V4 e School of Exercise Science, Physical and Health Education, University of Victoria, 3800 Finnerty Road, Victoria, BC, Canada V8P 5C2 f Department of Orthopaedics, Faculty of Medicine, University of British Columbia, 3114 À 910 West 10th Avenue, Vancouver, BC, Canada V5Z 1M9 article info Article history: Received 20 July 2016 Received in revised form 25 January 2017 Accepted 29 January 2017 Keywords: Children Neighborhood School Active transportation Qualitative research abstract Purpose: Physical activity is strongly correlated with children's health, and increasing rates of active school travel (AST) among children may well enhance their overall physical activity levels. Neighbourhood type may influence children's school travel modes; how- ever, few qualitative studies have examined children's experiences of school travel across neighbourhood types. This paper explores urban and suburban children's experiences with AST and outlines perceived barriers and facilitators. Methods: In spring 2014 and 2015, 42 elementary-school children (aged 9–13; 40% fe- male) from one school in an urban neighbourhood in Downtown Vancouver, British Co- lumbia and two elementary schools in a suburban neighbourhood in Metro Vancouver, participated in semi-structured focus groups. Discussions focused on children's experi- ences of school travel. A four-stage framework analysis was used to categorize data into themes. Five overarching themes emerged from both urban and suburban environments which included: proximity, neighbourhood safety, traffic safety, parental support and peer relationships. Conclusion: Urban and suburban children identified and described barriers and facilitators to AST. Barriers and facilitators were identified in both neighbourhood types. However, the extent to which these factors influenced school travel behaviour varied between neighbourhoods and between individuals. To overcome AST barriers, children in our study developed personal strategies, such as walking with a friend or being cautious in poten- tially dangerous areas. Involving children in school travel planning discussions and taking neighbourhood setting into account may better inform the development of travel plan- ning programs and enhance their effectiveness. & 2017 Elsevier Ltd All rights reserved. Contents lists available at ScienceDirect journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/jth Journal of Transport & Health http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jth.2017.01.011 2214-1405/& 2017 Elsevier Ltd All rights reserved. n Correspondence to: Robert H.N. Ho Building, 2635 Laurel Street, Vancouver, BC, Canada V5Z 1M9. E-mail addresses: douglas.race@hiphealth.ca (D.L. Race), simsg@mail.ubc.ca (J. Sims-Gould), nolan.lee@alumni.ubc.ca (N.C. Lee), amanda.frazer@ubc.ca (A.D. Frazer), christine.voss@ubc.ca (C. Voss), pjnaylor@uvic.ca (P.-J. Naylor), heather.mckay@ubc.ca (H.A. McKay). Journal of Transport & Health ∎ (∎∎∎∎) ∎∎∎–∎∎∎ Please cite this article as: Race, D.L., et al., Urban and suburban children's experiences with school travel – A case study. Journal of Transport & Health (2017), http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jth.2017.01.011i