Assessing Perceptions, Attitudes, and Behaviors Around Active Transportation among Community Stakeholders in the City of Norwalk

Background: Overweight and obesity remain a growing concern in the United States. The city of Norwalk, Connecticut has a 16.6% prevalence of obesity among adults and 40% among children. Obesity is associated with an array of chronic diseases, including heart disease, diabetes, and cancer. One way for municipalities to help combat obesity rates is to increase physical activity and discourage a sedentary lifestyle by designing communities that promote walking and biking as feasible types of transportation.

Objective: To describe and compare the perceptions, attitudes, and behaviors surrounding active transportation (e.g., walking and biking) among community stakeholders in Norwalk.

Methods: Thirty-two semi-structured interviews will be conducted with eight members from each of the four community stakeholder groups (parent-teacher organizations, business leaders, local residents, and public officials) to assess the perceptions, attitudes, motivations, and behaviors around safety, motivations, and barriers related to active transportation (e.g., walking and biking). A narrative analysis including coding and theoretic saturation will be performed with ATLAS.ti version 1.0.16 (build 82).

Results:  We anticipate that these interview data will help identify motivations and challenges for walking and biking among Norwalk residents and allow for effective comparison to other cities that have undergone efforts to address similar issues.

Conclusion: Compilation of interview data will be used to formulate a policy proposal for the city of Norwalk aimed at increasing physical activity among residents by improving walkability and bikeability through the modification of safety, convenience, and physical infrastructure.