What stops and promotes cycling of children from lower socio-economic groups; A Blacktown (NSW) case study

Regular exercise and playability are essential for children’s health and wellbeing (Olds et al., 2015). The Australian Government recommends at least 60-minutes of physical activity for children aged 5-17. However, Australian teenagers are among the most inactive in the world (Guthold et al., 2019). About 80% of children lack exercise and 1 in 4 children aged 5 to 14 are either overweight or obese (AIHW, 2020). Riding a bicycle could be a solution to move Australian children on the track to better health.

There is evidence showing that both cycling activity and willing to cycling surged in Australian cities during the COVID-19 lockdown (Mark, 2020; Lock, 2020). Policy and planning efforts of the Australian Government aim to increase cycling activity (Austroads, 2010; Australian Government, 2016). However, planners find it challenging to promote cycling by children in particular, because of lack of knowledge about what stops and promotes cycling by children (Krysiak, 2018).

This challenge is amplified for the children of low socio-economic families. Lower socio-economic groups participate less in physical activity (Kavanagh et al, 2007). Some studies report that low-income communities have poorer cycling infrastructure (WHO, 2006). This project aims to identify the barriers and promoters of children’s cycling and examine its possible correlation with the family’s socio-economic status. The findings will contribute to improving cycling policies and incentive programs to increase cycling among children.

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