Infrastructure is not enough: Interactions between the environment, socioeconomic disadvantage, and cycling participation in England

Abstract

Cycling can be particularly beneficial for socioeconomically disadvantaged populations for two main reasons. First, cycling enables access to opportunities that may be unaffordable by other modes. Second, cycling increases physical activity levels and, consequently, improves health. In this context, we analyze the extent to which socioeconomic disadvantage impacts cycling participation and cycling duration for both leisure and utility cycling. Then, we examine whether socioeconomic inequalities in cycling participation can be explained by the environment in which disadvantaged populations live. The study population includes 167,178 individuals, residing in 2,931 areas, and 326 Local Authorities. Data on individual factors were drawn from the Active Lives Survey and data on environmental factors from several sources. Descriptive statistics and multilevel regression models were estimated. We found that the likelihood of cycling is lower among people living in deprived areas than among people living in non-deprived areas. This difference is significant for leisure, but also for utility cycling when controlling for individual and environmental factors. However, cyclists living in deprived areas are more likely to cycle longer per week than cyclists living in non-deprived areas, particularly for utility cycling. We also found that cycling infrastructure and greater levels of cyclability are higher in deprived areas than in non-deprived areas. This suggests that infrastructure and cyclability are not enough to increase cycling levels among disadvantaged populations. Further research on other barriers to cycling among disadvantaged populations is required.