Active travel and subjective well-being in Temuco, Chile

Abstract

The improvement of active travel would contribute to increasing the minimum rate of physical activity; thus, improving public health. Although the importance of social and physical factors in promoting active travel has been highlighted, there have been few studies on how both simultaneously affect active travel, especially in South America. Furthermore, there is a lack of studies on subjective well-being in urban areas and its contributing factors, particularly in Chile's southern cities. This study aims to investigate the links between active travel and subjective well-being as well as the individual, social, and built environmental factors that are associated with these areas, in the medium-sized southern city of Temuco. A total of six neighborhoods were selected, and 782 respondents were determined by stratified random sampling. Both subjective and objective measurements of the built environment were used in the study. The objectives were examined using a quantitative method and two types of regression analysis, including hierarchical multiple regression and binary logistic regression. Despite a finding that attitude toward cycling has the highest level across all modes of transportation, just a small portion of respondents reported using bicycles for daily transport. The findings show that a variety of factors to active travel include household income, the number of people in the household, the availability of bicycles, attitude toward walking, attitude toward using a private car, social cohesion, role models, accessibility, and the density of all green spaces. In addition, age, private car ownership, belonging to an Indigenous group, employment status, lifestyles, social cohesion, accessibility, and street connectivity are all linked to subjective well-being. Urban policymakers may use these findings to promote subjective well-being and active travel in this city.