Recreational cycling in a coastal city: Investigating lifestyle, attitudes and built environment in cycling behavior

Etminani-Ghasrodashti R., Paydar M., and Ardeshiri A., 2018, in Sustainable Cities and Society

doi:10.1016/j.scs.2018.02.037

Location	Kish Island, Persian Gulf
Population	Other (specify)
Sample size	426
Factor analysis type	confirmatory factor analysis, promax rotation
Stepwise regression	no
Removal of insignificant variables	no
Reviewed by	AR

Abstract

Active mobility and especially cycling can play an important role in increasing sustainable travel behavior of urban residents. While increased recreational cycling can lead to further bicycling for other purposes, this study highlights the factors influencing recreational cycling. Recreational cycling in a coastal city is explored through investigating individuals’ lifestyles, attitudes, and the effects of built environmental features on frequent cycling. Data were collected from 426 residents of Kish Island, an Iranian city which has been provided with well-designed, dedicated cycling paths. Using confirmatory factor analysis, lifestyle patterns have been extracted from leisure activities which are mostly engaged by both tourists and residents. Additionally, attitudes were evaluated by exploring individuals’ preferences through selecting various cycling facilities. Results from ordinal regression analysis revealed that residents with an active and beach-oriented lifestyle have a higher tendency toward recreational cycling. Among other classifications of attitudes, landscape design made the highest contribution to recreational cycling. Furthermore, findings demonstrated that network connectivity does not significantly influence recreational cycling. Although findings from this study suggest that identifying lifestyle patterns and cyclist attitudes in coastal cities can enhance the probability of recreational cycling among residents as well as tourists, they can also be of interest to planners and policy makers in terms of enhancing the frequency of cycling in other regions with similar situations, namely, being a tourist destination and having a well-organized infrastructure in terms of cycling paths and other required cycling facilities that support recreational as well as other types of cycling behavior. © 2018 Elsevier Ltd

Factors

Variable	Pattern loading
Go to beach for walking (Lifestyle)	0.682
Go to -beach for swimming (Lifestyle)	0.637
Go to beach for jogging (Lifestyle)	0.58

Variable	Pattern loading
Music concert (Lifestyle)	0.527
Art exhibition (Lifestyle)	0.648
Park/green spaces (Res preference/perception)	0.626
Party (Lifestyle)	0.573
Restaurant/coffee shop (Convenience)	0.659
Shopping centers and malls (Convenience)	0.501

Variable	Pattern loading
Fishing or boat riding (Lifestyle)	0.772
Water sports (e.g. jet ski or paragliding) (Lifestyle)	0.693
Diving (Lifestyle)	0.595
Beach rally (Lifestyle)	0.509

Variable	Pattern loading
Protected Park of Deer (Other)	0.617
Birds' Garden (Other)	0.826
Kish Dolphin Park (Other)	0.799
Historical places (e.g. Ancient Site of Harireh, Underground City) (Other)	0.732

Variable	Pattern loading
Cycling paths with low risk of stumble (Safety)	0.449
Cycling paths with low slope (Convenience)	0.618
Cycling paths with appropriate width (Safety)	0.633
Existence of urban furniture to relax beside the path (Res preference/perception)	0.654
Existence of shady trees beside the path (Other)	0.762
Integrated and connected cycling paths (Convenience)	0.709
Cycling paths without obstacles (e.g., speed bumps) (Safety)	0.74

Variable	Pattern loading
Passing through well-designed and green landscape (Other)	0.65
Cycling paths with sea view along the route (Other)	0.735

Variable	Pattern loading
Existence of shopping centers and malls along the path (Convenience)	0.5
Existence of coffee shops and fast foods along the path (Res preference/perception)	0.416
Existence of pavilions and drinking areas along the path (Other)	0.532
Existence of local parks and green spaces along the path (Other)	0.532

Variable	Pattern loading
Exposure in traffic-free routes (Safety)	0.464
Existence of social security (lack of crime) along the paths (Safety)	0.747
Being able to see other cyclists along the path (Safety)	0.509
Provision of streetlights, floodlight, and monitors on cycling paths (Safety)	0.487

Models

Dependent variable	Frequency of recreational cycling
Model type	ordered probit
Sample size	426.0
R²	nan
Adjusted R²
Pseudo R² (Cox and Snell)	0.424
AIC	nan
BIC	nan
Log-likelihood at zero	nan
Log-likelihood at constants	nan
Log-likelihood at convergence	nan

Variable	Odds_ratio	p-value
Socio-demographic characteristics	nan	nan
Female	1.116	nan
Male	1.0	nan
18-34 years old	1.547	0.01
35-51 years	0.643	0.01
52-68 years	0.703	nan
More than 69	0.43	nan
Number of children in the household	0.922	nan
Number of adults in the household	0.657	0.01
Monthly income ($)	1.138	nan
Number of private cars in the family	0.821	nan
Length of residency in the Kish Island	0.93	nan
Lifestyle	nan	nan
Tourism attraction-lover	1.525	0.01
Active and socializer	1.526	0.01
Adventure and beach-oriented	1.303	0.01
Active and beach-oriented	1.71	0.01
Attitudes toward cycling paths	nan	nan
Facility design	1.649	0.01
Landscape design	1.821	0.01
Safety and security	1.813	0.01
Mixed-use and supporting facilities	1.593	0.01
Built environment measures	nan	nan
Intersection density (#/square mi.)	0.999	nan
Link-node ratio	0.315	0.1
Connected node ratio	1.0	nan
Street density (mile/square mi.)	1.0	nan
Distance to closest cycling path(minute)	0.753	0.01
Distance to closest intersection (minute)	1.011	nan