An environment-people interactions framework for analysing children's extra-curricular activities and active transport

Abstract

In this paper, the focus is on examining children's extra-curricular activities in a high density urban East Asian environment, specifically Hong Kong. The paper offers a framework to understand children's extra-curricular activities time allocation and active travel participation. Three variables of interest are considered: residential location choice (based on residential density), weekly time spent in four different types of out-of-home after-school activities (academic, sports, arts, and other), and level of active travel. The proposed model takes into account common observed and unobserved effects that can be affecting the three outcomes simultaneously. Overall, the findings, based on survey data collected at four primary schools between November 2015 and June 2016 in Hong Kong, show that children's activity and travel behaviour within the same city can differ quite substantially based on neighbourhood environment (notably residential density) and family socio-demographic background. The empirical findings and analysis provide insights for policy development, including those related to (a) targeting children's extra-curricular activity participation for underprivileged groups, (b) promoting work-friendly policies that enable parents to spend more time and participate in more activities together with their children, as well as (c) promoting mixed use and compact development to encourage a more active lifestyle for children and parents alike.