Active Cities and Health: a children perspective

The emerging Active Cities approach enhances the opportunities to be physically active by promoting active lifestyles in the urban environment to fight against inactivity-related health issues like non-communicable-diseases. Despite this approach dates back to the Nineteen-seventies, the most fragile group of citizens from the independent mobility point of view (children, elderly and disabled people) are still encountering difficulties in moving autonomously around the urban realm, with a negative impact on their opportunities to learn, socialize and be physically active in the day-to-day routine. The decline in children’s autonomy is a recognized concern, with a clear north-south gradient throughout Europe seeing Italy ranking last, and a direct relation to inactivity rates, overweight and obesity among Italian children. Therefore, a quali-quantitative three years longitudinal research-intervention had been conducted in the Italian town of Cassino, investigating children's active and independent mobility. Findings show alarming results concerning children’s autonomy (only 3% go to school independently) and active lifestyles (only 17% go to school in active ways). A conceptual model based on the classification of children's physical activity as either “independent” or “non-independent” has been developed, showing that a large part of physical activity in children should be considered as an epiphenomenon of their independent mobility and roaming opportunities in the public space. To enhance activity levels in children, the focus of decision makers should be directed to all their potential realms of experience, also taking into account the infrastructural and socio-educational determinants of active lifestyles.