Research

Academic Research Related to Safe Routes to School, Shared Use, and Active Transportation

The Safe Routes Partnership regularly summarizes and updates key academic research related to Safe Routes to School, active transportation, and shared use.

Why does research matter?

It helps us understand the problems, test solutions, and make the case for investing in strategies that improve physical, mental, and emotional health, safety, and equity for children and communities. Research provides evidence to show what works, what doesn’t, and how different communities, across race, income, geography, and ability, experience biking, rolling, and walking.

This insight helps shape more effective and equitable programs. It also supports advocacy by showing how Safe Routes to School and active transportation connect to broader issues like healthy weight, academic performance, traffic congestion, and community design. 

Research Library

Our research library is organized by a variety of topics. Each section begins with a summary of key takeaways and research highlights. Individual article summaries include key findings, methods, practitioner takeaways, and links to the full text (note: some may be behind paywalls).

A note on language (updated January 2024): We use the same language as the original researchers to describe populations. While these terms may not reflect the language we typically use, we aim to provide more inclusive terminology in our practitioner guidance.

We also identify areas where more research is needed and welcome collaboration. If you’d like to contribute a study or explore a research partnership, contact marisa@saferoutespartnership.org