Establishing an Active Transportation Baseline Across Communities in New Brunswick
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DataNB
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Active transportation (AT) represents an important pathway for increasing population‑level physical activity and improving community and environmental health. In New Brunswick (NB), the province’s dispersed built environments shape the feasibility of AT across the life course. This study provides a province‑wide baseline of AT opportunities and behaviours, examining how distance, neighbourhood spatial accessibility, and equity‑related factors intersect with AT use among children, working adults, and older adults in NB.
The analysis integrates administrative and survey data to characterize AT opportunities across NB’s diverse communities. Three case studies assess AT to school among children, AT to work among adults, and opportunities to use public transit for health care appointments among older adults. Distance and neighbourhood spatial accessibility emerged as strong predictors of AT, underscoring the role of connected, safe routes in enabling non‑motorized travel.
This baseline highlights gaps in AT‑related data availability, identifies geographic and demographic differences in AT feasibility, and demonstrates the value of linked individual‑level data for informing evidence‑based planning. The findings provide foundational insights to support future AT strategy development and ongoing monitoring across the province.
