Ciclovía Recreativa is a program in which streets are closed off to automobiles so that people have a safe and inclusive space for recreation and for being physically active. The study aims were: (1) to compare participant’s spatial trajectories in four Ciclovía Recreativa programs in Latin America (Bogotá, Mexico City, Santiago de Cali, and Santiago de Chile) according to socioeconomic characteristics and urban segregation of these cities; and (2) to assess the relationship between participants’ physical activity (PA) levels and sociodemographic characteristics. We harmonized data of cross-sectional studies including 3282 adults collected between 2015 and 2019. We found the highest mobility for recreation in Bogotá, followed closely by Santiago de Cali. In these two cities, the maximum SES (socioeconomic status) percentile differences between the neighborhood of origin and the neighborhoods visited as part of the Ciclovía use were 33.58 (p-value < 0.001) and 30.38 (p-value < 0.001), respectively, indicating that in these two cities, participants were more likely to visit higher or lower SES neighborhoods than their average SES-of-neighborhood origin. By contrast, participants from Mexico City and Santiago de Chile were more likely to stay in geographic units similar to their average SES-of-origin, having lower overall mobility during leisure time: maximum SES percentile difference 1.55 (p-value < 0.001) and −0.91 (p-value 0.001), respectively. PA levels of participants did not differ by sex or SES. Our results suggest that Ciclovía can be a socially inclusive program in highly unequal and segregated urban environments, which provides a space for PA whilefacilitat physical proximity, exposure to new communities and environments, and interactions between different socioeconomic groups.

Caminar es un modo de transporte sustentable y saludable, que debería ser promovido mediante la planificación y el diseño urbano. En este contexto, la presente investigación tiene como objetivo identificar los elementos del paisaje urbano que, desde la percepción del caminante, facilitan la caminata y, en contraste, los elementos que la inhiben, dentro de seis barrios pericentrales del Gran Santiago. Con este fin, se realizaron 120 walking interviews (entrevistas caminando in situ) con residentes durante septiembre, octubre y noviembre de 2018, permitiendo un detallado registro de la percepción auto-declarada de los peatones sobre sus entornos de movilidad peatonal. Los resultados muestran que elementos que promueven la caminata son la presencia de veredas anchas, árboles y uso de suelo mixto. En contraste, elementos que inhiben la caminata son veredas angostas y en mal estado, los cruces y, en especial, el tráfico motorizado y el ruido vehicular. Finalmente, en base a los resultados, se proponen recomendaciones para una planificación y un diseño de calles que promuevan la caminata.

Walking reports numerous benefits for older persons, yet its practice can be hindered by the built environment. This article seeks to understand how and why certain elements of the built environment facilitate or impede the everyday trips older persons complete on foot. It reports the findings of a set of walking interviews conducted in four central neighbourhoods of Santiago de Chile, where forty older persons were invited to walk and talk about the trips they complete on foot and the aspects that facilitate or hinder them. The findings reveal that older persons are aware of the benefits of walking and travel regularly on foot despite the barriers they find in their neighbourhoods. The presence/absence of greenery, the conditions of the facades and the level of cleanliness of the streets affect older persons’ walking experience and can increase/diminish their willingness to walk. Damaged and poorly designed pedestrian infrastructure can cause fear, provoke accidents and become serious hazards. Older persons develop strategies to overcome these barriers, yet the data suggest that they see Santiago as a “disabling city” because it has obstacles that could be unsurmountable in a near future if an illness or an accident diminishes their abilities.

Background: Public bike-sharing schemes have gained enormous popularity worldwide. However, so far most of the research has focused on issues regarding the functioning of these schemes in cities, with little attention on how these systems are perceived and managed by urban planning authorities, which is the aim of this paper. Methods: The analysis is set in Santiago, a highly segregated city composed of 37 independent districts. Two focus groups with urban planning authorities belonging to districts with and without functioning bike-sharing schemes were conducted. Information was processed using a thematic analysis framework, which permitted to reduce, reorganize, and analyze these testimonial data. Results: The main results show that bike-sharing schemes are perceived as being part of a larger phenomenon related to the city’s socio-economic differences. A series of issues emerged that are related to urban planning authorities limitations in terms of governance and availability of planning instruments and strategies to cope with contrasting realities of the city. It was noted that bike-sharing schemes are helping to improve a neighborhood image, while, at the same time, promoting contemporary and cosmopolitan lifestyles. However, the functioning of bike-sharing schemes also is a reminder of the fragmented and dysfunctional governance of Santiago.

While young cyclists remain overrepresented in cycling crash figures, effective actions to mitigate their risks remain understudied and underapplied, especially in regions with low cycling tradition and weak or fragmented governance, as is the case in most Hispanic countries. One key emerging issue is the potential influence of personality traits such as sensation seeking (SS) on young cyclists' behavior and safety outcomes. This study aimed to assess the relationships among SS, cycling behavior, and safety-related outcomes among a sample of young cyclists. Data were collected from 945 cyclists aged 18-25 from five Hispanic countries, who responded to an electronic survey on personality traits and cycling-related topics. Significant associations were found between sensation seeking and risk-related cycling behaviors, as well as gender differences in SS, risky cycling behavior, and self-reported cycling crash rates, with males exhibiting higher values in all categories. Path analyses suggest that SS predicts self-reported crashes through the full mediation of both deliberate (traffic violations) and unintentional (errors) risky road behaviors, with the former having a greater explanatory effect on young cyclists' self-reported crash figures. The findings of this study highlight the need to address under-researched issues such as sensation seeking (SS) and risk-taking behavior through evidence-based interventions aimed at improving the safety of young cyclists. This is particularly relevant in countries with similar demographic characteristics and further nascent cycling cultures.