Prepared by: Victoria Zakrajšek 
Date of last change: March 2023

Purpose and justification of the indicator

The quality of living in settlements is directly related to the state of green areas and other open spaces, which significantly contribute to the preservation of the natural environment, the experience of space in the settlements, and the health of the inhabitants and how they spend their time. With the growth of cities, the "health-green space" duo appeared at the same time, when urban planning was recognized as an important factor for improving social welfare and public health. Recently, the construction in cities has been increasing, and with this the well-maintained green areas, intended for a better quality of life for the local residents, are shrinking. Green areas in local environments have a positive effect on the health and well-being of residents, improve the ecological characteristics of the environment, enable social functions and physical activities such as walking, running or cycling. Physical activity is fundamental to human health and well-being, as its lack contributes to the emergence of non-communicable diseases and is responsible for approximately 9% of premature mortality worldwide. The most common are diseases of the cardiovascular system, cancer, diabetes, diseases of the musculoskeletal system, obstructive pulmonary disease and some mental illnesses. In addition, replacing motorized travel with active forms of transport such as cycling brings other additional benefits for society as a whole - it reduces traffic congestion, improves air quality and contributes to reducing the number of traffic accidents. Therefore, walking and cycling are important topics for researchers and policy makers.
In recent years, urban planners and public health researchers have been proposing the use of urban design and changes in the built environment to encourage active forms of transportation to work and school, thereby reducing a sedentary lifestyle. At the same time, it is important to take into account the fact that the presence of green areas in itself does not guarantee the possibility of their use. An individual's lifestyle, including physical activity, depends not only on his personal decision, but also on opportunities or obstacles arising from the environment. If green areas are easily accessible and well-maintained in the environment, they strongly support a healthy lifestyle and encourage people to be physically active. Paths must be properly designed and safe to enable their use also by vulnerable groups of the population - children, the elderly, chronic patients.
The modern way of life, together with the trends of global sustainable development, calls us to think about how to plan the local environment in such a way that it will encourage residents to be physically active, but at the same time it will be arranged appropriately and safely. Encouraging and providing good conditions for physical activity has proven to be the best investment for good public health.

Definition of indicator

The indicator "Access to safe cycling and walking paths" shows the proportion of people aged 18-74 who answered in the survey that they can easily access safe cycling and walking paths in the environment where they live.

Unit of measure

Calculation of the indicator

The indicator "Access to safe cycling and walking paths" shows the ratio between the number of people who answered YES to the question "Can you safely walk and cycle along well-maintained paths in the place where you live?" in the "Health-related behavioral style" survey. , and the number of all persons who answered the questionnaire, multiplied by 100.
Access to safe cycling and walking paths
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The indicator for the municipality is calculated on the basis of a model that takes into account the prevalence of accessibility to safe cycling and walking paths (including YES answers) at the level of the administrative unit and demographic data of the municipality.

Data sources for Slovenia

Health-Related Behavioral Style Survey (CINDI), National Institute of Public Health.

Time availability

Data is collected periodically.
The survey was conducted in 2001, 2004, 2008, 2012, 2016 and 2020.

Men in literature

1. Green system in cities and towns. Directing the development of green areas. Handbook. Ministry of the Environment and Space, Directorate for Space, Construction and Housing. Ljubljana, 2020. Available on 23/02/2023 at: https://www.gov.si/assets/ministrstva/MOP/Dokumenti/Prostorski-red/zeleni-sistem.pdf
2. Out for health. A Guide to Designing Green Spaces to Promote Physical Activity and Healthy Lifestyles. Urban Institute of the Republic of Slovenia. Ljubljana, 2019. Available on 23/02/2023 at: http://www.uirs.si/pub/Ven_za_zdravje_jan_20_splet.pdf
3. Smith M, Hosking J, Woodward A, Witten K, MacMillan A, Field A, Baas P, Mackie H. Systematic literature review of built environment effects on physical activity and active transport - an update and new findings on health equity. Int J Behav Nutr Phys Act. 2017 Nov 16;14(1):158. doi: 10.1186/s12966-017-0613-9. PMID: 29145884; PMCID: PMC5693449.
4. The importance of green spaces in urban areas for public health. NIJZ, Center for Health Ecology. 2019.
5. Shuvo FK, Mazumdar S, Labib SM. Walkability and Greenness Do Not Walk Together: Investigating Associations between Greenness and Walkability in a Large Metropolitan City Context. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2021 Apr 21;18(9):4429. doi: 10.3390/ijerph18094429. PMID: 33919473; PMCID: PMC8122284.

Notes

The survey includes people aged 18-74. The survey does not cover the population residing in the institution at the time of the survey. The answers are based on a subjective assessment of the living environment.

Health risk factors

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Date of last change: March 2020