A Scoping Review of Bikeability Assessment Methods

Area of Science:

• Public Health
• Urban Planning
• Transportation Science

Background:

• Bicycling is recognized for its health and sustainability benefits.
• Community-based approaches to physical activity promotion are growing.
• Bikeability, a key environmental factor for cycling, has been under-researched.

Purpose of the Study:

• To conduct a scoping review of instruments measuring bikeability.
• To analyze tools based on user expertise, cost, and implementation time.
• To identify research gaps and inform stakeholders on bikeability assessment.

Main Methods:

• Systematic literature search of EBSCO and transportation databases (post-2003).
• Data extraction on tool name, collection method, location, scale, and measure type.
• Independent review by two researchers with >90% inter-rater agreement.

Main Results:

• 17 studies met inclusion criteria from 388 unique articles.
• 11 studies were conducted outside the U.S.
• Diverse methods used: self-report surveys, geospatial data (GIS), direct observation (including mobile apps and Google Street View).

Conclusions:

• Technological advancements have spurred innovative bikeability assessment methodologies.
• Existing tools effectively assess community cycling infrastructure.
• A consensus on a universal definition of bikeability is lacking, hindering standardized evaluation.