Public Health Representation on Active Transportation Bodies Across US Municipalities

Municipal bodies such as planning or zoning commissions and active transportation advisory committees can influence decisions made by local governments that support physical activity through active transportation. Public health professionals are encouraged to participate in and inform these processes. However, the extent of such collaboration among US municipalities is currently unknown.

To estimate the prevalence of active transportation bodies among US municipalities and the proportion with a designated public health representative.

A cross-sectional survey administered from May through September 2014.

Nationally representative sample of US municipalities with populations of 1000 or more people.

Respondents were the city or town manager, planner, or person with similar responsibilities (N = 2018).

The prevalence of planning or zoning commissions and active transportation advisory committees among municipalities and whether there was a designated public health representative on them.

Approximately 90.9% of US municipalities have a planning or zoning commission, whereas only 6.5% of these commissions have a designated public health representative. In contrast, while 16.5% of US municipalities have an active transportation advisory committee, 22.4% of them have a designated public health representative. These active transportation bodies are less common among municipalities that are smaller, rural, located in the South, and where population educational attainment is lower. Overall, few US municipalities have a planning or zoning commission (5.9%) or an active transportation advisory committee (3.7%) that also has a designated public health representative.

Approximately 9 in 10 US municipalities have a planning or zoning commission, whereas only 1 in 6 has an active transportation advisory committee. Public health representation on active transportation bodies across US municipalities is low. Increasing the adoption of active transportation advisory committees and ensuring a designated public health representative on active transportation bodies may help promote the development of activity-friendly communities across the United States.