Promoting children and adolescents active commuting to school with a focus on parents’ perceptions of social norm, gender and the environment - The Ciud Activa project Granada Spain

During the guest researcher stay from January/February and April/ June 2025, the main applicant will collaborate with Professor Palma Chillón Garzón, a leading expert on active commuting to school (ACS).

She has published 151 scientific articles with a total of 3,765 citations, holds an h-index of 34 and has participated in 42 projects (32 national and 10 international) with total funding of €10,440,704. She has successfully led 10 of these projects, making significant contributions to societal improvements.

This stay aims to address the decline in physical activity (PA) among children in Spain and Sweden by analyzing social norms in relation to ACS, with a special focus on gender and the environment. Professor Chillón Garzón is the principal investigator of the Ciud Activa project (Healthy Cities).

The project´s main objective is to analyze how the environment influences PA behavior by identifying the urban features in different routes, such as the one between home and school, that encourage cycling and walking.

This stay is specifically chosen to support the ongoing research conducted by the applicant within the Swedish SICTA (Sustainable Innovation for Children Transporting Actively) project.

Thus, it aims to enhance the knowledge and understanding of cutting-edge methodologies used to assess and analyze the urban environment with objective measurements. This will significantly enhance the main applicant´s skills in methodologies not yet applied Sweden.

Additionally, it will be especially valuable for advancing the SICTA project, contributing to the development of effective research methodologies, strategies, and policies that promote ACS.

A key objective is to strengthen and deepen our international research collaboration, promoting PA across our countries.

The knowledge and research findings gained from this project will be presented and shared in seminars, workshops and online conferences, both at the host and home institution.