Utilitarian Bicycling and Mental Wellbeing

Abstract

Problem, research strategy, and findings

Although the physical health benefits of utilitarian bicycling are well documented, there is little empirical evidence to demonstrate the mental health benefits. We investigated a) the association between utilitarian bicycling behavior and mental wellbeing and b) the role of the built environment in promoting utilitarian bicycling and improving mental wellbeing. We used data from a large, representative survey (N = 30,105) conducted in Victoria (Australia) and applied a structural equation model (SEM) to explore the relationships between the built environment, utilitarian bicycling, and mental wellbeing. Overall, we found that utilitarian bicycling is positively associated with life satisfaction and negatively associated with psychological distress, and that these effects vary significantly by gender and age. We also found that highly bikeable neighborhoods are associated with better mental health, though this correlation is fully mediated by bicycling and walking behavior.

Takeaway for practice

These findings suggest that promoting utilitarian bicycling may help increase mental health and boost life satisfaction, particularly in women and older adults. Therefore, mental health should be addressed in the literature on the benefits of utilitarian biking. These findings also suggest that planning efforts to promote bicycling among women and older adults should focus not only on improving safety but also on providing infrastructure that enhances the psychological pleasure of bicycling. Finally, these findings suggest that a highly bikeable neighborhood is not just a healthy but a happy one.

Keywords:

• built environment
• cycling
• life satisfaction
• psychological distress

Acknowledgments

We are grateful to the editor, Professor Ann Forsyth, and the three anonymous reviewers for their constructive feedback. We are also grateful to Professor Jennifer Dill, who provided insights on data analysis while she was visiting Melbourne in 2019.

Supplemental Material

Supplemental data for this article can be found on the publisher’s website.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Liang Ma

LIANG MA ([email protected]) is an assistant professor of urban and regional planning in the College of Urban and Environmental Sciences at Peking University.

Runing Ye

RUNING YE ([email protected]) is a McKenzie Postdoctoral Fellow in the Faculty of Architecture, Building, and Planning at the University of Melbourne.