McMillan TE. Urban form and a child's trip to school: the current literature and a model for future research. J Planning Literature 2005; 19: 440-456
Summary: The author of this paper posits that there is a direct, although complex, relationship between the urban form and a child's travel patterns to school. In this article she provides a framework to consider the factors affecting travel patterns and guide future land use and transportation policy.
General Concensus: Student comments on this article seem lukewarm. While most agree with the author that the myriad factors affecting travel patterns are complex many argued that McMillan should help the reader identify the most influential ones. Readers appreciated that the model considers neighborhood safety, traffic safety, and household transportation options as factors in parental decision making.
Additional Comments:
"I don't know that I agree with their statement that there is little evidence to support changing the design of the environment has no impact on child pedestrian safety." (EPI)