It is very useful for plotting the best way to bike somewhere. There is a huge difference between driving from point A to B and biking from point A to B. Now Google has solved that problem. It is interesting how much you can save in distance – sometimes a couple of miles can be saved.

Maybe Google can add a feature to Google Maps to help plot out the 1 or 2 miles circles – or even better in my opinion, plot out Bike Time circles – the circle or plot that represents 10 minutes from home by bike, or walking…

European study of adolescents walking up to 1.5 miles biking up to 2.5miles (rates of active commuting correlated directly with distance. Interesting point walkability/bikability was not a strong influence per a self report survey but convenience (access to a car ride) ranked high.

Nelson et. al. “Active commuting to school: How far is too far?” Int. J. Behav. Nutr. Phys. Act. 2008 Jan 8;5:1.

US college student commuters identified as either cyclist or motorist where compared for the distance they lived from campus, cyclists 0 miles to 1.2 miles vs .9 to 3.1 miles, cyclists also had total greater activity levels.

Comparison of cyclists’ and motorists’ utilitarian physical activity at an urban university.
Sisson SB, Tudor-Locke C.
Prev Med. 2008 Jan;46(1):77-9. Epub 2007 Jul 14.

Australian study walking surface and having stores/shops within a walkable distance correlated with rates of active commute. While big parking lots were associated with more driving.
Pikora TI, Giles-Corti B, Knutman MW, et al. Neighborhood environmental factors correlated with walking near home: using SPACES. Med Sci Sports Exerc 2006; 38: 708-14

Parental perception of walkability correlated with active commute (walking/biking) and their perception correlated with objective measures of walkability.

Kerr J, Med Sci Sports Exerc. Active commuting to school: Associations with environment and parental concerns. 2006 Apr;38(4):787-94.

Active commuting (walk/bike) to parks/recreation facilities was correlated with sites being within a 10 min walk for 11-18 year olds and active commuters, (parent and adolescent) perception of infrastructure correlated with active commuting.
GROW, HELENE MOLLIE 1 Where Are Youth Active? Roles of Proximity, Active Transport, and Built Environment. Med Sci Sports Exerc Volume 40(12)
December 2008 ; pg. 2071-2079

Decent review with good list of references.
Shephard RJ. Is active commuting the answer to population health? Sports Med. 2008;38(9):751-8.

mark.fenton@verizon.net
Fenton M. J Nutr Educ Behav. 2005 Nov-Dec;37 Suppl 2:S115-20. Sort of manifestoish but a good list of online resources.

Active Living by Design (program of the Robert Wood Johnson
Foundation), http://www.activeiivingbydesign.org
America On the Move, http://www.americaonthemove.org
America Waiks, http://www.americawaiks.org
Bicycie Lane Design Guideiines, available at http://www.bicyclinginfo.org
Caiifornia’s Locai Government Commission (land use and zoning
information), http://www.lgc.org
League of American Bicyclists, http://www.bikeleague.org
National Center for Walking and Bicycling, http://www.bikewalk.org
Pedestrian and Bicycle Information Center, http://www.pedbikeinfo.org
Pedestrian Facilities Users Guide, avaiiabie at http://www.walkinginfo.org
Rails-to-Trails Conservancy, http://www.raiitrails.org
Walk a Child to School Day, http://www.walktoschool.org
Walkabie Communities, Inc., http://www.walkabie.org

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/