A new WISERD paper by Andrew Price, Mitchel Langford and Gary Higgs at the University of South Wales has recently been published in the journal, Case Studies on Transport Policy. Using sports facility data from Sport Wales and open-source data on green spaces, the team examine variations in potential access to recreational opportunities by different modes of transport.
Accessibility issues were highlighted during the pandemic, where poor local neighbourhood access to provision, exacerbated by the temporary closures of pitches and leisure centres, and the withdrawal of some public transport services limited physical activity opportunities.
The techniques developed during this research could be used by national sporting organisations to plan the provision of services in relation to potential demand. Drawing on the findings of the school sport surveys conducted by Sport Wales, for example, and mapping access to existing facilities, resources can be targeted to improve provision.
These techniques could be especially valuable where limited availability and/or poor public transport services impact on participation levels amongst under-represented groups and those living in some of the most disadvantaged areas of the country.
Photo by Markus Spiske on Unsplash.