Does Bus Rapid Transit promote walking? An examination of New York City's Select Bus Service.

Background: Cities across the U.S. and internationally are adopting Bus Rapid Transit to improve transit services for residents.

Associations between building design, point-of-decision stair prompts, and stair use in urban worksites.

Objective: Incidental forms of physical activity such as stair use offer frequent opportunities for energy expenditure and may contribute to the prevention and control of chronic diseases. This study analyzes the associations between building characteristics, stair prompts, and stair use in large urban worksites.

Methods: Bootstrapped generalized mixed models were used to analyze self-reported stair use, using data from 1348 surveys of city employees and fourteen building assessments conducted in New York City in 2012.

Promoting routine stair use: evaluating the impact of a stair prompt across buildings.

Background: Although studies have demonstrated that stair prompts are associated with increased physical activity, many were conducted in low-rise buildings over a period of weeks and did not differentiate between stair climbing and descent.

Purpose: This study evaluated the impact of a prompt across different building types, and on stair climbing versus descent over several months.

Methods: In 2008-2009, stair and elevator trips were observed and analyzed at three buildings in New York City before and after the posting of a prompt stating "Burn Calories, Not Electricity" (total observations=18,462).