Spain: Barcelona values walking and cycling across the city

In Barcelona, Spain, a HEAT assessment was conducted by an injury prevention expert working in the city’s Public Health Institute, in conjunction with researchers from the nearby Centre for Research into Environmental Epidemiology (CREAL). The assessment looked at the benefits of Barcelona’s recent policies related to walking and cycling, using the results from a mobility survey.

• The experts conducted a pre-post evaluation study, comparing walking and cycling trips in the years 2009 and 2013, with the following results:
• The number of people who reported walking for travel increased from 783 518 in 2009 to 862 021 in 2013. This represented an increase in average daily time spent walking per person from 47.5 to 49.6 minutes per day.
• Taking this into account, the HEAT calculated that 86.1 deaths per year are prevented through this change in walking rates.
• The current value of the average annual benefit averaged across five years for this level of walking is €47.355 million per year.
• The number of people who reported cycling for travel increased from 40 430 in 2009 to 60 274 in 2013. The average daily time spent cycling per person was 51.8 minutes in 2009 and 49.8 minutes in 2013.
• Taking this into account, the HEAT calculated that 8.2 deaths per year are prevented through this change in cycling rates.
• The current value of the average annual benefit averaged across five years for this level of cycling is €4.492 million per year.

The report was sent to the city’s mobility department which in turn said that the report helped them to promote the city’s policies, by providing “good arguments for the politicians”. The results of the HEAT have also been used to support proposals for new projects on sustainable mobility.