Overview
LIFE CYCLE is a project funded by the EU Public Health Programme, aligned to its overall goal of improving the health of EU citizens by fostering more physically active lifestyles.
The aim of LIFE CYCLE is to integrate cycling as the natural means of transport in daily life. Thus, the project is contributing to the socialisation of cycling. By this, LIFE CYCLE aims to change the increasing sedentary lifestyles of people by adding physical activity to the daily routines.
LIFE CYCLE takes up problems and potentials from the fields of public health and mobility and creates a simple and efficient means to foster physical activity: it is reintegrated into daily transport routines by changing people’s mobility behaviour and their perception in favour of cycling. The key element is to include 30 min of moderate physical activity in people’s daily life.
The two key words for LIFE CYCLE are ‘perception’ and ‘motivation’.
Perception
To change the mobility behaviour of people, the mainly subjective perception of the different modes of transport needs to be put on an objective level. Usually the car is estimated much higher than its performance including economic, health and ecologic factors really is. Several reasons such as large scale advertisement of the car industry and trained perception beginning during childhood from the backseat of a car are the reasons for it. The opposite applies to cycling. To point people at the real performance it needs the creation of a positive image for cycling as early as possible as well as its maintenance during life.
Motivation
Changed perception on its own might not be enough to realise a behaviour change. This needs practical experience. Motivating users to test cycling is therefore elementary. LIFE CYCLE is based on a motivational approach providing people in their respective life phase with tailored actions to start or keep cycling.
Apart from project management and dissemination, the main project tasks are:
- Creation of intervention manual for a life long approach on cycling
- Implementation and adaptation of the intervention manual - kindergartens, schools and families
- Implementation and adaptation of the intervention manual - adults
- Implementation and adaptation of the intervention manual - seniors
- Training and capacity building multiplying future life long approaches on cycling
- Evaluation of the project.