A tale of two regional cities: Assessing council policies for active living, transport and recreation

Background:
The degree to which council policies incorporate evidence-based recommendations for creating environments supportive of physical activity is unknown.

Purpose:
To determine how closely council policies align with evidence-based recommendations for creating activity-supportive environments.

Methods:
This case study is part of a larger research project exploring physical activity related policies of Australian councils. A validated survey was distributed to 250 purposively selected councils, yielding 57 responses from 52 councils. Two regional Queensland councils were chosen for a case study based on demographic similarities.

A verified scoring system assessed policies against evidence-based indicators, with ‘policy presence’ evaluated on a scale of present (1), partial (0.5), or absence (0). ‘Policy quality’ was determined based on standards and targets (e.g., >80% of residences <400m from parks), with scores ranging from ‘no policy / specificity’ (0) to ‘specific standards/aims with measurable targets’ (3). Multiplier scores were applied where policies were either ‘mixed/partially inconsistent’ (-0.5) or ‘inconsistent’ (-1) with evidence-based recommendations. Summary scores quantified overall presence and quality of council policies.

Results:
While both councils demonstrated high levels of policy presence associated with activity-supportive environments (Council 1: 78%; Council 2: 87%), overall policy quality was relatively low (Council 1: 26%; Council 2: 38%). This was predominantly due to a lack of evidence-based standards and targets within multiple domains. Several policies not aligned with evidence-based recommendations within multiple domains also contributed to low policy quality. Both councils shared policy deficiencies related to health impact assessments, tree canopy cover, walking/cycling targets, access to large parks and daily destinations, street connectivity, dwelling density, and policy performance monitoring.

Conclusions:
Despite strong policy presence, policy quality requires strengthening across multiple domains.

Practical implications:
Council policies require strengthening predominantly through the introduction of explicitly defined standards and targets that are evidence-based to improve physical activity.

Funding:
This research received no funding.