Northstowe is a new town with plans to build 10,000 new homes. It is located approximately 8 miles north of Cambridge and it is designed to encourage use of alternatives to the car, such as walking, cycling and public transport. Local authorities have limited resources to promote these modes of travel so evidence is required about what could be the most effective.

Many local authorities promote activities such as walking groups or cycle training schemes and provide information about public transport routes and timetables. Other approaches include changing the physical environment, for example, adding bus lanes, improving lighting or reducing financial obstacles, for example by providing walking and cycling equipment vouchers. Currently, the funding used to encourage people to use alternatives to the car comes from existing council budgets, or in the case of new towns through housing developers.

Two studies of travel in Northstowe aim to explore existing barriers to and facilitators for alternatives to the car for adults and children and possible strategies to encourage the use of these modes. These are listed below and further information on each study is available on the following links.

• ICAN-Northstowe – InCentives for Alternatives to the Car in Northstowe
• Northstowe school travel environments study

---

Data sharing

The MRC Epidemiology Unit is committed to sharing data to maximise the value of our work for the public good. Please see our Data Sharing pages for more information.

---

These studies are funded by the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) School for Public Health Research. The views expressed are those of the author(s) and not necessarily those of the NIHR.