Active Transportation Promotion: Easier in a European City, but Why?

Objective: In this study, I explore the influence of contextual factors affecting politics in explaining the different active transportation (AT) rates of Helsinki, Finland and Ottawa, Ontario (Canada). Methods: Interviews with 47 active transportation experts from the 2 cities were conducted. Data were analyzed according to categories derived from the Advocacy Coalition Framework (ACF). Documents were reviewed to triangulate the data. Results: Relative to Ottawa, Helsinki's superior performance in AT may be considerably explained by its more favorable position with respect to relatively stable background-level factors including land use, traditions in transportation planning and transport engineering, and political systems. Conclusions: AT advocacy should devote attention to stable background-level factors. Theoretically-informed political awareness is useful for health promotion.