Key factors of independent active school travel in Chiba, Japan: Focusing on crime safety and community initiatives

• Higher perceived crime safety was associated with independent active school travel. • Children were more likely to travel independently in supervised communities. • Parents’ crime prevention participation eased the effects of their crime concerns. • Maintaining and expanding crime prevention activities across Japan is crucial. Active school travel, as well as its independence, is crucial for children’s physiological and psychological development. Despite the well-documented benefits, children’s independent and active school travel is declining in many countries, largely due to parental safety concerns. While previous studies often explore the dimensions of activeness and independence in school travel separately, this research examines these interconnected behaviors in parallel. It focuses on identifying environmental factors—particularly those related to crime safety—that influence four distinct school travel routines: independent active, independent inactive, dependent active, and dependent inactive. In November 2020, an online survey was conducted targeting parents of elementary school children in Chiba, Japan. A multinomial logistic regression was performed with 1,452 valid responses to examine the relationships between the sociodemographic characteristics, social and built environment variables, as well as the potential interactive factor, on independent active school travel in Japan, where this practice remains common. The results showed that most children (79.2%) walked to school independently, with negligible gender-based disparities. Higher perceived safety from crime was positively associated with independent active school travel, and children in areas with community-based supervision were more likely to travel independently. Although the respondents’ participation in crime prevention activities was not directly associated with the school travel routine, it significantly moderated the relationship between perceived crime safety and independent active travel to school. In disadvantaged areas where parental perceptions of safety were less favorable, their voluntary participation could facilitate children’s recommended journey. These findings underscore the pivotal role of crime safety, encompassing both subjective parental perceptions and objective presence of community-based supervision, in promoting independent active school travel. This paper emphasizes the importance of sustaining and expanding such initiatives across Japan to create safe commuting environments for children, while fostering their independence and active development within a supportive, child-friendly setting.