Active mobility and mental health: evidence-based insights and a digital framework for public health interventions

Active Mobility (AM)—walking and cycling for transportation—contributes to mental health (MH), environmental sustainability, and quality of life. While AM offers accessible and cost-effective benefits, its relationship with MH remains underexplored due to inconsistent methodologies and fragmented evidence. This thesis adopts an interdisciplinary approach across psychology, public health, urban planning, and digital innovation to address these gaps. The first study presents a scoping review mapping global evidence on AM and MH. It highlights key gaps, particularly the underrepresentation of psychological constructs such as depressive symptoms, anxiety, and self-efficacy. Methodological inconsistencies and a dominance of non-psychological perspectives further limit the field. Italy’s lack of national studies using surveillance data led to the second investigation. The second study analyses 2021–2022 data from the Italian PASSI surveillance system, with expert input from the Emilia-Romagna region. Findings reveal significant, age-dependent associations between AM and depressive symptoms, positive in older adults but more complex in younger populations. These results expose the limitations of surveillance data in capturing individual behaviours and real-time MH states. In response, the third study develops a digital framework to integrate subjective (MH) and objective (AM) data collection. Designed with SelfLoops, the system combines a smartphone app, wearable fitness trackers, and an online platform, enabling scalable, real-time tracking of mood, activity, and environmental factors. Usability testing in Bologna confirmed its feasibility and user engagement. Together, these studies build a coherent narrative. The review identifies gaps, the PASSI study contextualises population trends, and the digital framework offers a novel research tool to bridge them. This thesis establishes AM as a lifestyle intervention relevant to MH and sustainability. It proposes scalable, evidence-based solutions for research, clinical practice, and urban policy, promoting healthier, more connected communities.