The Fit for Life Programme awards TUT’s Pykälä project
The national Fit for Life programme has awarded the Pykälä project, which was conducted at Verne Traffic Research Centre of Tampere University of Technology (TUT), for promoting an environment that encourages biking and walking.
The purpose of the Pykälä project was to introduce European cycling and walking culture to Finland.
The project was launched to shed light on the problems that are caused by increasing traffic volumes and the decreased level of daily physical activity among the Finnish population and the consequent implications for public health. The idea was to identify the best practices for pedestrian and bicycle mobility from ten cities in seven European countries and find ways to increase the rate of cycling and walking in Finland. The researchers involved in the project published their results in a book called ”Euroopan parhaimmat käytännöt pyöräilyn ja kävelyn edistämisessä”.
An article on the Pykälä project was published in the University’s science magazine Interface.
The partners involved in the PYKÄLÄ project include the Ministry of Transport and Communications, the Ministry of the Environment, the Ministry of Education and Culture, the Finnish Transport Agency, the Network of Finnish Cycling Municipalities and eight Finnish cities.
Fit for Life awards projects that promote exercise and a healthy lifestyle
The national Fit for Life programme gives out an annual award to acknowledge a local project that promotes exercise among the Finnish population.
The award was handed out by Minister of Culture and Sport Paavo Arhinmäki and Minister of Health and Social Services Maria Guzenina-Richardson in Helsinki on the anniversary of the Fit for Life Programme on 24 January 2012.
The programme inspires adults over the age of 40 to include physical activity in their daily routines. The programme was launched in 1995. local projects can apply for funding from the programme, which is funded by the Ministry of Education and Culture and the Ministry of Social Affairs and Health.
Further information:
Fit for Life Programme, Programme Director Jyrki Komulainen, tel. +358 (0) 500 542 193,
jyrki.komulainen@likes.fi
www.kki.likes.fi
Tampere University of Technology,
Tampereen teknillinen yliopisto, Verne Traffic Research Centre, Project Manager, MSc (Tech), ThM Kalle Vaismaa, tel. +358 (0) 40 8490 224, kalle.vaismaa@tut.fi
http://www.tut.fi/verne/tutkimusalueet/kaupunkiliikenne/pykala/