Fitness apps could help cities plan better bike lanes

The data collected by the fitness app Strava turns out to be a pretty accurate way to get a handle on how many people commute on foot or by bike, say scientists with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. This could help urban planners as they try to make cities safer for walkers and bikers who commute to work.

Commuting, however, is really hard to observe

Cities trying to become more bike- and pedestrian-friendly need to know how many people are active commuters. Commuting, however, is really hard to observe, so typically to collect that information, groups like the US census rely on surveys. But surveys are notoriously unreliable, because people are forgetful or because they lie. In fact, people are so bad at reporting what...