Density and street design are the strongest predictors of high walking and biking rates, with a recent study suggesting that if every city expanded its bike lane network and redesigned streets to match Copenhagen, Denmark, private vehicle emissions could be cut by 6 percent and generate $435 million in health benefits.

Researchers from UCLA analyzed data from 11,587 cities across 121 countries for “Global health and climate benefits from walking and cycling infrastructure,” published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

The study found that weather had no discernable impact on active travel. Some of the highest rates of active travel are found in the snow of Montreal and Copenhagen, and in the heat and humidity of Kolkata, India, and Dhaka, Bangladesh. “The lesson is clear: You don’t need to replicate Copenhagen to make your city walkable and bike-friendly,” Adam Millard-Ball, lead author and director of the UCLA Institute of Transportation Studies, said.

The study employed data from Google’s Environmental Insights Explorer (EIE), which uses aggregated and anonymized location history data from opted-in users. EIE allowed researchers to identify the number and mode of trips, along with distance traveled by each mode within a given city.

The research team released a companion playbook for city leaders and transportation planners, which provides data-driven recomendations, paired with case studies from eight successful cities. Among the case studies is Hoboken, New Jersey, is among the case studies, including the Hoboken Complete Streets Design Guide, part of the NJTPA’s Planning for Emerging Centers Program in 2019.