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Special Issue Editors’ Notes:  A Second Generation of Active Living Research

Chanam Lee

Environment and Active Living: The Roles of Health Risk and Economic Factors
Does a neighborhood’s physical characteristics and its social environment influence transportation and recreational forms of physical activity among those with high health risk and those who are economically challenged? To address this question data from a random sample of 438 adults participating in the Walkable and Bikable Communities Project in Seattle, Washington were studied (34% response rate). The researcher found that those with lower incomes tended to reside in areas with more routine destinations (e.g., grocery store) and higher densities and that they were more active in their use of transportation-related physical activities relative to higher income groups. Social environments showed a stronger association with recreational activities, while the physical environment showed a stronger association with transportation physical activities.

Lawrence Frank
Jacqueline Kerr
Jim Chapman
James Sallis

Urban Form Relationships With Walk Trip Frequency and Distance Among Youth
Relationships among objectively measured urban form variables and walking for transportation were studied in a large (N = 3,161) sample of 5-20 year old youths participating in the “Strategies for Metropolitan Atlanta’s Regional Transportation and Air Quality” (SMARTAQ) program. The results indicated that urban form was related to walking in children, particularly 12-15 year olds who were old enough to have some degree of independence, but too young to drive. Having recreation space within 1 km of the home was the strongest predictor of walking. Policies aimed at promoting more walkable developments may increase youth physical activity behavior.

Sanne I. de Vries
Ingrid Bakker
Willem van Mechelen
Marijke Hopman-Rock

Determinants of Activity-friendly Neighborhoods for Children: Results of the SPACE Study
The Spatial Planning And Children’s Exercise (SPACE) study examined the association between factors of the built environment and children’s (N = 422) physical activity levels in the Netherlands. In univariate analyses a wide variety of neighborhood variables were associated with the children’s physical activity behavior (e.g., car parks, unoccupied houses, and sports fields). In multivariate analyses, the two correlates of the built environment and children’s physical activity levels were parking lanes and the neighborhood’s “activity-friendliness.” The authors suggest that remodeling neighborhoods into activity-friendly environments may be an effective strategy to increase children’s physical activity behavior.

Gilbert C. Liu
Jeffery S. Wilson
Rong Qi
Jun Ying

Green Neighborhoods, Food Retail and Childhood Overweight:  Differences by Population Density
What is the relationship between childhood overweight and aspects of the built environment? This study examined neighborhood vegetation and food retail locations as predictors of overweight in a diverse sample of children between 3-18 years of age. Participants were 7,334 youth who had been seen in a network of seven urban primary care clinics in Marion County, Indiana during the year 2000. The researchers found that in high population-density areas, an increased amount of vegetation surrounding a child’s residence was protective against overweight. In low population-dense areas, closer proximity between a child’s residence and a large, brand-name supermarket was a risk factor for overweight. Consideration of landscape, location of certain types of food retail, and population density may benefit community design and public health approaches to obesity prevention.

Andrew Rundle
Ana V. Diez Roux
Lance M. Freeman
Douglas Miller
Kathryn M. Neckerman
Christopher C. Weiss

The Urban Built Environment and Obesity in New York City: A Multilevel Analysis
This study examined whether built environment characteristics were associated with body mass index among residents (N = 13,157) residing in one of 1979 census tracts in New York City. Those residing in tracts with higher population density, greater density of subway and bus stops, and more mix of residential and commercial land uses (i.e., those tracts that were more “pedestrian-friendly”) had significantly lower BMI levels compared with other New Yorkers. If each participant’s BMI were reduced by ½ unit through modifications to the built environment, 12% of the overweight participants would be re-classified as normal weight and 11% of the obese participants would be re-classified as “overweight.” Though noncausal, these results do suggest that transportation policy, zoning, and other city planning policies may help combat overweight and obesity rates in highly-dense, urban environments.

Kim D. Reynolds
Jennifer Wolch
Jason Byrne
Chih-Ping Chou
Guanjun Feng
Susan Weaver
Michael Jerrett

Trail Characteristics as Correlates of Urban Trail Use
Urban trails provide the infrastructure to support both transportation-related and leisure-time physical activity. This study examined correlates of use for such trails at the Chicago Lakefront Trail, White Rock Lake Trail (Dallas), and Los Angeles River Trail. A total of 17,338 users (67% male, 56% 18-39 yr, 67% cyclists) were observed across the three trails. Sixty-five qualitative features of each trail were assessed. These features factor into eight categories (i.e., aesthetics, continuity and navigation, ease and attractiveness of use, safety, trail adjacent characteristics, trail characteristics, trail obstacles, and trail services). The features most associated with trail use were mixed versus natural views, presence of streetlights, good trail conditions, café present, and other trailside facilities.

Gayle Nicoll

Spatial Measures Associated With Stair Use
This study examined the physical environmental features associated with stair use within a sample of 10 academic buildings.  Stair use was defined as the relative percentage of all vertical travel attributed to each stair within its own building. Physical environmental variables were identified based on the thematic-cognitive framework and presence and variability of features within the buildings. Of the ten variables considered, three (i.e., effective area, area of stair isovist, number of turns for travel from the most integrated path) explained 53% of stair use. This study suggests that stair placement plays an important role in promoting stair use in buildings. Stairs that attracted the most use in their buildings had spatial characteristics that support the convenience and legibility of stairs relative to the movement structure through the building.

Links Between Physical Environments and Physical Activity

Edward Maibach

The Influence of the Media Environment on Physical Activity: Looking for the Big Picture
Media consumption is expected to continue to increase well into the future. With this in mind the author suggests opportunities to influence the media environment for the purposes of promoting physical activity. A research agenda focused on media consumption, media content, commercial considerations, promoting physical activity through the media, partnerships with industry, positioning, dissemination of proven methods, and environmental change is proposed.

Matthew A. Coogan
Karla H. Karash
Thomas Adler
James F. Sallis

The Role of Personal Values, Urban Form and Auto Availability in the Analysis of Walking for Transportation
Adults (N =865) who had recently made or were contemplating making a residential move were surveyed as to their mode of transportation for nine different trip purposes, their personal values and attitudes regarding urban and environmental attributes of the built environment, their neighborhood type, and their auto availability. Study participants lived in one of eleven different urban locations. Using structural equation modeling, urban environmental values (r = .21), living in a compact neighborhood (r = .18), and number of automobiles per person (r = -.24) were each associated with walking for all trip purposes. Income (r = .08) was the only demographic variable to enter into the model. A key finding of this study is that people who have all three factors of positive values for walkable neighborhoods, live in walkable neighborhoods, and have limited automobile availability reported walking for transportation scores that were five times higher than people without those characteristics.

Jenna H. Tilt
Thomas M. UnfriedBelen Roka

Using Objective and Subjective Measures of Neighborhood Greenness and Accessible Destinations for Understanding Walking Trips and BMI in Seattle, Washington
The associations among number of destinations within walking distance of a residence and the quantity of neighborhood vegetation on walking trips and BMI was examined among 529 people residing in Seattle using objective and subjective measures. Having a destination < ½ mile of one’s residence was positively related to total number of walking trips taken with parks, grocery stores/markets, and restaurants being the most frequently accessed destinations. Interestingly, using objective measures of vegetation seemed to interact with the amount of accessible destinations within the neighborhood to affect BMI in this set of observations, whereas subjective measures of vegetation seemed to affect walking behavior.

Anastasia Loukaitou-Sideris
John E. Eck
 

Crime Prevention and Active Living
This paper addresses the question of whether crime is a barrier to active living and if it is, what can be done about it? The authors introduce a theoretical model that addresses how crime might influence physical activity behavior. The core components of the model are: situational characteristics, crime and disorder, fear of crime or disorder, and physical activity. These variables are thought to be moderated through psychological, demographic, environmental and other factors. Research questions that derive from the model are featured.

John O. Spengler
Sarah J. Young
Leslie S. Linton

Schools as a Community Resource for Physical Activity: Legal Considerations for Decision Makers
Public schools may offer community residents access to gymnasiums, playfields, etc. When school facilities are available and/or opened up for public use in this manner, what are the legal obligations and liability concerns that arise for the schools and the users? Joint- and shared-use facilities and lands have some legal protections, which this paper introduces and reviews. Legal cases (and precedent) are shared with readers. Within this context, a model depicting factors influencing decisions to allow public use of school facilities for recreation and physical activity is introduced.

Semra A. Aytur
Daniel A. Rodriguez
Kelly R. Evenson
Diane J. CatellierWayne D. Rosamond

Promoting Active Community Environments Through Land Use and Transportation Planning
The role of land use and transportation plans as policy instruments for promoting Active Community Environments was examined in 67 North Carolina counties. Active Community Environment were determined from a survey of planning directors (77% response rate) and the physical activity data came from 6694 adults who had responded to the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System. After controlling for number of sociodemographic variables, Active Community Environment scores were associated with physical activity levels in a dose-response fashion. That is, the percentage of people living in High versus Medium versus Low Active Community Environments that met the recommended physical activity level were 31%, 25%, and 13%, respectively. Coordinated efforts between land use and transportation plans may promote physical activity behavior.

American Journal of Health Promotion |  248-682-0707