This study evaluated changes in cycling trips before and after the construction of an urban greenway in Vancouver, Canada. Urban cycling has gained in popularity as a healthy and environmentally ...friendly mode of transport. Carsharing is also on the rise globally, and it has the potential to disrupt urban mobility, including cycling and public transit. In this study, we hypothesized that cycling trips will increase after the opening of the greenway for residents living within 300 meters of the greenway compared to those living further away. We also posited that carsharing membership would have a positive impact on cycling uptake. Data were drawn from a three-year natural experiment study (2012–2015) of the Comox-Helmcken Greenway (“Comox Greenway”) in Vancouver. An experimental-and-control design was employed to compare pre-post differences in cycling trips for residents within 300 m of the greenway (experimental group, n = 239) and those further away (control group, n = 285). The opening of the greenway resulted in a 251% increase in cycling trips for the experimental group compared to the control group. Ethnically white subjects reported 130% more cycling trips than non-white subjects, and those aged 65 and older reported 79% fewer cycling trips than younger age cohorts. Carshare membership reduced the number of cycling trips after the greenway opening. Results suggest that greenways could be an effective strategy to boost urban cycling, and that carsharing programs may have a countervailing effect on cycling. The findings support recent initiatives to reappropriate road space in urban areas for cycling and walking due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
•Findings support recent initiatives to reappropriate road space for cycling and walking due to in part to the pandemic.•The construction of an urban greenway resulted in a considerable increase in biking for those living within 300 meters.•Car sharing increases vehicle access and makes driving easier and may reduce cycling in highly walkable locations.•Positive greenway impacts were disproportionately enjoyed by both white and younger participants.
Introduction Diverse combinations of built environment (BE) features for physical activity (PA) are understudied. This study explored whether patterns of GIS-derived BE features explained objective ...and self-reported PA, sedentary behavior, and BMI. Methods Neighborhood Quality of Life Study participants (N=2,199, aged 20–65 years, 48.2% female, 26% ethnic minority) were sampled in 2001–2005 from Seattle / King County WA and Baltimore MD / Washington DC regions. Their addresses were geocoded to compute net residential density, land use mix, retail floor area ratio, intersection density, public transit, and public park and private recreation facility densities using a 1-km network buffer. Latent profile analyses (LPAs) were estimated from these variables. Multilevel regression models compared profiles on accelerometer-measured moderate to vigorous PA (MVPA) and self-reported PA, adjusting for covariates and clustering. Analyses were conducted in 2013–2014. Results Seattle region LPAs yielded four profiles, including low walkability/transit/recreation (L-L-L); mean walkability/transit/recreation (M-M-M); moderately high walkability/transit/recreation (MH-MH-MH); and high walkability/transit/recreation (H-HH). All measures were higher in the HHH than the LLL profile (difference of 17.1 minutes/day for MVPA, 146.5 minutes/week for walking for transportation, 58.2 minutes/week for leisure-time PA, and 2.2 BMI points; all p <0.05). Baltimore region LPAs yielded four profiles, including L-L-L; M-M-M; high land use mix, transit, and recreation (HLU-HT-HRA); and high intersection density, high retail floor area ratio (HID-HRFAR). HLU-HT-HRA and L-L-L differed by 12.3 MVPA minutes/day; HID-HRFAR and L-L-L differed by 157.4 minutes/week for walking for transportation (all p <0.05). Conclusions Patterns of environmental features explain greater differences in adults’ PA than the four-component walkability index.
Ecological models of physical activity emphasize the effects of environmental influences. “Microscale” streetscape features that may affect pedestrian experience have received less research attention ...than macroscale walkability (e.g., residential density). The Microscale Audit of Pedestrian Streetscapes (MAPS) measures street design, transit stops, sidewalk qualities, street crossing amenities, and features impacting aesthetics. The present study examined associations of microscale attributes with multiple physical activity (PA) measures across four age groups. Areas in the San Diego, Seattle, and the Baltimore metropolitan areas, USA, were selected that varied on macro-level walkability and neighborhood income. Participants (n = 3677) represented four age groups (children, adolescents, adults, older adults). MAPS audits were conducted along a 0.25 mile route along the street network from participant residences toward the nearest non-residential destination. MAPS data were collected in 2009–2010. Subscale and overall summary scores were created. Walking/biking for transportation and leisure/neighborhood PA were measured with age-appropriate surveys. Objective PA was measured with accelerometers. Mixed linear regression analyses were adjusted for macro-level walkability. Across all age groups 51.2%, 22.1%, and 15.7% of all MAPS scores were significantly associated with walking/biking for transport, leisure/neighborhood PA, and objectively-measured PA, respectively. Supporting the ecological model principle of behavioral specificity, destinations and land use, streetscape, street segment, and intersection variables were more related to transport walking/biking, while aesthetic variables were related to leisure/neighborhood PA. The overall score was related to objective PA in children and older adults. Present findings provide strong evidence that microscale environment attributes are related to PA across the lifespan. Improving microscale features may be a feasible approach to creating activity-friendly environments.
•Microscale attributes were related to physical activity in all ages.•Microscale attributes were most strongly associated with active transport.•There are different microscale correlates of active transport vs active leisure.•There is a cumulative effect of environmental attributes.•The predictive validity of the MAPS audit tool and scoring system is established.
The study examined the association of neighborhood walkability to multiple activity-related outcomes and BMI among adolescents and evaluated socioeconomic status as an effect modifier.
...Cross-sectional study, with adolescents recruited from neighborhoods that met criteria for a 2 × 2 matrix defined by high/low GIS-defined walkability and high/low median income. Adolescents aged 12–16 years (n = 928) were recruited from selected neighborhoods in Maryland and King County, Washington regions in 2009–2011. There were 50.4% girls, and 66.3% were non-Hispanic white, with no medical restrictions on physical activity (PA) or diets. Total PA and sedentary time was assessed by 7 days of accelerometer monitoring. Adolescents self-reported active transport, time spent on 6 sedentary behaviors, and height and weight, used to compute BMI percentiles. Mixed model linear and logistic regressions examined outcomes for association with walkability and income, adjusting for demographic covariates and clustering within block groups.
Walkability was positively and significantly related to objectively-measured PA (p < .001) and more frequent walking for transportation (p < .001). Total self-reported sedentary time (p = .048) and TV time (p < .007) were negatively related to walkability. Time in vehicles was negatively related to walkability only among higher-income adolescents.
Neighborhood walkability was strongly and consistently associated with adolescents' objectively-assessed total physical activity and reported active transportation. A novel finding was that adolescents living in walkable neighborhoods reported less television time and less time in vehicles. Most results were similar across income categories. Results strengthen the rationale for recommendations to improve walkability.
•In walkable neighborhoods adolescents did more transport walking and total activity.•In walkable neighborhoods adolescents had less TV time, time in cars, and total sitting.•Walkability effects were similar for those in lower- and higher-income neighborhoods.
Objective
The Neighbourhood Environments in Waterloo: Patterns of Active Transportation and Health (NEWPATH) study examined built environment influences on travel, physical activity, food ...consumption, and health. This collaboration between researchers and practitioners in health and transportation planning is the first, to our knowledge, to integrate food purchasing, diet, travel, and objectively measured physical activity into a trip‐destination protocol. This study simultaneously examines diet and physical activity relationships with BMI and waist circumference (WC).
Methods
Individual diet and travel diary data were linked to objective built‐environment measures of walkability and retail food environments. BMI and WC were self‐reported (n = 1,160). Some respondents wore accelerometers to objectively measure physical activity (n = 549). Pathways from the built environment through behavior (walking and eating) to BMI and WC were assessed using path analysis.
Results
Walkability was associated with lower BMI and WC through physical activity and active travel. Healthy retail food environments were associated with healthy eating and lower BMI and WC, whereas walkability and healthy retail food environments were insignificant (p < 0.05). Walkable neighborhoods had less healthy food environments, but active travel was not associated with healthy eating or caloric intake.
Conclusions
Findings highlight the importance of neighborhood walkability and food environments in shaping physical activity, diet, and obesity.
The Neighborhood Environment Walkability Scale (NEWS) and its abbreviated form (NEWS-A) assess perceived environmental attributes believed to influence physical activity. A multilevel confirmatory ...factor analysis (MCFA) conducted on a sample from Seattle, WA showed that, at the respondent level, the factor-analyzable items of the NEWS and NEWS-A measured 11 and 10 constructs of perceived neighborhood environment, respectively. At the census blockgroup (used by the US Census Bureau as a subunit of census tracts) level, the MCFA yielded five factors for both NEWS and NEWS-A. The aim of this study was to cross-validate the individual- and blockgroup-level measurement models of the NEWS and NEWS-A in a geographical location and population different from those used in the original validation study.
A sample of 912 adults was recruited from 16 selected neighborhoods (116 census blockgroups) in the Baltimore, MD region. Neighborhoods were stratified according to their socio-economic status and transport-related walkability level measured using Geographic Information Systems. Participants self-completed the NEWS. MCFA was used to cross-validate the individual- and blockgroup-level measurement models of the NEWS and NEWS-A.
The data provided sufficient support for the factorial validity of the original individual-level measurement models, which consisted of 11 (NEWS) and 10 (NEWS-A) correlated factors. The original blockgroup-level measurement model of the NEWS and NEWS-A showed poor fit to the data and required substantial modifications. These included the combining of aspects of building aesthetics with safety from crime into one factor; the separation of natural aesthetics and building aesthetics into two factors; and for the NEWS-A, the separation of presence of sidewalks/walking routes from other infrastructure for walking.
This study provided support for the generalizability of the individual-level measurement models of the NEWS and NEWS-A to different urban geographical locations in the USA. It is recommended that the NEWS and NEWS-A be scored according to their individual-level measurement models, which are relatively stable and correspond to constructs commonly used in the urban planning and transportation fields. However, prior to using these instruments in international and multi-cultural studies, further validation work across diverse non-English speaking countries and populations is needed.
To investigate relations of walking, bicycling and vehicle time to neighborhood walkability and total physical activity in youth.
Participants (N=690) were from 380 census block groups of high/low ...walkability and income in two US regions. Home neighborhood residential density, intersection density, retail density, entertainment density and walkability were derived using GIS. Minutes/day of walking, bicycling and vehicle time were derived from processing algorithms applied to GPS. Accelerometers estimated total daily moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA). Models were adjusted for nesting of days (N=2987) within participants within block groups.
Walking occurred on 33%, active travel on 43%, and vehicle time on 91% of the days observed. Intersection density and neighborhood walkability were positively related to walking and bicycling and negatively related to vehicle time. Residential density was positively related to walking.
Increasing walking in youth could be effective in increasing total physical activity. Built environment findings suggest potential for increasing walking in youth through improving neighborhood walkability.
Purpose
A new method for enhancing the sensitivity of diffusion MRI (dMRI) by combining the data from single (sPFG) and double (dPFG) pulsed field gradient experiments is presented.
Methods
This ...method uses our JESTER framework to combine microscopic anisotropy information from dFPG experiments using a new method called diffusion tensor subspace imaging (DiTSI) to augment the macroscopic anisotropy information from sPFG data analyzed using our guided by entropy spectrum pathways method. This new method, called joint estimation diffusion imaging (JEDI), combines the sensitivity to macroscopic diffusion anisotropy of sPFG with the sensitivity to microscopic diffusion anisotropy of dPFG methods.
Results
Its ability to produce significantly more detailed anisotropy maps and more complete fiber tracts than existing methods within both brain white matter (WM) and gray matter (GM) is demonstrated on normal human subjects on data collected using a novel fast, robust, and clinically feasible sPFG/dPFG acquisition.
Conclusions
The potential utility of this method is suggested by an initial demonstration of its ability to mitigate the problem of gyral bias. The capability of more completely characterizing the tissue structure and connectivity throughout the entire brain has broad implications for the utility and scope of dMRI in a wide range of research and clinical applications.
There is growing evidence that communities can be designed to support physical activity, but it is important to understand whether neighborhood features related to health are also considered ...satisfactory by residents. The study aimed to determine if there is an association between perceived and objective neighborhood environment variables and neighborhood satisfaction. Adults (N = 1,726) were recruited from neighborhoods in two regions of the United States selected to vary on walkability and income. Perceived neighborhood environment was assessed using a validated scale, objective measures were constructed using geographic information system (GIS), and satisfaction was assessed using a 17-item survey. Participants reported greater satisfaction when they perceived their neighborhood as having greater pedestrian/traffic safety, crime safety, attractive aesthetics, access to destinations, diversity of destinations, park access, and lower residential density. Objective measures were not significant. The discrepant findings between perceived and objective environmental measures indicate that neighborhood satisfaction is a complex construct.
Public health impacts of transportation policies and infrastructure investment are becoming better understood, particularly for those associated with physical activity. Yet health impacts are not ...routinely evaluated within the context of the development of a Regional Transportation Plan (RTP) and subsequent programming and investment processes. This is particularly concerning because the spatial distribution of planned transportation infrastructure potentially has significant health equity implications for vulnerable populations at greater risk of chronic disease. This study discusses the application of the National Public Health Assessment Model (NPHAM) – a new approach that expands several scenario planning tools to include health – for the San Joaquin Council of Governments 2018 RTP. It demonstrates how quantifying health impacts at a finer spatial scale (census block groups) helps assess the extent to which RTP strategies are likely to benefit or harm health. It further enables a spatial form of health equity analysis that can help planners understand where infrastructure is most needed to meet social equity goals. To the knowledge of the authors, this is the first example of a quantified, health equity analysis of transport physical activity and a health outcome – body mass index - associated with an RTP; it demonstrates significant advancement in transportation planning practice and policy.
•A health assessment software tool was applied to San Joaquin County's 2018 RTP.•Analysis provides census block group level physical activity and BMI estimates.•Differences between baseline and 3 future scenarios for PA and BMI are analyzed.•Current disparities and differential impacts for equity groups are analyzed.•Differences in impact by definition suggest moderate equity areas perform best.
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