Neighborhood Environment Characteristics Vary In Their Associations With Active Recreation And Transportation

PURPOSE Recent studies have shown the relation of the built environment to physical activity levels. Urban planning and transportation studies demonstrate “walkability” factors, such as residential density, land use mix, and street connectivity, are associated with active transportation. Health researchers have reported connections between active recreation and environmental factors such as access to activity related facilities. This study aimed to investigate the association of environmental factors from both fields with physical activity for multiple purposes METHODS Adults (n=1285) were randomly recruited from neighborhoods in Seattle, WA that varied on walkability and income. Perceived environment was assessed with the validated Neighborhood Environment Walkability Survey. Self-reported minutes during the past week of walking and cycling for transportation and total leisure time activity (walking for recreation and moderate and vigorous leisure time activities) were assessed separately with the validated International Physical Activity Questionnaire. Separate linear regression models investigated the relationship between different built environment characteristics and active recreation or transportation, adjusting for age, gender and education. RESULTS The strongest associations with walking and biking for transportation were with perceived land use mix—access (beta=.26, p <.001), residential density (beta=.23, p <.001), street connectivity (beta=.23, p <.001) and land use mix—diversity (beta=.22, p <.001).The strongest associations with leisure time physical activity were perceived availability of recreation facilities (beta=.15, p <.001), neighborhood aesthetics (beta=.12, p <.001), land use mix–diversity (beta=.10, p <.001) and availability of local conveniences such as stores (beta=.10, p <.001). CONCLUSIONS Different characteristics of the built environment seem to facilitate physical activity for different purposes. Thus, a variety of policy changes may be needed to increase physical activity across several domains. Researchers from multiple fields need to collaborate on studies of the built environment and physical activity.