Urban Design and Planning Archives - Page 15 of 43

Obesity, Diet Quality, Physical Activity, and the Built Environment: The Need for Behavioral Pathways

Drewnowski, Adam; Aggarwal, Anju; Tang, Wesley; Hurvitz, Philip M.; Scully, Jason; Stewart, Orion; Moudon, Anne Vernez. (2016). Obesity, Diet Quality, Physical Activity, and the Built Environment: The Need for Behavioral Pathways. BMC Public Health, 16.

View Publication

Abstract

Background: The built environment ( BE) is said to influence local obesity rates. Few studies have explored causal pathways between home-neighborhood BE variables and health outcomes such as obesity. Such pathways are likely to involve both physical activity and diet. Methods: The Seattle Obesity Study ( SOS II) was a longitudinal cohort of 440 adult residents of King Co, WA. Home addresses were geocoded. Home-neighborhood BE measures were framed as counts and densities of food sources and physical activity locations. Tax parcel property values were obtained from County tax assessor. Healthy Eating Index ( HEI 2010) scores were constructed using data from food frequency questionnaires. Physical activity ( PA) was obtained by self-report. Weights and heights were measured at baseline and following 12 months' exposure. Multivariable regressions examined the associations among BE measures at baseline, health behaviors ( HEI-2010 and physical activity) at baseline, and health outcome both cross-sectionally and longitudinally. Results: None of the conventional neighborhood BE metrics were associated either with diet quality, or with meeting PA guidelines. Only higher property values did predict better diets and more physical activity. Better diets and more physical activity were associated with lower obesity prevalence at baseline and 12 mo, but did not predict weight change. Conclusion: Any links between the BE and health outcomes critically depend on establishing appropriate behavioral pathways. In this study, home-centric BE measures, were not related to physical activity or to diet. Further studies will need to consider a broader range of BE attributes that may be related to diets and health.

Keywords

Body-mass Index; Local Food Environment; Residential Property-values; Supermarket Accessibility; Park Proximity; Neighborhood Walkability; Vegetable Consumption; Atherosclerosis Risk; Restaurant Food; Associations; Built Environment; Physical Activity; Obesity; Diet Quality

Estimating Daily Bicycle Counts in Seattle, Washington, from Seasonal and Weather Factors

Schmiedeskamp, Peter; Zhao, Weiran. (2016). Estimating Daily Bicycle Counts in Seattle, Washington, from Seasonal and Weather Factors. Transportation Research Record, 2593, 94 – 102.

View Publication

Abstract

This paper examines the relationship between several seasonal and weather factors and bicycle ridership from 2 years of automated bicycle counts at a location in Seattle, Washington. The authors fitted a negative binomial model and then estimated quantities of interest using counterfactual simulation. The findings confirm the significance of season (+), temperature (+), precipitation (), as well as holidays (-), day of the week (+ for Monday through Saturday, relative to Sunday), and an overall trend (+). This paper improves on prior work by demonstrating the use of the negative binomial instead of a Poisson model, which is appropriate given the potential for overdispersion, as observed in these data. In addition to validating the significance of factors identified from the literature, this paper contributes methodologically through its intuitive visualization of effect sizes to nonstatistical audiences. The authors believe that the combination of model type and counterfactual simulation and visualization reflects a reasonable compromise between model complexity and interpretability. Results such as these can aid policy makers and planners in understanding bicycle travel demand elasticities and in guiding interventions aimed at increasing rates of bicycling. The methods presented are fully reproducible and invite adaptation to other locations.

Review of Education-Focused Health Impact Assessments Conducted in the United States

Gase, Lauren N.; Defosset, Amelia R.; Gakh, Maxim; Harris, Celia; Weisman, Susan R.; Dannenberg, Andrew L. (2017). Review of Education-Focused Health Impact Assessments Conducted in the United States. Journal Of School Health, 87(12), 911 – 922.

View Publication

Abstract

BACKGROUNDHealth impact assessment (HIA) provides a structured process for examining the potential health impacts of proposed policies, plans, programs, and projects. This study systematically reviewed HIAs conducted in the United States on prekindergarten, primary, and secondary education-focused decisions. METHODSRelevant HIA reports were identified from web sources in late 2015. Key data elements were abstracted from each report. Four case studies were selected to highlight diversity of topics, methods, and impacts of the assessment process. RESULTSTwenty HIAs completed in 2003-2015 from 8 states on issues related to prekindergarten through secondary education were identified. The types of decisions examined included school structure and funding, transportation to and from school, physical modifications to school facilities, in-school physical activity and nutrition, and school discipline and climate. Assessments employed a range of methods to characterize the nature, magnitude, and severity of potential health impacts. Assessments fostered stakeholder engagement and provided health-promoting recommendations, some of which were subsequently incorporated into school policies. CONCLUSIONSHealth impact assessment is a promising tool that education, health, and other stakeholders can use to maximize the health and well-being of students, families, and communities.

Keywords

Decision Making; Elementary Schools; High Schools; Medical Policy; Medline; Nutrition; Online Information Services; Research Funding; Student Health; Systematic Reviews (medical Research); Search Engines; Physical Activity; Health Impact Assessment; United States; Collaboration; Policy; Public Health; Academic-achievement; Programs

Built Environment Effects on Bike Crash Frequency and Risk in Beijing

Chen, Peng; Sun, Feiyang; Wang, Zhenbo; Gao, Xu; Jiao, Junfeng; Tao, Zhimin. (2018). Built Environment Effects on Bike Crash Frequency and Risk in Beijing. Journal Of Safety Research, 64, 135 – 143.

View Publication

Abstract

Introduction: Building a safe biking environment is crucial to encouraging bicycle use. In developed areas with higher density and more mixed land use, the built environment factors that pose a crash risk may vary. This study investigates the connection between biking risk factors and the compact built environment, using data for Beijing. Method: In the context of China, this paper seeks to answer two research questions. First, what types of built environment factors are correlated with bike-automobile crash frequency and risk? Second, how do risk factors vary across different types of bikes? Poisson lognormal random effects models are employed to examine how land use and roadway design factors are associated with the bike-automobile crashes. Results: The main findings are: (1) bike-automobile crashes are more likely to occur in densely developed areas, which is characterized by higher population density, more mixed land use, denser roads and junctions, and more parking lots; (2) areas with greater ground transit are correlated with more bike-automobile crashes and higher risks of involving in collisions; (3) the percentages of wider streets show negative associations with bike crash frequency; (4) built environment factors cannot help explain factors contributing to motorcycle-automobile crashes. Practical Applications: In China's dense urban context, important policy implications for bicycle safety improvement drawn from this study include: prioritizing safety programs in urban centers, applying safety improvements to areas with more ground transit, placing bike-automobile crash countermeasures at road junctions, and improving bicycle safety on narrower streets. (C) 2018 National Safety Council and Elsevier Ltd. All rights

Keywords

Motorcycling Accidents; Built Environment; Motorcycling; Poisson Distribution; Safety; Beijing (china); Bike-automobile Crash; Frequency; Poisson Lognormal Random Effects Model; Risk; Signalized Intersections; Transportation Modes; Urban Intersections; Bicycle Crashes; Motor-vehicle; Riders; Infrastructure; China; Severity; Frequency Distribution; Risk Factors; Bicycles; Fatalities; Collisions; Traffic Accidents; Safety Programs; Urban Environments; Traffic Safety; Population Density; Crashes; Streets; Environmental Effects; Environmental Engineering; Roads; Land Use; Risk Analysis; Urban Areas; Road Design; Construction; Ecological Risk Assessment; Design Factors; Motorcycles; Urban Transportation; Studies; Safety Management; Beijing China

Development of a Regional Lidar-Derived Above-Ground Biomass Model with Bayesian Model Averaging for Use in Ponderosa Pine and Mixed Conifer Forests in Arizona and New Mexico, USA

Tenneson, Karis; Patterson, Matthew S.; Mellin, Thomas; Nigrelli, Mark; Joria, Peter; Mitchell, Brent. (2018). Development of a Regional Lidar-Derived Above-Ground Biomass Model with Bayesian Model Averaging for Use in Ponderosa Pine and Mixed Conifer Forests in Arizona and New Mexico, USA. Remote Sensing, 10(3).

View Publication

Abstract

Historical forest management practices in the southwestern US have left forests prone to high-severity, stand-replacement fires. Reducing the cost of forest-fire management and reintroducing fire to the landscape without negative impact depends on detailed knowledge of stand composition, in particular, above-ground biomass (AGB). Lidar-based modeling techniques provide opportunities to increase ability of managers to monitor AGB and other forest metrics at reduced cost. We developed a regional lidar-based statistical model to estimate AGB for Ponderosa pine and mixed conifer forest systems of the southwestern USA, using previously collected field data. Model selection was performed using Bayesian model averaging (BMA) to reduce researcher bias, fully explore the model space, and avoid overfitting. The selected model includes measures of canopy height, canopy density, and height distribution. The model selected with BMA explains 71% of the variability in field-estimates of AGB, and the RMSE of the two independent validation data sets are 23.25 and 32.82 Mg/ha. The regional model is structured in accordance with previously described local models, and performs equivalently to these smaller scale models. We have demonstrated the effectiveness of lidar for developing cost-effective, robust regional AGB models for monitoring and planning adaptively at the landscape scale.

Keywords

Laser Scanner Data; Landscape Restoration Program; Canopy Fuel Parameters; Discrete-return Lidar; Western United-states; Wave-form Lidar; Airborne Laser; Tropical Forest; Climate-change; Adaptive Management; Forest Biomass; Aboveground Biomass; Airborne Lidar; Monitoring; Regional Forest Inventory; Variable Selection; Bayesian Model Averaging; Multiple Linear Regression

Framing the Question: Is Shrinking Good or Bad?

Moudon, Anne Vernez. (2019). Framing the Question: Is Shrinking Good or Bad? Journal Of Urban Design, 24(1), 66 – 68.

View Publication

Keywords

Urban Planning; Unemployment; Cost Of Living; Balance Of Trade; Medical Care; Economic Development; Demography; Decision Making; Framing

The Complexity of Urban Eco-Evolutionary Dynamics

Alberti, Marina; Palkovacs, Eric P.; Des Roches, Simone; De Meester, Luc; Brans, Kristien, I; Govaert, Lynn; Grimm, Nancy B.; Harris, Nyeema C.; Hendry, Andrew P.; Schell, Christopher J.; Szulkin, Marta; Munshi-south, Jason; Urban, Mark C.; Verrelli, Brian C. (2020). The Complexity of Urban Eco-Evolutionary Dynamics. Bioscience, 70(9), 772 – 793.

View Publication

Abstract

Urbanization is changing Earth's ecosystems by altering the interactions and feedbacks between the fundamental ecological and evolutionary processes that maintain life. Humans in cities alter the eco-evolutionary play by simultaneously changing both the actors and the stage on which the eco-evolutionary play takes place. Urbanization modifies land surfaces, microclimates, habitat connectivity, ecological networks, food webs, species diversity, and species composition. These environmental changes can lead to changes in phenotypic, genetic, and cultural makeup of wild populations that have important consequences for ecosystem function and the essential services that nature provides to human society, such as nutrient cycling, pollination, seed dispersal, food production, and water and air purification. Understanding and monitoring urbanization-induced evolutionary changes is important to inform strategies to achieve sustainability. In the present article, we propose that understanding these dynamics requires rigorous characterization of urbanizing regions as rapidly evolving, tightly coupled human-natural systems. We explore how the emergent properties of urbanization affect eco-evolutionary dynamics across space and time. We identify five key urban drivers of change-habitat modification, connectivity, heterogeneity, novel disturbances, and biotic interactions-and highlight the direct consequences of urbanization-driven eco-evolutionary change for nature's contributions to people. Then, we explore five emerging complexities-landscape complexity, urban discontinuities, socio-ecological heterogeneity, cross-scale interactions, legacies and time lags-that need to be tackled in future research. We propose that the evolving metacommunity concept provides a powerful framework to study urban eco-evolutionary dynamics.

Keywords

Habitat Modification; Seed Dispersal; Water Purification; Species Diversity; Human Behavior; Ecosystem Services; Nutrient Cycles; Cross-scale Interactions; Ecological Consequences; Contemporary Evolution; Gradient Analysis; Trophic Dynamics; Land-cover; Community; Biodiversity; Adaptation; Urban Ecology; Eco-evolutionary Dynamics; Coupled Human-natural Systems; Metacommunities; Ecology; Urbanization; Evolution; Water Treatment; Environmental Monitoring; Species Composition; Environmental Changes; Play; Food Production; Air Purification; Sustainability; Dynamic Tests; Air Monitoring; Urban Areas; Food Webs; Heterogeneity; Food Chains; Pollination; Dynamics; Complexity; Dispersal; Microclimate

Motorcycle Taxi Programme Increases Safe Riding Behaviours Among Its Drivers In Kampala, Uganda

Muni, Kennedy; Kobusingye, Olive; Mock, Charles; Hughes, James P.; Hurvitz, Philip M.; Guthrie, Brandon. (2020). Motorcycle Taxi Programme Increases Safe Riding Behaviours Among Its Drivers In Kampala, Uganda. Injury Prevention, 26(1), 5 – 11.

View Publication

Abstract

Background SafeBoda is a motorcycle taxi company that provides road safety training and helmets to its drivers in Kampala, Uganda. We sought to determine whether SafeBoda drivers are more likely to engage in safe riding behaviours than regular drivers (motorcycle taxi drivers not part of SafeBoda). Methods We measured riding behaviours in SafeBoda and regular drivers through: (1) computer-assisted personal interview (CAPI), where 400 drivers were asked about their riding behaviours (eg, helmet and mobile phone use) and (2) roadside observation, where riding behaviours were observed in 3000 boda-boda drivers and their passengers along major roads in Kampala. Results Across the two cross-sectional studies, a higher proportion of SafeBoda drivers than regular drivers engaged in safe riding behaviours. For instance, helmet use among SafeBoda compared with regular drivers was 21% points higher (95% CI 0.15 to 0.27; p<0.001) based on the CAPI and 45% points higher (95% CI 0.43 to 0.47; p<0.001) based on roadside observation. Furthermore, compared with regular drivers, SafeBoda drivers were more likely to report having a driver's license (66.3% vs 33.5 %; p<0.001) and a reflective jacket (99.5% vs 50.5 %; p<0.001) and were less likely to report driving towards oncoming traffic (4% vs 45.7 %; p<0.001) in the past 30 days. Conclusion The SafeBoda programme is associated with increased safe riding behaviours among motorcycle taxi drivers in Kampala. Therefore, the promotion and expansion of such programmes may lead to a reduction in morbidity and mortality due to road injuries.

Keywords

Multiple-imputation; Helmet Use; Knowledge; Injuries; Riders

Not Quite a Block Party: Covid-19 Street Reallocation Programs in Seattle, WA and Vancouver, BC

Firth, Caislin L.; Baquero, Barbara; Berney, Rachel; Hoerster, Katherine D.; Mooney, Stephen J.; Winters, Meghan. (2021). Not Quite a Block Party: Covid-19 Street Reallocation Programs in Seattle, WA and Vancouver, BC. Ssm-population Health, 14.

View Publication

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic has exposed mobility inequities within cities. In response, cities are rapidly implementing street reallocation initiatives. These interventions provide space for walking and cycling, however, other mobility needs (e.g., essential workers, deliveries) may be impeded by these reallocation decisions. Informed by mobility justice frameworks, we examined socio-spatial differences in access to street reallocations in Seattle, Washington and Vancouver, British Columbia. In both cities, more interventions occurred in areas where people of color, particularly Black and Indigenous people, lived. In Seattle, more interventions occurred in areas where people with disabilities, on food stamps, and children lived. In Vancouver, more interventions occurred in areas where recent immigrants lived, or where people used public transit or cycled to work. Street reallocations could be opportunities for cities to redress inequities in mobility and access to public spaces. Going forward, it is imperative to monitor how cities use data and welcome communities to redesign these temporary spaces to be corridors for their own mobility.

Keywords

Covid-19; Equity; Inequalities; Built Environment; Mobility; Cities; Mobility Justice

Structural Equation Modeling for the Determinants of International Infrastructure Investment: Evidence from Chinese Contractors

Wang, Yunhong; Lee, Hyun Woo; Tang, Wenzhe; Whittington, Jan; Qiang, Maoshan. (2021). Structural Equation Modeling for the Determinants of International Infrastructure Investment: Evidence from Chinese Contractors. Journal Of Management In Engineering, 37(4).

View Publication

Abstract

International infrastructure investment can effectively accelerate infrastructure development in developing countries and thus support their social and economic progress. However, little is known of the factors that may determine the flow of international infrastructure investment to those countries. This study aims to bridge that knowledge gap, first by identifying the determinants of international infrastructure investment, and then by developing a structural equation model to reveal their underlying interrelationships. The structural equation model is applied to country-level data regarding international infrastructure investment with Chinese contractors in 141 countries worldwide over the 9-year period from 2009 to 2017. The results show that three determinants, namely infrastructure quality, labor supply, and investment interdependency, have a positive relationship with a country's international infrastructure investment inflow. However, another determinant, institutional environment, has a significantly negative impact, which suggests that when making foreign infrastructure investment, Chinese contractors enter countries with a comparatively poor institutional environment with substantial political risks. The results also highlight how much a robust infrastructure development plan can help developing countries avoid the poor-infrastructure trap, a situation in which poor infrastructure quality discourages international infrastructure investment. These research findings may assist international infrastructure investment firms to make informed decisions with regard to financing and managing projects and help policymakers who focus on attracting foreign investment in infrastructure.

Keywords

Foreign Direct-investment; Public-private Partnerships; Economic-growth; Transport Infrastructure; Developing-countries; Labor Productivity; Fit Indexes; Location; Energy; Firms; Infrastructure Investment; Institutional Environment; Infrastructure Quality; Foreign Direct Investment (fdi) Interdependency; Structure Equation Modeling; Belt And Road Initiative