Stewart, Orion T.; Moudon, Anne Vernez; Saelens, Brian E.; Lee, Chanam; Kang, Bumjoon; Doescher, Mark P. (2016). Comparing Associations between the Built Environment and Walking in Rural Small Towns and a Large Metropolitan Area. Environment And Behavior, 48(1), 13 – 36.
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Abstract
The association between the built environment (BE) and walking has been studied extensively in urban areas, yet little is known whether the same associations hold for smaller, rural towns. This analysis examined objective measures of the BE around participants' residence and their utilitarian and recreational walking from two studies, one in the urban Seattle area (n = 464) and the other in nine small U.S. towns (n = 299). After adjusting for sociodemographics, small town residents walked less for utilitarian purposes but more for recreational purposes. These differences were largely explained by differential associations of the BE on walking in the two settings. In Seattle, the number of neighborhood restaurants was positively associated with utilitarian walking, but in small towns, the association was negative. In small towns, perception of slow traffic on nearby streets was positively associated with recreational walking, but not in Seattle. These observations suggest that urban-rural context matters when planning BE interventions to support walking.
Keywords
Physical-activity; Utilitarian Walking; Transportation; Obesity; Adults; Travel; Urban; Prevalence; Strategies; Physical Activity; Walkability; City Planning; Urban Design; Community Health; Gis (geographic Information System); Gps (global Positioning System); Accelerometer; Effect Modification
Stewart, Orion Theodore; Moudon, Anne Vernez; Littman, Alyson; Seto, Edmund; Saelens, Brian E. (2018). The Association between Park Facilities and the Occurrence of Physical Activity during Park Visits. Journal Of Leisure Research, 49(3-5), 217 – 235.
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Abstract
Prior research has found a positive relationship between the variety of park facilities and park-based physical activity (PA) but has not provided an estimate of the effect that additional different PA facilities have on whether an individual is active during a park visit. Using objective measures of park visits and PA from an urban sample of 225 adults in King County, Washington, we compared the variety of PA facilities in parks visited where an individual was active to PA facilities in parks where the same individual was sedentary. Each additional different PA facility at a park was associated with a 6% increased probability of being active during a visit. Adding different PA facilities to a park appears to have a moderate effect on whether an individual is active during a park visit, which could translate into large community health impacts when scaled up to multiple park visitors.
Keywords
Accelerometer Data; Built Environment; Walking; Density; Health; Adults; Size; Gps; Attractiveness; Improvements; Measurement; Parks; Physical Activity; Quantitative Research; Urban Planning
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.
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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
The Urban Form Lab (UFL) research aims to affect policy and to support approaches to the design and planning of more livable environments. The UFL specializes in geospatial analyses of the built environment using multiple micro-scale data in Geographic Information Systems (GIS). Current research includes the development of novel GIS routines for performing spatial inventories and analyses of the built environment, and of spatially explicit sampling techniques. Projects address such topics as land monitoring, neighborhood and street design, active transportation, non-motorized transportation safety, physical activity, and access to food environments.
Research at the UFL has been supported by the U.S. and Washington State Departments of Transportation, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, the National Institutes of Health, and local agencies.
The Urban Form Lab is directed by Anne Vernez Moudon, Dr es Sc, a leading researcher and educator in quantifying the properties of the built environment as related to health and transportation behaviors. Philip M. Hurvitz, PhD, a veteran of geographic information science and data processing, leads data management and GIS work.
The Urban@UW initiative brings together labs that study urban issues from across the University of Washington. Urban@UW works with scholars, policymakers, and community stakeholders in order to strengthen the connection between research and solutions to urban issues through cross-disciplinary and cross-sector collaborative research. Key functions of Urban@UW include amplifying public awareness of ongoing projects, connecting researchers with outside constituencies, providing staff and administrative support services, and providing pilot funding and fundraising assistance. Multiple BE labs are involved, including the Northwest…
The University of Washington Data Collaborative (UWDC) is now offering services to researchers across campus, including BE researchers Gregg Colburn at the Runstad Department of Real Estate and the Urban Form Lab. Housed at the Center for Studies in Demography & Ecology, UWDC provides infrastructure to access restricted data in a secure and sophisticated computing environment. Data sets available to researchers cover health records, polling data, business and consumer data, and real estate data. Researchers interested in accessing these data…
Phil Hurvitz is a research scientist with a primary appointment in the UW Center for Studies in Demography and Ecology, and is an Affiliate Associate Professor in Urban Design & Planning in the University of Washington College of Built Environments Urban Form Lab. He received his PhD in 2010, and has been on the faculty since 2012. He specializes in the objective measurement and analysis of the built environment using GIScience methodology. His current research investigates the relationship between health-related behaviors and built environment at fine spatial and temporal scales. Using new-generation devices that measure activity and location in real time, the data are being used to find associations between the types of activities people engage in and the types of environments people use as they go about their daily lives. He collaborates with researchers specializing in nutritional epidemiology, exercise physiology, rehabilitation medicine, and psychology for the purpose of understanding the relationships between built environment, diet, and physical activity. Phil received a Master of Forest Resources degree in 1994 at the UW College of Forest Resources where he helped develop and implement a GIS for the Makah Indian Nation. His Bachelor’s degree (1983) is from Seattle University in Humanities. Prior to his current appointment, he worked as a GIS specialist for the College of Forest Resources, the City of SeaTac, the Seattle Water Department, and an instructor at the University of Washington and Green River Community College.