Kang, Bumjoon; Moudon, Anne V.; Hurvitz, Philip M.; Saelens, Brian E. (2017). Differences in Behavior, Time, Location, and Built Environment between Objectively Measured Utilitarian and Recreational Walking. Transportation Research: Part D, 57, 185 – 194.
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Abstract
Objectives: Utilitarian and recreational walking both contribute to physical activity. Yet walking for these two purposes may be different behaviors. We sought to provide operational definitions of utilitarian and recreational walking and to objectively measure their behavioral, spatial, and temporal differences in order to inform transportation and public health policies and interventions. Methods: Data were collected 2008-2009 from 651 Seattle-King County residents, wearing an accelerometer and a GPS unit, and filling-in a travel diary for 7 days. Walking activity bouts were classified as utilitarian or recreational based on whether walking had a destination or not. Differences between the two walking purposes were analyzed, adjusting for the nested structure of walking activity within participants. Results: Of the 4905 observed walking bouts, 87.4% were utilitarian and 12.6% recreational walking. Utilitarian walking bouts were 45% shorter in duration (-12.1 min) and 9% faster in speed (+0.3 km/h) than recreational walking bouts. Recreational walking occurred more frequently in the home neighborhood and was not associated with recreational land uses. Utilitarian walking occurred in areas having higher residential, employment, and street density, lower residential property value, higher area percentage of mixed-use neighborhood destinations, lower percentage of parks/trails, and lower average topographic slope than recreational walking. Conclusion: Utilitarian and recreational walking are substantially different in terms of frequency, speed, duration, location, and related built environment. Policies that promote walking should adopt type-specific strategies. The high occurrence of recreational walking near home highlights the importance of the home neighborhood for this activity.
Keywords
Walking; Utilitarianism; Recreation; Behavioral Assessment; Built Environment; Physical Activity Measurement; Accelerometer; Active Transportation; Gps; Home And Non-home Based Walking; Pedestrian; Physical-activity; Us Adults; Accelerometer Data; Trip Purpose; Urban Form; Travel; Neighborhood; Distance; System
Chen, Peng; Shen, Qing. (2019). Identifying High-risk Built Environments for Severe Bicycling Injuries. Journal of Safety Research, 68, 1 – 7.
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Abstract
Introduction: This study is aimed at filling part of the knowledge gap on bicycling safety in the built environment by addressing two questions. First, are built environment features and bicyclist injury severity correlated; and if so, what built environment factors most significantly relate to severe bicyclist injuries? Second, are the identified associations varied substantially among cities with different levels of bicycling and different built environments? Methods: The generalized ordered logit model is employed to examine the relationship between built environment features and bicyclist injury severity. Results: Bicyclist injury severity is coded into four types, including no injury (NI), possible injury (PI), evident injury (El), and severe injury and fatality (SIF). The findings include: (a) higher percentages of residential land and green space, and office or mixed use land are correlated with lower probabilities of El and SIF; (b) land use mixture is negatively correlated with El and SIF; (c) steep slopes are positively associated with bicyclist injury severity; (d) in areas with more transit routes, bicyclist injury is less likely to be severe; (e) a higher speed limit is more likely to correlate with SIF; and (f) wearing a helmet is negatively associated with SIF, but positively related to PI and El. Practical applications: To improve bicycle safety, urban planners and policymakers should encourage mixed land use, promote dense street networks, place new bike lanes in residential neighborhoods and green spaces, and office districts, while avoiding steep slopes. To promote bicycling, a process of evaluating the risk of bicyclists involving severe injuries in the local environment should be implemented before encouraging bicycle activities. (C) 2018 National Safety Council and Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Keywords
Motor Vehicle; Land-use; Crashes; Severities; Facilities; Frameworks; Frequency; Cyclists; Bike; Bicyclist Injury Severity; Built Environments; Generalized Ordered Logit Model; Us Cities; Bicycles; Urban Environments; Injuries; Neighborhoods; Land Use; Urban Areas; Paths; Protective Equipment; Bicycling; Fatalities; Correlation; Residential Areas; Traffic Accidents & Safety; Safety; Logit Models; Ecological Risk Assessment; Slopes; Health Risks; Urban Transportation; Studies; Environments
Mooney, Stephen J.; Bobb, Jennifer F.; Hurvitz, Philip M.; Anau, Jane; Theis, Mary Kay; Drewnowski, Adam; Aggarwal, Anju; Gupta, Shilpi; Rosenberg, Dori E.; Cook, Andrea J.; Shi, Xiao; Lozano, Paula; Moudon, Anne Vernez; Arterburn, David. (2020). Impact of Built Environments on Body Weight (The Moving to Health Study): Protocol for a Retrospective Longitudinal Observational Study. Jmir Research Protocols, 9(5).
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Abstract
Background: Studies assessing the impact of built environments on body weight are often limited by modest power to detect residential effects that are small for individuals but may nonetheless comprise large attributable risks. Objective: We used data extracted from electronic health records to construct a large retrospective cohort of patients. This cohort will be used to explore both the impact of moving between environments and the long-term impact of changing neighborhood environments. Methods: We identified members with at least 12 months of Kaiser Permanente Washington (KPWA) membership and at least one weight measurement in their records during a period between January 2005 and April 2017 in which they lived in King County, Washington. Information on member demographics, address history, diagnoses, and clinical visits data (including weight) was extracted. This paper describes the characteristics of the adult (aged 18-89 years) cohort constructed from these data. Results: We identified 229,755 adults representing nearly 1.2 million person-years of follow-up. The mean age at baseline was 45 years, and 58.0% (133,326/229,755) were female. Nearly one-fourth of people (55,150/229,755) moved within King County at least once during the follow-up, representing 84,698 total moves. Members tended to move to new neighborhoods matching their origin neighborhoods on residential density and property values. Conclusions: Data were available in the KPWA database to construct a very large cohort based in King County, Washington. Future analyses will directly examine associations between neighborhood conditions and longitudinal changes in body weight and diabetes as well as other health conditions.
Keywords
Residential Location Choice; Physical-activity; Risk-factors; Food Desert; Neighborhood; Obesity; Association; Outcomes; Bmi; Accelerometer; Electronic Health Records; Built Environment; Washington; Geography; Longitudinal Studies
Kerfeld, Cheryl I.; Hurvitz, Philip M.; Bjornson, Kristie F. (2021). Physical Activity Measurement in Children Who Use Mobility Assistive Devices: Accelerometry and Global Positioning System. Pediatric Physical Therapy, 33(2), 92 – 99.
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Abstract
Purpose: To explore the usefulness of combining accelerometry, global positioning systems, and geographic information systems, to describe the time spent in different locations and physical activity (PA) duration/count levels by location for 4 children with cerebral palsy (CP) who use assistive devices (AD). Methods: A descriptive multiple-case study. Results: Combining the 3 instruments was useful in describing and differentiating duration by location, and amount and location of PA across differing functional levels and AD. For example, the child classified with a Gross Motor Function Classification System (GMFCS) level II exhibited large amounts of PA in community settings. In contrast, the child classified with a GMFCS level V had small amounts of PA and spent most measured time at home. Conclusions: Combined accelerometry, global positioning system, and geographic information system have potential to capture time spent and amount/intensity of PA relative to locations within daily environments for children with CP who use AD.
Keywords
Cerebral-palsy; Objective Measures; Fitness; Youth; Disabilities; Adolescents; Exercise; Adults; Accelerometer; Cerebral Palsy; Environment; Global Positioning System; Mobility Assistive Devices; Physical Activity
Zhen, Feng; Shen, Qing; Jian, Boxiu; Zheng, Jun. (2010). Regional Governance, Local Fragmentation, and Administrative Division Adjustment: Spatial Integration in Changzhou. China Review-an Interdisciplinary Journal On Greater China, 10(1), 95 – 128.
Abstract
Although the current practice of administrative division adjustment in China may help to facilitate regional governance and urbanization economies, it does not effectively resolve the fundamental conflicts between the central city and surrounding county-level cities. This paper examines the impacts of administrative division adjustment on economic development in Changzhou, Jiangsu Province, by focusing on the city's development zones. It identifies major problems in the development zones and explores the major institutional, policy, sociocultural, and spatial planning factors underlying these problems. It further proposes several approaches for the spatial integration of development zones, from the perspectives of institution, policy, and space, with broader implications that go well beyond the Changzhou case.
Keywords
River Delta; Transition
Hong, Jinhyun; Shen, Qing. (2013). Residential Density and Transportation Emissions: Examining the Connection by Addressing Spatial Autocorrelation and Self-Selection. Transportation Research Part D-transport And Environment, 22, 75 – 79.
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Abstract
This paper examines the effect of residential density on CO2 equivalent from automobile using more specific emission factors based on vehicle and trip characteristics, and by addressing problems of spatial autocorrelation and self-selection. Drawing on the 2006 Puget Sound Regional Council Household Activity Survey data, the 2005 parcel and building database, the 2000 US Census data, and emission factors estimated using the Motor Vehicle Emission Simulator, we analyze the influence of residential density on road-based transportation emissions. In addition, a Bayesian multilevel model with spatial random effects and instrumental variables is employed to control for spatial autocorrelation and self-selection. The results indicate that the effect of residential density on transportation emissions is influenced by spatial correlation and self-selection. Our results still show, however, that increasing residential density leads to a significant reduction in transportation emissions. (C) 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Keywords
Urban Form; Travel; Transportation Emissions; Residential Density; Confounding By Location; Self-selection
Chen, Peng. (2015). Built Environment Factors in Explaining the Automobile-Involved Bicycle Crash Frequencies: A Spatial Statistic Approach. Safety Science, 79, 336 – 343.
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Abstract
The objective of this study is to understand the relationship between built environment factors and bicycle crashes with motor vehicles involved in Seattle. The research method employed is a Poisson lognormal random effects model using hierarchal Bayesian estimation. The Traffic Analysis Zone (TAZ) is selected as the unit of analysis to quantify the built environment factors. The assembled dataset provides a rich source of variables, including road network, street elements, traffic controls, travel demand, land use, and socio-demographics. The research questions are twofold: how are the built environment factors associated with the bicycle crashes, and are the TAZ-based bicycle crashes spatially correlated? The findings of this study are: (1) safety improvements should focus on places with more mixed land use; (2) off-arterial bicycle routes are safer than on-arterial bicycle routes; (3) TAZ-based bicycle crashes are spatially correlated; (4) TAZs with more road signals and street parking signs are likely to have more bicycle crashes; and (5) TAZs with more automobile trips have more bicycle crashes. For policy implications, the results suggest that the local authorities should lower the driving speed limits, regulate cycling and driving behaviors in areas with mixed land use, and separate bike lanes from road traffic. (C) 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Keywords
Injury Crashes; Risk Analysis; Models; Infrastructure; Dependence; Counts; Level; Bicycle Crash Frequency; Hierarchal Bayesian Estimation; Poisson Lognormal Random Effects Model; Built Environment; Traffic Analysis Zone
Kim, Tae-hyung; Lee, Hyun Woo; Hong, Seok-woo. (2016). Value Engineering for Roadway Expansion Project over Deep Thick Soft Soils. Journal Of Construction Engineering And Management, 142(2).
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Abstract
A roadway expansion that takes place on soft ground is susceptible to differential settlement because of the high consolidation of soft soils. Therefore, steps must be taken to lessen the risk of such settlement; yet, this often only results in costly drainage solutions. In that, applying a systematic value engineering (VE) process can be beneficial to develop cost-effective design alternatives. However, VE studies specifically targeting for this problem are absent from the field. Thus, the goal of this study is to supplement this knowledge gap by applying a systematic VE process to an expansion project on soft ground to demonstrate the benefits of performing VE. A case study was performed on an expansion project over a soft soil layer approximately 50m thick. Through the VE process, the original design was reviewed, problems were discussed, and three alternatives were proposed. Then value analysis techniques were applied to evaluate these alternatives in terms of cost saving, function improvement, and value improvement with respect to the original design. The VE process and design alternatives as applied in this study are expected to serve as a guideline for engineers and decision-makers in roadway expansion projects on soft ground. (C) 2015 American Society of Civil Engineers.
Keywords
Construction Industry; Costing; Project Management; Road Building; Soil; Value Engineering; Engineers; Decision-makers; Value Improvement; Function Improvement; Knowledge Gap; Cost-effective Design; Deep Thick Soft Soils; Soft Ground; Roadway Expansion Project; Systematic Value Engineering Process; Value Engineering (ve); Job Plan; Roadway Expansion; Deep Soft Ground; Differential Settlement; Cost Saving; Project Planning And Design
McAndrews, Carolyn; Pollack, Keshia M.; Berrigan, David; Dannenberg, Andrew L.; Christopher, Ed J. (2017). Understanding and Improving Arterial Roads to Support Public Health and Transportation Goals. American Journal Of Public Health, 107(8), 1278 – 1282.
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Abstract
Arterials are types of roads designed to carry high volumes of motorized traffic. They are an integral part of transportation systems worldwide and exposure to them is ubiquitous, especially in urban areas. Arterials provide access to diverse commercial and cultural resources, which can positively influence community health by supporting social cohesion as well as economic and cultural opportunities. They can negatively influence health via safety issues, noise, air pollution, and lack of economic development. The aims of public health and transportation partially overlap; efforts to improve arterials can meet goals of both professions. Two trends in arterial design show promise. First, transportation professionals increasingly define the performance of arterials via metrics accounting for pedestrians, cyclists, transit riders, and nearby residents in addition to motor vehicle users. Second, applying traffic engineering and design can generate safety, air quality, and livability benefits, but we need evidence to support these interventions. We describe the importance of arterials (including exposures, health behaviors, effects on equity, and resulting health outcomes) and make the case For public health collaborations with the transportation sector.
Keywords
Arterial Roads; Public Health -- United States; Public Health -- Social Aspects; Road Construction; Transportation & Society; Health; Air Pollution; Social Cohesion; Influence; Physiological Effects Of Noise; Interprofessional Relations; Metropolitan Areas; Motor Vehicles; Public Health; Transportation; Low-birth-weight; Air-pollution; Land-use; Policy
Eisenberg-Guyot, Jerzy; Moudon, Anne V.; Hurvitz, Philip M.; Mooney, Stephen J.; Whitlock, Kathryn B.; Saelens, Brian E. (2019). Beyond the Bus Stop: Where Transit Users Walk. Journal Of Transport & Health, 14.
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Abstract
Objectives: Extending the health benefits of public-transit investment requires understanding how transit use affects pedestrian activity, including pedestrian activity not directly temporally or spatially related to transit use. In this study, we identified where transit users walked on transit days compared with non-transit days within and beyond 400 m and 800 m buffers surrounding their home and work addresses. Methods: We used data collected from 2008 to 2013 in King County, Washington, from 221 non-physically-disabled adult transit users, who were equipped with an accelerometer, global positioning system (GPS), and travel diary. We assigned walking activity to the following buffer locations: less than and at least 400 m or 800 m from home, work, or home/work (the home and work buffers comprised the latter buffer). We used Poisson generalized estimating equations to estimate differences in minutes per day of total walking and minutes per day of non-transit-related walking on transit days compared with non-transit days in each location. Results: We found that durations of total walking and non-transit-related walking were greater on transit days than on non-transit days in all locations studied. When considering the home neighborhood in isolation, most of the greater duration of walking occurred beyond the home neighborhood at both 400 m and 800 m; results were similar when considering the work neighborhood in isolation. When considering the neighborhoods jointly (i.e., by using the home/work buffer), at 400 m, most of the greater duration of walking occurred beyond the home/work neighborhood. However, at 800 m, most of the greater duration of walking occurred within the home/work neighborhood. Conclusions: Transit days were associated with greater durations of total walking and non-transit related walking within and beyond the home and work neighborhoods. Accordingly, research, design, and policy strategies focused on transit use and pedestrian activity should consider locations outside the home and work neighborhoods, in addition to locations within them.
Keywords
Physical-activity; Public-transit; Accelerometer Data; Combining Gps; United-states; Travel; Transportation; Health; Time; Neighborhood