Berke, Ethan M.; Vernez-Moudon, Anne. (2014). Built Environment Change: A Framework to Support Health-Enhancing Behaviour through Environmental Policy and Health Research. Journal Of Epidemiology And Community Health, 68(6), 586 – 590.
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Abstract
As research examining the effect of the built environment on health accelerates, it is critical for health and planning researchers to conduct studies and make recommendations in the context of a robust theoretical framework. We propose a framework for built environment change (BEC) related to improving health. BEC consists of elements of the built environment, how people are exposed to and interact with them perceptually and functionally, and how this exposure may affect health-related behaviours. Integrated into this framework are the legal and regulatory mechanisms and instruments that are commonly used to effect change in the built environment. This framework would be applicable to medical research as well as to issues of policy and community planning.
Keywords
Geographic Information-systems; Physical-activity; Obesity; Place; Associations; Walkability; Risk; Care
Huang, R.; Moudon, A. V.; Cook, A. J.; Drewnowski, A. (2015). The Spatial Clustering of Obesity: Does the Built Environment Matter? Journal Of Human Nutrition & Dietetics, 28(6), 604 – 612.
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Abstract
BackgroundObesity rates in the USA show distinct geographical patterns. The present study used spatial cluster detection methods and individual-level data to locate obesity clusters and to analyse them in relation to the neighbourhood built environment. MethodsThe 2008-2009 Seattle Obesity Study provided data on the self-reported height, weight, and sociodemographic characteristics of 1602 King County adults. Home addresses were geocoded. Clusters of high or low body mass index were identified using Anselin's Local Moran's I and a spatial scan statistic with regression models that searched for unmeasured neighbourhood-level factors from residuals, adjusting for measured individual-level covariates. Spatially continuous values of objectively measured features of the local neighbourhood built environment (SmartMaps) were constructed for seven variables obtained from tax rolls and commercial databases. ResultsBoth the Local Moran's I and a spatial scan statistic identified similar spatial concentrations of obesity. High and low obesity clusters were attenuated after adjusting for age, gender, race, education and income, and they disappeared once neighbourhood residential property values and residential density were included in the model. ConclusionsUsing individual-level data to detect obesity clusters with two cluster detection methods, the present study showed that the spatial concentration of obesity was wholly explained by neighbourhood composition and socioeconomic characteristics. These characteristics may serve to more precisely locate obesity prevention and intervention programmes.
Keywords
Real Property; Ecology; Age Distribution; Anthropometry; Black People; Cluster Analysis (statistics); Communities; Computer Software; Epidemiological Research; Geographic Information Systems; Hispanic Americans; Mathematics; Obesity; Population Geography; Probability Theory; Race; Regression Analysis; Research Funding; Restaurants; Statistical Sampling; Self-evaluation; Sex Distribution; Shopping; Surveys; Telephones; Transportation; White People; Socioeconomic Factors; Body Mass Index; Data Analysis Software; Medical Coding; Statistical Models; Descriptive Statistics; Odds Ratio; Economics; Washington (state); Built Environment; Local Moran's I; Spatial Scan Statistic; Body-mass Index; Physical-activity; United-states; Risk-factors; Neighborhood; Association; Density; Disease; Disparities; Prevalence
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
Sun, Feiyang; Chen, Peng; Jiao, Junfeng. (2018). Promoting Public Bike-Sharing: A Lesson from the Unsuccessful Pronto System. Transportation Research: Part D, 63, 533 – 547.
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Abstract
In 2014, Seattle implemented its own bike-sharing system, Pronto. However, the system ultimately ceased operation three years later on March 17th, 2017. To learn from this failure, this paper seeks to understand factors that encourage, or discourage, bike-sharing trip generation and attraction at the station level. This paper investigates the effects of land use, roadway design, elevation, bus trips, weather, and temporal factors on three-hour long bike pickups and returns at each docking station. To address temporal autocorrelations and the nonlinear seasonality, the paper implements a generalized additive mixed model (GAMM) that incorporates the joint effects of a time metric and time-varying variables. The paper estimates models on total counts of pickups and returns, as well as pickups categorized by user types and by location. The results clarify that effects of hilly terrain and the rainy weather, two commonly perceived contributors to the failure. Additionally, results suggest that users in the University District, presumably mostly university students, tend to use shared bikes in neighborhoods with a higher household density and a higher percentage of residential land use, and make bike-sharing trips regardless workdays or non-workdays. The paper also contributes to the discussion on the relationship between public transportation service and bike-sharing. In general, users tend to use bike-sharing more at stations that have more scheduled bus trips nearby. However, some bike-sharing users may shift to bus services during peak hours and rainy weather. Several strategies are proposed accordingly to increase bike ridership in the future.
Keywords
Bicycle Sharing Programs; Urban Transportation; Transportation & The Environment; Land Use Planning; Time-varying Systems; Bike-sharing; Built Environment; Generalized Additive Mixed Model; Pronto; Temporal Factors; Built Environment Factors; Bicycle; Impact; Transportation; Walking; Usage
Le, Vi T.; Dannenberg, Andrew L. (2020). Moving Toward Physical Activity Targets by Walking to Transit: National Household Transportation Survey, 2001-2017. American Journal Of Preventive Medicine, 59(3), E115 – E123.
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Abstract
Introduction: Public transportation systems can help people engage in physical activity. This study assesses sociodemographic correlates and trends in the daily time spent walking to and from transit in the U.S. from 2001 to 2017. Methods: This cross-sectional study used data from the 2001, 2009, and 2017 National Household Transportation Survey. Data were analyzed in 2019 to assess the daily level of physical activity attained solely by walking to and from transit. Regression models were used to examine predictors of daily transit-associated walking. Results: Compared with the full National Household Transportation Survey sample, transit users who walked to and from transit tended to be younger, from households earning <$25,000 per year, in areas with rail infrastructure, and did not have a household-owned car. Transit walkers spent a median of 20 minutes per day (95% CI=18.5, 21.5) walking to and from transit in 2017, compared with a median of 19 minutes (95% CI=17.5, 20.5) in 2001. Among transit walkers, daily transitassociated physical activity was 27% higher for those residing in areas with rail infrastructure (adjusted coefficient=1.27, 95% CI=1.11, 1.46) and 34% higher for those from households earning $99,999 per year (adjusted coefficient=1.34, 95% CI=1.15, 1.56). Conclusions: As documented in a growing literature, most public transit trips include at least some walking; thus, efforts to encourage transit use are favorable to public health. Continued monitoring by transportation surveys is important as new forms of mobility and changing demographics may impact future transit use and associated physical activity. (C) 2020 American Journal of Preventive Medicine. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Keywords
Physical Activity; Household Surveys; Public Transit; Cross-sectional Method; Public Health; Walking; Exercise; Research Funding; Transportation; Replacing Sedentary Time; Public-transit; Travel; Mortality; Adults; Health; Work
In 2021 the College of Built Environments launched the CBE Inspire Fund, designed to support CBE research activities for which a relatively small amount of support can be transformative. The second year of awards have just been announced, supporting five projects across 4 departments within the college as they address topics such as food sovereignty, anti-displacement, affordable housing, and health & wellbeing. This year’s awardees include: Defining the New Diaspora: Where Seattle’s Black Church Congregants Are Moving and Why Rachel…
Research Interests: Designing built environments to enhance human happiness, and related principles: Justice, Nature Integration, Access, Identity, Well-Being, Resiliency.
I have a strong interest in urban conservation, which aims to enhance sustainability in old urban areas physically, economically, and socially. I would like to study management of changes in old (historic) urban areas, specifically focusing on creative approaches such as adaptive reuse projects, contemporary designs, and long-standing communities. In addition, I am also interested in urbanism issues in developing countries in East Asia, international preservation principals, gentrification, public places.
My research is focused on the management of public park and recreation services in urban areas. I am particularly interested in the role of the modern green space manager and the way in which our public park services are delivered in the face of extreme poverty. Public parks are on the frontline in our cities responding to complex social and environmental challenges. This role is likely to get more important in the future. Short-term, broken window styles of park management that try to control and sanitize park use are not sustainable. I am exploring the application of an ethic of care to the delivery of park services, what this could entail and how this would change current practice.
Research Interests: Urban resilience, disaster risk reduction, climate change, community engagement.