Drewnowski, Adam; Aggarwal, Anju; Rehm, Colin D.; Cohen-Cline, Hannah; Hurvitz, Philip M.; Moudon, Anne V. (2014). Environments Perceived as Obesogenic Have Lower Residential Property Values. American Journal Of Preventive Medicine, 47(3), 260 – 274.
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Abstract
Background: Studies have tried to link obesity rates and physical activity with multiple aspects of the built environment. Purpose: To determine the relation between residential property values and multiple perceived (self-reported) measures of the obesogenic environment. Methods: The Seattle Obesity Study (SOS) used a telephone survey of a representative, geographically distributed sample Of 2,001 King County adults, collected in 2008-2009 and analyzed in 2012-2013. Home addresses were geocoded. Residential property values at the tax parcel level were obtained from the King County tax assessor. Mean residential property values within a 10-minute walk (833-m buffer) were calculated for each respondent. Data on multiple perceived measures of the obesogenic environment were collected by self-report. Correlations and multi-variable linear regression analyses, stratified by residential density, were used to examine the associations among perceived environmental measures, property values, and BMI. Results: Perceived measures of the environment such as crime, heavy traffic, and proximity to bars, liquor stores, and fast food were all associated with lower property values. By contrast, living in neighborhoods that were perceived as safe, quiet, clean, and attractive was associated with higher property values. Higher property values were associated, in turn, with lower BMIs among women. The observed associations between perceived environment measures and BMI were largely attenuated after accounting for residential property values. Conclusions: Environments perceived as obesogenic are associated with lower property values. Studies in additional locations need to explore to what extent other perceived environment measures can be reflected in residential property values. (C) 2014 American Journal of Preventive Medicine
Keywords
Body-mass Index; Physical-activity; Objective Measures; Childhood Obesity; Food Stores; Neighborhood Disorder; Atherosclerosis Risk; Collective Efficacy; Racial Composition; Built Environment
Jiao, J.; Moudon, A. V.; Kim, S. Y.; Hurvitz, P. M.; Drewnowski, A. (2015). Health Implications of Adults’ Eating at and Living Near Fast Food or Quick Service Restaurants. Nutrition & Diabetes, 5.
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Abstract
BACKGROUND: This paper examined whether the reported health impacts of frequent eating at a fast food or quick service restaurant on health were related to having such a restaurant near home. METHODS: Logistic regressions estimated associations between frequent fast food or quick service restaurant use and health status, being overweight or obese, having a cardiovascular disease or diabetes, as binary health outcomes. In all, 2001 participants in the 2008-2009 Seattle Obesity Study survey were included in the analyses. RESULTS: Results showed eating >= 2 times a week at a fast food or quick service restaurant was associated with perceived poor health status, overweight and obese. However, living close to such restaurants was not related to negative health outcomes. CONCLUSIONS: Frequent eating at a fast food or quick service restaurant was associated with perceived poor health status and higher body mass index, but living close to such facilities was not.
Keywords
Body-mass Index; Socioeconomic-status; Built Environment; Obesity; Association; Consumption; Weight; Proximity; Outlets; Establishments
Lindell, Michael K.; Huang, Shih-kai; Wei, Hung-lung; Samuelson, Charles D. (2016). Perceptions And Expected Immediate Reactions To Tornado Warning Polygons. Natural Hazards, 80(1), 683 – 707.
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Abstract
To provide people with more specific information about tornado threats, the National Weather Service has replaced its county-wide warnings with smaller warning polygons that more specifically indicate the risk area. However, tornado warning polygons do not have a standardized definition regarding tornado strike probabilities (p (s)) so it is unclear how warning recipients interpret them. To better understand this issue, 155 participants responded to 15 hypothetical warning polygons. After viewing each polygon, they rated the likelihood of a tornado striking their location and the likelihood that they would take nine different response actions ranging from continuing normal activities to getting in a car and driving somewhere safer. The results showed participants inferred that the p (s) was highest at the polygon's centroid, lower just inside the edges of the polygon, still lower (but not zero) just outside the edges of the polygon, and lowest in locations beyond that. Moreover, higher p (s) values were associated with lower expectations of continuing normal activities and higher expectations of seeking information from social sources (but not environmental cues) and higher expectations of seeking shelter (but not evacuating in their cars). These results indicate that most people make some errors in their p (s) judgments but are likely to respond appropriately to the p (s) they infer from the warning polygons. Overall, the findings from this study and other research can help meteorologists to better understand how people interpret the uncertainty associated with warning polygons and, thus, improve tornado warning systems.
Keywords
Interrater Agreement; Protective Action; Decision-making; Evacuation; Risk; Uncertainty; Residents; Disaster; Probabilities; Preparedness; Tornado Warning Polygons; Risk Perceptions; Protective Actions
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
Lacoe, Johanna; Bostic, Raphael W.; Acolin, Arthur. (2018). Crime and Private Investment in Urban Neighborhoods. Journal Of Urban Economics, 108, 154 – 169.
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Abstract
The question of how best to improve neighborhoods that lag behind has drawn considerable attention from policy-makers, practitioners, and academics, yet there remains a vigorous debate regarding the best approaches to accomplish community development. This paper investigates the role crime policy plays in shaping the trajectory of neighborhoods. Much of the existing research on neighborhood crime was conducted in rising-crime environments, and the evidence was clear: high levels of crime have adverse effects on neighborhoods and resident quality of life, This study examines how private investment in neighborhoods in two cities Chicago and Los Angeles changed as the incidence of neighborhood crime changed during the 2000s, a period when crime was declining city-wide in both places. Using detailed blockface-level data on the location of crime and private investments between 2006 and 2011, the analysis answers the question: Do changes in crime affect private development decisions? The results show that private investment, as represented by building permits, decreases on blocks where crime increases in the past year. We also find that the relationship between crime and private investment is not symmetric private investment appears to only be sensitive to crime in rising crime contexts. The result is present in both cities, and robust to multiple definitions of crime and the elimination of outliers and the main commercial district. These results suggest that crime-reduction policies can be an effective economic development tool, but only in certain neighborhoods facing specific circumstances.
Keywords
Enterprise Zones; Crime; Investment; Neighborhoods
Habibnezhad, M.; Puckett, J.; Fardhosseini, M.S.; Jebelli, H.; Stentz, T.; Pratama, L.A.. (2019). Experiencing Extreme Height for the First Time: The Influence of Height, Self-Judgment of Fear and a Moving Structural Beam on the Heart Rate and Postural Sway During the Quiet Stance. Arxiv, 9 pp.
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Abstract
Falling from elevated surfaces is the main cause of death and injury at construction sites. Based on the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reports, an average of nearly three workers per day suffer fatal injuries from falling. Studies show that postural instability is the foremost cause of this disproportional falling rate. To study what affects the postural stability of construction workers, we conducted a series of experiments in the virtual reality (VR). Twelve healthy adults, all students at the University of Nebraska were recruited for this study. During each trial, participants heart rates and postural sways were measured as the dependent factors. The independent factors included a moving structural beam (MB) coming directly at the participants, the presence of VR, height, the participants self-judgment of fear, and their level of acrophobia. The former was designed in an attempt to simulate some part of the steel erection procedure, which is one of the key tasks of ironworkers. The results of this study indicate that height increase the postural sway. Self-judged fear significantly was found to decrease postural sway, more specifically the normalized total excursion of the center of pressure (TE), both in the presence and absence of height. Also, participants heart rates significantly increase once they are confronted by a moving beam in the virtual environment (VE), even though they are informed that the beam will not hit them. The findings of this study can be useful for training novice ironworkers that will be subjected to height and steel erection for the first time.
Keywords
Biocontrol; Biomechanics; Construction Industry; Ergonomics; Injuries; Mechanoception; Medical Computing; Occupational Safety; Personnel; Statistical Analysis; Virtual Reality; Extreme Height; Moving Structural Beam; Heart Rate; Postural Sway; Injury; Construction Sites; Labor Statistics Reports; Fatal Injuries; Postural Instability; Foremost Cause; Disproportional Falling Rate; Postural Stability; Construction Workers; Participants Heart Rates; Height Increase; Moving Beam
Cheng, Renée. (2020). Opinion: Change Agency, Value Change. Architect, 109(9), 20 – 20.
Keywords
Attitude Change (psychology); Air Flow; Hand Washing
Nnaji, Chukwuma; Gambatese, John; Lee, Hyun Woo; Zhang, Fan. (2020). Improving Construction Work Zone Safety Using Technology: A Systematic Review of Applicable Technologies. Journal Of Traffic And Transportation Engineering (english Edition), 7(1), 61 – 75.
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Abstract
Once considered conventional, the construction industry is gradually increasing its reliance on innovations such as the application of technologies in safety management. Given the growing literature on technology applications in safety management and the varying opinions on the utility of applied technologies, a systematic review that streamlines findings from past studies is indispensable to construction stakeholders. Although a number of review studies are available in the building construction sector, the level of fragmentation and uniqueness within the construction industry necessitates a review study specifically targeting the heavy civil sector. In response, the present study applies a three-step approach to identify and review articles pertinent to the safety of highway construction work zones. The factors considered include the number of publications per year, publication locations, and technology types. In addition, the present study proposes to broadly group work zone safety technologies (WZSTs) into three categories based on their primary purpose: speed reduction systems, intrusion prevention and warning systems, and human-machine-interaction detection systems. Key findings include WZST research trends, application of smart work zone systems, and the potential relationship between WZSTs and fatalities. The paper ends with the identification of six additional research areas aimed at deepening the understanding of technology's role in highway safety management. The trend analysis and an in-depth discussion of each technology category alongside the identified research gaps will provide a substantial informative body of knowledge that both benefits current practitioners and directs researchers towards potential future studies. (C) 2019 Periodical Offices of Changan University. Publishing services by Elsevier B.V. on behalf of Owner.
Keywords
Automated Speed Enforcement; Drivers Visual Performance; Rumble Strips; Message Signs; Radar; Management; Adoption; Crashes; Transportation; Work Zone; Worker Safety; Technology Application; Safety Technology; Systematic Review
Duncan, Glen E.; Hurvitz, Philip M.; Moudon, Anne Vernez; Avery, Ally R.; Tsang, Siny. (2021). Measurement of Neighborhood-Based Physical Activity Bouts. Health & Place, 70.
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Abstract
This study examined how buffer type (shape), size, and the allocation of activity bouts inside buffers that delineate the neighborhood spatially produce different estimates of neighborhood-based physical activity. A sample of 375 adults wore a global positioning system (GPS) data logger and accelerometer over 2 weeks under free-living conditions. Analytically, the amount of neighborhood physical activity measured objectively varies substantially, not only due to buffer shape and size, but by how GPS-based activity bouts are identified with respect to containment within neighborhood buffers. To move the neighborhood-effects literature forward, it is critical to delineate the spatial extent of the neighborhood, given how different ways of measuring GPS-based activity containment will result in different levels of physical activity across different buffer types and sizes.
Keywords
Built Environment; Walking; Home; Accelerometry; Geographic Information Systems; Gps; Neighborhood; Physical Activity
Tillyer, Marie Skubak; Wilcox, Pamela; Walter, Rebecca J. (2021). Crime Generators In Context: Examining ‘place In Neighborhood’ Propositions. Journal Of Quantitative Criminology, 37(2), 517 – 546.
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Abstract
Objectives The present study tests hypotheses regarding the moderating influence of neighborhood-level criminal opportunity on the relationship between crime generators and block-level crime. Methods We first estimated multilevel negative binomial regression models for violent, property, and drug crimes to identify crime-type specific crime generators on each block. We then estimated a series of crime-type specific models to examine whether the effects of violent, property, and drug crime generators are moderated by three census block group-level indicators of neighborhood criminal opportunity-concentrated disadvantage, vehicular traffic activity, and civic engagement. Results The positive relationship between crime generators and crime on blocks was exacerbated in census block groups with high levels of concentrated disadvantage and high levels of traffic activity for all three crime types. The effects of crime generators on block-level crime were significantly tempered in census block groups with high levels of civic engagement. Conclusions Particular place types do not generate crime similarly across varying neighborhood contexts. Rather, the criminogenic effects of micro-places appear to be exacerbated in neighborhoods with extensive criminal opportunity and tempered in neighborhoods with less criminal opportunity.
Keywords
Neighborhoods; Crime; Regression Analysis; Census; Crime And Place; Crime Generators; Multilevel Opportunity; Place In Neighborhood; Alcohol Outlet Density; Block-level Analysis; Social-disorganization; Routine Activities; Longitudinal Analysis; Street Robbery; Land-use; Multilevel; Victimization; Community; Citizen Participation; Traffic; Property Offences; Drugs; Effects; Property