scholarly journals Disentangling residential self-selection from impacts of built environment characteristics on travel behaviors for older adults

2019 ◽  
Vol 238 ◽  
pp. 112515 ◽  
Author(s):  
Peng Zang ◽  
Yi Lu ◽  
Jing Ma ◽  
Bo Xie ◽  
Ruoyu Wang ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Built Environment ◽  
Self Selection ◽  
Travel Behaviors

scholarly journals The Association of Built Environment and Physical Activity in Older Adults: Using a Citywide Public Housing Scheme to Reduce Residential Self-Selection Bias

2018 ◽  
Vol 15 (9) ◽  
pp. 1973 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yi Lu ◽  
Long Chen ◽  
Yiyang Yang ◽  
Zhonghua Gou
Keyword(s):  
Physical Activity ◽  
Older Adults ◽  
Land Use ◽  
Built Environment ◽  
Public Housing ◽  
Selection Bias ◽  
Self Selection ◽  
Housing Scheme ◽  
Recreational Walking ◽  
Housing Estates

Previous studies have documented numerous health benefits of conducting regular physical activity among older adults. The built environment is believed to be a key factor that can hinder or facilitate daily physical activity, such as walking and exercising. However, most empirical studies focusing on environment-physical activity associations exhibited residential self-selection bias with cross-sectional research design, engendering doubts about the impact of built environment on physical activity. To reduce this bias, we assessed physical activity behaviors of 720 Hong Kong older adults (≥65 years) residing in 24 public housing estates. The Hong Kong public housing scheme currently provides affordable rental flats for 2.1 million people or approximate 30% of total population. The applicants were allocated to one of 179 housing estates largely by family size and flat availability. Built environment characteristics were measured following the ‘5Ds’ principle: (street network) design, (land-use) diversity, density, distance to transit, and destination accessibility. Multilevel mixed models were used to explore the associations between the built environment and the different domains of physical activity (transportation walking, recreational walking, and recreational moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) while controlling for potential estate-level socioeconomic and individual confounders. We found that transportation walking was positively associated with the number of bus stops and the presence of Mass Transit Railway (MTR) stations. Recreational MVPA was positively related to the number of recreational facilities. However, land-use mix was negatively related to transportation walking, recreational walking, and recreational MVPA. The findings of this study support a threshold effect in the environment-physical activity associations. Furthermore, large-scale public housing schemes involving random or semi-random residence assignment in many cities may provide opportunities to explore built environments and physical activity behavior, with the potential to overcome residential self-selection bias.

Perceptions of the Neighborhood Built Environment for Walking Behavior in Older Adults Living in Close Proximity

2020 ◽  
pp. 073346482097925
Author(s):  
Florian Herbolsheimer ◽  
Atiya Mahmood ◽  
Nadine Ungar ◽  
Yvonne L. Michael ◽  
Frank Oswald ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Built Environment ◽  
Past Research ◽  
Subjective Assessment ◽  
Neighborhood Environment ◽  
Walking Behavior ◽  
Close Proximity ◽  
Physical Limitations ◽  
Pedestrian Infrastructure ◽  
Neighborhood Built Environment

Past research documents a discordance between perceived and objectively assessed neighborhood environmental features on walking behavior. Therefore, we examined differences in the perception of the same neighborhood built environment. Participants were grouped if they lived 400 m or closer to each other. The perception of the pedestrian infrastructure, neighborhood aesthetics, safety from crime, and safety from traffic was derived from a telephone survey from two North American metropolitan areas; 173 individuals were clustered into 42 groups. Older adults who walked for transport in their neighborhood experienced the same neighborhood as more walkable (β = .19; p = .011) with better pedestrian infrastructure (β = .16; p = .037). Older adults with physical limitations experienced the same neighborhood as less safe from crime (β = −.17; p = .030) and traffic (β = −.20; p = .009). The study supports the notion that individual behavior and physical restrictions alter the environment’s perception and explains part of the discordance between objective and subjective assessment of the neighborhood environment.

Does neighborhood built environment support older adults' daily steps differ by time of day?

2021 ◽  
Vol 22 ◽  
pp. 101234
Author(s):  
Ting-Fu Lai ◽  
Chia-Shuan Chang ◽  
Yung Liao ◽  
Ming-Chun Hsueh ◽  
Mohammad Javad Koohsari ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Built Environment ◽  
Time Of Day ◽  
Neighborhood Built Environment

scholarly journals Non-Linear Effects of the Built Environment and Social Environment on Bus Use among Older Adults in China: An Application of the XGBoost Model

2021 ◽  
Vol 18 (18) ◽  
pp. 9592
Author(s):  
Lanjing Wang ◽  
Chunli Zhao ◽  
Xiaofei Liu ◽  
Xumei Chen ◽  
Chaoyang Li ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Land Use ◽  
Built Environment ◽  
Social Environment ◽  
Public Transport ◽  
Dwelling Unit ◽  
Bus Stop ◽  
Environment Variable ◽  
Non Linear ◽  
Unit Density

Global aging has raised increasing concerns on the health and well-being of older adults. Public transport is a viable option to improve the mobility and quality of life among older adults. However, policies that promote the public transport use among older adults are rare. This study utilizes the eXtreme Gradient Boosting (XGBoost) decision tree to explore the non-linear associations of the built and social environment with bus use among older adults in China. The bus use of older adults was obtained from the Zhongshan Household Travel Survey (ZHTS) in 2012. Results show that non-linear relationships exist among all built environment and social environment characteristics. Within certain thresholds, the percentage of green space land use, land use mixture, bus-stop density, and dwelling unit density are positively related to bus use among older adults. Likewise, one social environment variable, the proportion of older adults in a neighborhood, is the key social environment variable. Furthermore, the dwelling unit density and proportion of older adults appear to have an inverse U-shaped relationship. Additionally, age, ownership of motorcycles, and distance from home to the nearest bus stop also show non-linearity. The findings presented in this paper facilitate effective planning interventions to promote bus use among older adults.

scholarly journals Do Community Social Capital and Built Environment Associate With Homebound in Older Adults? The JAGES Niigata Study

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tomoko Tsubokawa ◽  
Yugo Shobugawa ◽  
Seitaro Iguchi ◽  
Tsubasa Suzuki ◽  
Michiko Watanabe ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Social Capital ◽  
Built Environment

scholarly journals Non-linear Relationships Between the Built Environment and Walking Frequency Among Older Adults in Zhongshan, China

2021 ◽  
Vol 9 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jiani Wu ◽  
Chunli Zhao ◽  
Chaoyang Li ◽  
Tao Wang ◽  
Lanjing Wang ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Land Use ◽  
Built Environment ◽  
Green Space ◽  
Additive Model ◽  
Walking Behavior ◽  
Old Adults ◽  
Linear Relationships ◽  
Walking Activity ◽  
Non Linear

Aim: Promoting walking activity is an effective way to improve the health of older adults. Walking frequency is a critical component of walking behavior and an essential determinant of daily walking levels. To decipher the association between the built environment and walking frequency among older adults, this study's aims are as follows: (1) to empirically test whether non-linear relationships between the two exist, and (2) to identify the thresholds of the built environment characteristics that promote walking.Methods: The walking frequency of old adults was derived from the Zhongshan Household Travel Survey (ZHTS) in 2012. The sample size of old adults aged 60 or over was 4784 from 274 urban and rural neighborhoods. A semi-parametric generalized additive model (GAMM) is used to analyze the non-linear or non-monotonic relationships between the built environment and the walking frequency among older adults.Results: We found that non-linear relationships exist among five out of the six built environment characteristics. Within certain thresholds, the population density, sidewalk density, bus stop density, land use mixture, and the percentage of green space are positively related to older adults' walking trips. Furthermore, the land use mixture and the percentage of green space show an inverse “V”-shaped relationship.Conclusions: Built environment features can either support or hinder the walking frequency among older adults. The findings in the current study contribute to effective land use and transport policies for promoting active travel among older adults.

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