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.

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.

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.

scholarly journals Everyday Walking Among Older Adults and the Neighborhood Built Environment: A Comparison Between Two Cities in North America

2020 ◽  
Vol 8 ◽  
Author(s):  
Florian Herbolsheimer ◽  
Atiya Mahmood ◽  
Yvonne L. Michael ◽  
Habib Chaudhury
Keyword(s):  
Physical Activity ◽  
Older Adults ◽  
Population Density ◽  
Built Environment ◽  
Healthy Aging ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Walking Behavior ◽  
Metro Vancouver ◽  
Walkable Neighborhood ◽  
Neighborhood Built Environment

A walkable neighborhood becomes particularly important for older adults for whom physical activity and active transportation are critical for healthy aging-in-place. For many older adults, regular walking takes place in the neighborhood and is the primary mode of mobility. This study took place in eight neighborhoods in Metro Portland (USA) and Metro Vancouver (Canada), examining older adults' walking behavior and neighborhood built environmental features. Older adults reported walking for recreation and transport in a cross-sectional telephone survey. Information on physical activity was combined with audits of 355 street segments using the Senior Walking Environmental Audit Tool-Revised (SWEAT-R). Multi-level regression models examined the relationship between built environmental characteristics and walking for transport or recreation. Older adults [N = 434, mean age: 71.6 (SD = 8.1)] walked more for transport in high-density neighborhoods and in Metro Vancouver compared to Metro Portland (M = 12.8 vs. M = 2.2 min/day; p < 0.001). No relationship was found between population density and walking for recreation. Older adults spent more time walking for transport if pedestrian crossing were present (p = 0.037) and if parks or outdoor fitness amenities were available (p = 0.022). The immediate neighborhood built environment supports walking for transport in older adults. Comparing two similar metropolitan areas highlighted that high population density is necessary, yet not a sufficient condition for walking in the neighborhood.

scholarly journals Eye-Level Street Greenery and Walking Behaviors of Older Adults

2020 ◽  
Vol 17 (17) ◽  
pp. 6130
Author(s):  
Peng Zang ◽  
Xuhong Liu ◽  
Yabo Zhao ◽  
Hongxu Guo ◽  
Yi Lu ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Land Use ◽  
Population Density ◽  
Built Environment ◽  
Street Connectivity ◽  
Design Consideration ◽  
Methodological Limitation ◽  
Urban Greenery ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Walking Time

Evidence suggests that built environment characteristics affect older adults’ travel activity behaviors, e.g., walking and cycling, which have well-established health benefits. However, the relationship between urban greenery and walking behaviors remains unclear, partly due to methodological limitation. Previous studies often measured urban greenery from a bird’s eye perspective, which may mismatch with the pedestrian’s perception from the street. In this study, we measured greenery view index from eye-level streetscape photos retrieved from Baidu Street View, an online mapping service provider. Walking behaviors of 180 older adults in six neighborhoods were collected from questionnaires. We also measured land use diversity, pedestrian-oriented design (street connectivity), and population density—the three Ds of the built environment. Results show that street greenery view index contributes to walking time of older adults, suggesting street greenery should be taken into design consideration to promote walking behaviors of older adults.

scholarly journals The Relation between Neighborhood Built Environment and Walking Activity among Older Adults

2008 ◽  
Vol 168 (4) ◽  
pp. 461-468 ◽  
Author(s):  
C. L. Nagel ◽  
N. E. Carlson ◽  
M. Bosworth ◽  
Y. L. Michael
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Built Environment ◽  
Walking Activity ◽  
Neighborhood Built Environment

Impact of Older Adults’ Neighborhood Perceptions on Walking Behavior

2016 ◽  
Vol 24 (2) ◽  
pp. 247-255 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jordana L. Maisel
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Built Environment ◽  
Traffic Safety ◽  
User Behavior ◽  
Street Connectivity ◽  
Walking Behavior ◽  
Study Support ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Neighborhood Type ◽  
Age And Sex

Built environment features can have varying impacts on user behavior depending on the perceptions of the opportunities and obstacles that the environments create. This study systematically evaluated the relationship between neighborhood perceptions and the specific types of self-reported walking behavior for 121 older adults who resided in urban, suburban, or rural neighborhoods. Perceptions of street connectivity, crime and traffic safety, and overall satisfaction were associated with specific types of walking behaviors, and the strength of the relationships differed by neighborhood type. Sociodemographic variables such as age and sex were associated with certain types and amounts of older adults’ walking behaviors both across and within each neighborhood type. The results of this study support the importance of perceived street connectivity regardless of neighborhood type and perceived crime safety in rural neighborhoods to impact the walking behavior among older adults.

scholarly journals Associations of built environment attributes with bicycle use for transport

2019 ◽  
Vol 47 (9) ◽  
pp. 1745-1757
Author(s):  
Mohammad Javad Koohsari ◽  
Rachel Cole ◽  
Koichiro Oka ◽  
Ai Shibata ◽  
Akitomo Yasunaga ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Built Environment ◽  
Level Density ◽  
Residential Density ◽  
Travel Survey ◽  
Linear Relationships ◽  
Walk Score ◽  
Non Linear ◽  
Medium Level ◽  
Objectively Measured ◽  
Continuous Measures

An increasing number of studies have examined neighbourhood built environment attributes associated with cycling. Some of them suggest non-linear relationships between built environment attributes and cycling. This study examined the strength and shape of associations of cycling for transport with objectively measured built environment attributes. Data were from 9146 Australian adults who took part in the 2009 South-East Queensland Travel Survey. Participants (aged 18–64 years) completed a 24-hour travel survey, in which they reported modes of travel. Residential density, Walk Score and a Space Syntax measure of street integration were calculated at a neighbourhood level using geographic information systems. Multilevel logistic regression analyses examined associations of bicycle use with each built environment attribute, which was modelled continuously and categorically. All continuous measures of the built environment attributes were associated with bicycle use. Each one-decile increment in residential density, Walk Score, and street integration was associated with 13%, 16%, and 10% higher odds of bicycle use, respectively. However, the associations appeared to be non-linear, with significant odds ratios observed only for the higher categories of each built environment attribute relative to the middle category. This study found that adults living in high-density neighbourhoods with more destinations nearby and well-connected streets were more likely to cycle for transport. However, medium-level density, access to destinations and street connectivity may not be enough to facilitate bicycle use. Further studies are needed to investigate urban design threshold values above which cycling can be promoted.

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