A Longitudinal Analysis of the Influence of the Neighborhood Built Environment on Walking for Transportation: The RESIDE Study

Abstract

The purpose of the present analysis was to use longitudinal data collected over 7 years (from 4 surveys) in the Residential Environments (RESIDE) Study (Perth, Australia, 2003-2012) to more carefully examine the relationship of neighborhood walkability and destination accessibility with walking for transportation that has been seen in many cross-sectional studies. We compared effect estimates from 3 types of logistic regression models: 2 that utilize all available data (a population marginal model and a subject-level mixed model) and a third subject-level conditional model that exclusively uses within-person longitudinal evidence. The results support the evidence that neighborhood walkability (especially land-use mix and street connectivity), local access to public transit stops, and variety in the types of local destinations are important determinants of walking for transportation. The similarity of subject-level effect estimates from logistic mixed models and those from conditional logistic models indicates that there is little or no bias from uncontrolled time-constant residential preference (self-selection) factors; however, confounding by uncontrolled time-varying factors, such as health status, remains a possibility. These findings provide policy makers and urban planners with further evidence that certain features of the built environment may be important in the design of neighborhoods to increase walking for transportation and meet the health needs of residents.

The Spatial Variations of Relationship between Built Environment and Pedestrian Volume: Focused on the 2009 Seoul Pedestrian Flow Survey in Korea

“…Many studies have well documented the relationship between land use and commuting behavior in terms of travel distance, time, and mode choice (Cervero and Kockelman, 1997;Ewing and Cervero, 2002;Frank and Pivo, 1994). The relatively recent research trend on the urban physical environment and walking behavior has been conducted as an extension of this research (Boarnet et al 2008;Grasser et al, 2013;Knuiman et al, 2014).…”

“…Although her claims did not receive much attention at that time, her ideas have influenced urban design practices such as pedestrian-friendly design, mixed land use, and transit-oriented development, demonstrated by the New Urbanist movement (Calthorpe, 1993;Sternberg, 2000). In addition, research has extensively examined the associations between these components and walking activity during the last decade (Christiansen et al 2016, Duncan et al 2010and Frank et al 2006, Grasser et al, 2013Knuiman et al, 2014, Stewart et al, 2016, Sung et al, 2014.…”

The Relationship between the Neighborhood Built Environment and Active Transportation among Adults: A Systematic Literature Review

“…The majority of studies (92.2%) only used cross-sectional data, and four studies [26][27][28]60] used longitudinal data. Twenty-eight (54.9%) studies exclusively focused on walking for transport, and ten (19.6%) studies exclusively focused on cycling for transport.…”

Modelling the health and economic impact of built environment interventions

“…(1) odds ratios for the likelihood of doing PA for a given BE exposure (139,141,148,151,154); (2) beta coefficients for the additional time or sessions of PA for a given BE exposure (67,140,150) and (3) marginal probabilities of doing PA for those exposed compared to non-exposed to a given BE attribute (140). Given the diversity of reporting styles we applied different methods to translate effect estimates into average population change in minutes of PA per week.…”

“…One study assessed both walking and moderate to vigorous physical activity (144). In less than half of the included studies (n=9) (67,140,141,148,(152)(153)(154)(155)(156) physical activity was measured using questionnaires that specified the location (e.g. neighbourhood) in which activities took place.…”