Evaluation of the implementation of a state government community design policy aimed at increasing local walking: Design issues and baseline results from RESIDE, Perth Western Australia

Giles-Corti, Billie; Knuiman, Matthew; Timperio, Anna; Niel, Kimberly Van; Pikora, Terri; Bull, Fiona; Shilton, Trevor; Bulsara, Max

doi:10.1016/j.ypmed.2007.08.002

Cited by 131 publications

(116 citation statements)

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“…These built environment attributes were calculated for each participant's 'walkable' service area level, defined in this study as a street network buffer that could be walked briskly within 15 min, 20 or 1.6 km. 24 This buffer size has been used in all our previous research 20,21 and is based on the 1996 US Surgeon General Report. 24 It represents approximately how far an ablebodied person could walk at a moderate to vigorous pace within 15 min, half the recommended level of daily physical activity for adults.…”

Section: Walkability Indexmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…14 In the US, Frank et al 15 pioneered the use of GIS to capture neighbourhood 'walkability' by combining three subcomponent spatial measures: (1) residential density, (2) street connectivity and (3) land use mix. The use and validity of this walkability index have been replicated in studies globally, 16,17 including various studies across many Australian states, including South Australia, 18 Western Australia (WA) [19][20][21] and New South Wales. 22 …”

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confidence: 90%

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Developing a research and practice tool to measure walkability: a demonstration project

Giles-Corti

Macaulay

Middleton

et al. 2014

Health Prom J of Aust

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Issue addressed: Growing evidence shows that higher-density, mixed-use, pedestrian-friendly neighbourhoods encourage active transport, including transport-related walking. Despite widespread recognition of the benefits of creating more walkable neighbourhoods, there remains a gap between the rhetoric of the need for walkability and the creation of walkable neighbourhoods. Moreover, there is little objective data to benchmark the walkability of neighbourhoods within and between Australian cities in order to monitor planning and design intervention progress and to assess built environment and urban policy interventions required to achieve increased walkability. This paper describes a demonstration project that aimed to develop, trial and validate a 'Walkability Index Tool' that could be used by policy makers and practitioners to assess the walkability of local areas; or by researchers to access geospatial data assessing walkability. The overall aim of the project was to develop an automated geospatial tool capable of creating walkability indices for neighbourhoods at user-specified scales. Methods: The tool is based on open-source software architecture, within the Australian Urban Research Infrastructure Network (AURIN) framework, and incorporates key sub-component spatial measures of walkability (street connectivity, density and land use mix). Results: Using state-based data, we demonstrated it was possible to create an automated walkability index. However, due to the lack of availability of consistent of national data measuring land use mix, at this stage it has not been possible to create a national walkability measure. The next stage of the project is to increase useability of the tool within the AURIN portal and to explore options for alternative spatial data sources that will enable the development of a valid national walkability index. Conclusion: AURIN's open-source Walkability Index Tool is a first step in demonstrating the potential benefit of a tool that could measure walkability across Australia. It also demonstrates the value of making accurate spatial data available for research purposes. So what?There remains a gap between urban policy and practice, in terms of creating walkable neighbourhoods. When fully implemented, AURIN's walkability tool could be used to benchmark Australian cities against which planning and urban design decisions could be assessed to monitor progress towards achieving policy goals. Making cleaned data readily available for research purposes through a common portal could also save time and financial resources.

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Section: Walkability Indexmentioning

confidence: 99%

mentioning

confidence: 90%

Developing a research and practice tool to measure walkability: a demonstration project

Giles-Corti

Macaulay

Middleton

et al. 2014

Health Prom J of Aust

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“…Fortunately, at baseline there were few differences between those moving into Liveable Neighbourhood developments and other types of neighbourhoods in terms of their demographic or behavioral characteristics. 28 Second, RESIDE included all Liveable Neighbourhood and hybrid developments being built during the study period, and where possible, it sought to match these with conventional developments on the basis of distance from the ocean, stage of development and price. Apart from attempting to control for socioeconomic status and quality of access to facilities and services, there was also an attempt to avoid a 'coastal effect' which suggests that those living in coastal locations are more physically active than others.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…At baseline, there was no difference between the transport-related or recreational walking undertaken by the study participants living in the different types of neighbourhoods. 28 Only 20% of the total walking undertaken at baseline was transport-related walking and undertaken within the neighbourhood. Given that the Liveable Neighbourhoods Community Design Code aims to increase local walking, it will be important to monitor any increase in the amount of transport-related walking.…”

Section: Selection Of Participantsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Can the impact on health of a government policy designed to create more liveable neighbourhoods be evaluated? An overview of the RESIDential Environment Project

Knuiman¹,

Pikora²,

Neil³

et al. 2007

NSW Public Health Bull.

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Abstract:There is growing interest in the impact of community design on the health of residents. In 1998, the Western Australian Government began a trial of new subdivision design codes (i.e. Liveable Neighbourhoods Community Design Code) aimed at creating pedestrian-friendly neighbourhoods to increase walking, cycling and public transport use. The trial provided a unique opportunity for a natural experiment to evaluate the impact of a government planning policy on residents. Nevertheless, evaluations of this kind present a number of methodological challenges in obtaining the highest quality evidence possible. This paper describes the RESIDential Environment Project's study design and discusses how various methodological challenges were overcome. A growing number of studies show that urban sprawl, typical of development on the fringe of Australian and US cities, is associated with obesity, hypertension and lower levels of walking, because it encourages driving and discourages active modes of transport, and often results in long commutes. 3 In Australia, two-thirds of men and onehalf of women are overweight or obese, 4 as are between 19 and 23% of Australian children and adolescents. 5 Moreover, only about one-half of Australian adults are sufficiently active to benefit their health (i.e. undertaking as little as 30 minutes of daily moderate physical activity), and levels of physical activity appear to be declining. 6,7 While a multitude of factors are implicated in these trends, there is growing international attention on the contribution made by so-called 'obesogenic ' environments, 8,9 including urban development, which discourage physical activity. This paper contributes to the methodological literature. It describes the design of an evaluation of a state government land subdivision design code which aims to encourage more walking, cycling and public transport use by local residents. It begins with a background to the development of the Liveable Neighbourhoods Community Design Code, before describing the evaluation's study design. It then goes on to discuss methodological issues that have arisen for consideration in future natural experiments of this type. Billie Giles-Corti New UrbanismOne response to concerns about the unsustainability of urban sprawl has been a new approach to planning known as 'New Urbanism', which aims to create more pedestrianfriendly neighbourhoods. 7,10-12 Based on traditional planning principles, neighbourhoods designed according to these principles have connected street networks, higher density of development, mixed-use zoning (i.e. a combination of commercial and residential development) and access to public transport. 13,14 A study from the United Kingdom found that traditional neighbourhoods generated 10.1071/NB07027Vol. 18(11-12) NSW Public Health Bulletin | 239 about 57% fewer vehicle miles, 15 while a small study by Saelens and colleagues 16 found that 'high walkable' neighbourhoods in the US generated more weekly transport walking trips than 'low walkable' neighbourhoods (3....

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“…If, when used to evaluate a 'treatment' such as a residential move or BE intervention, control groups as well as experimental groups are involved, this approach comes very close to being 'airtight' (though questions about generalizability could still remain, and the limitations discussed in the 'Empirical Studies by Methodology' section should be kept in mind). Although this method has not yet been fully operationalized in the present context (Cao et al, 2007b, comes the closest, to our knowledge, but does not include a control group and is only quasi-longitudinal in that 'prior' measures are obtained only retrospectively and do not include attitudes-though current attitudes are measured), a project is underway in Australia (Giles-Corti et al, 2008) which aims to do exactly that.…”

Section: Conclusion and Recommendationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Examining the impacts of residential self-selection on travel behavior: A focus on methodologies

Mokhtarian

Cao²

2008

Transportation Research Part B: Methodological

649

404

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Evaluation of the implementation of a state government community design policy aimed at increasing local walking: Design issues and baseline results from RESIDE, Perth Western Australia

Abstract: The baseline results underscore the desirability of incorporating behavior and context-specific measures and value of longitudinal designs to enable changes in behavior, attitudes, and urban form to be monitored, while adjusting for baseline residential location preferences.

Cited by 131 publications

References 20 publications

Developing a research and practice tool to measure walkability: a demonstration project

Developing a research and practice tool to measure walkability: a demonstration project

Can the impact on health of a government policy designed to create more liveable neighbourhoods be evaluated? An overview of the RESIDential Environment Project

Examining the impacts of residential self-selection on travel behavior: A focus on methodologies

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