Exploring the Associations of Walking Behavior with Neighborhood Environments by Different Life Stages: A Cross-Sectional Study in a Smaller Chinese City

Abstract

Because of high population density and rapid urbanization, different human life stages have distinct growth experiences, leading to different lifestyles and age-spatial separation in the same neighborhood environment, particularly in smaller Chinese cities. The relationship of environment to physical activity may differ from western or larger Chinese cities. This study examined the associations of walking duration to the neighborhood environment and other factors, and explored the nuances of walking behavior for different life stages of adults in a smaller Chinese city, Yuncheng. An interviewer-administered questionnaire survey (n = 173) and face-to-face interviews (n = 19) were conducted in August 2017. Descriptive analysis and multiple linear regression were performed to describe walking motivations, sociodemographic characteristics, neighborhood environments, and their impacts on walking duration across three life stages. The quantitative findings were followed by interviews to validate and interpret them. Our results showed no positive associations of land-use mix (LUM) and residential density on walking duration, and even inverse associations of LUM-recreation and LUM-education for specific life stages were identified. Younger people's walking behavior was more related to consumption amenities distinct from those of older people. Our findings suggest that using walkable neighborhood policies (e.g., high residential density and land-use mix) to increase physical activity might be ineffective in smaller Chinese cities.

Associations of perceived daily walking duration with residential food outlets in small Chinese cities: a cross-sectional study

“…Details of the de nition of small Chinese cities are given elsewhere [15]. In short, according to the most recent Chinese census, the number of inhabitants in each of these two cities is around 5 million, and when Chinese cities are categorised via their urban population, 42.4% of the population of the entire country is shown to live in cities of 4 to 8 million [40,41].…”

“…The questionnaire content with detailed items has been presented in another study [15], adapted from the Neighbourhood Environment Walkability Scale [43]. We extracted three key subscales in accordance with the aim of this study, including perceived daily walking duration as the single outcome variable (i.e.…”

“…For example, certain recreational areas in a neighbourhood, such as urban park and blue space, have been positively related to PA and mental health, while it has been revealed that other such amenities (e.g. karaoke bar and cinema) might in fact play a negative role in generating walking behaviours [13][14][15][16].…”

“…Furthermore, different age groups might have different demands for the same amenities, leading to different associations of PA to the same neighbourhood environment [15][16][17][18][19]. Therefore, we contend that before using land-use mix as a whole, different amenities need to be separately analysed in relation to their different functions and demands in local contexts.…”

“…Recent studies have demonstrated that due to the different context of Chinese cities (e.g. unprecedented speed of urban development, high-density sprawl and informality), some associations of PA with walkable environmental factors such as land-use mix and high residential density are ineffective or even counterproductive [15,[34][35][36]. This means that in applying western theories and methods to the study of walkability in China, some previously validated factors need to be re-examined and disassembled.…”