Study on the Impact of the Objective Characteristics and Subjective Perception of the Built Environment on Residents’ Physical Activities in Fuzhou, China

Abstract

Many researchers have confirmed a correlation between the built environment and physical activity. However, most studies are based on the objective characteristics of the built environment, and seldom involve the residents’ subjective perception. The purpose of this study is to explore the relationship between the subjective and objective characteristics of the built environment and physical activity at the community scale. Data consists of that collected from a social survey, Points of Interest (POI), the road network, and land use in Fuzhou, China. The duration of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) within a week is used to represent the general physical activity of residents. Security perception is introduced as an intermediary variable. SPSS software is used for factor analysis and Amos software for statistical analysis. Structural equations are set up to analyse the relationship between these variables. The final results show that: (1) The objective characteristics of the built environment have no direct impact on the development of leisure MVPA, but it can indirectly affect leisure MVPA through residents’ subjective perception of the built environment; (2) The subjective perception of residents has a significant impact on the duration of MVPA, the subjective perception of humanized space has a direct impact on the duration of MVPA, and destination accessibility and urban environment maintenance has an indirect impact through community public security perception; and (3) The individuals’ attributes such as gender and self-evaluated socioeconomic status have negative effects on the duration of leisure MVPA, and an individual’s love of sports has a positive effect on MVPA.

The Influence of the Objective and Subjective Physical Neighbourhood Environment on the Physical Activity of Older Adults: A Case Study in the Malaysian Neighbourhoods of Johor Bahru

“…Four PNES measures were found to have a significant relationship with PA. First, the land use mix diversity was negatively associated with the PA. Respondents who believed that there was a high land use mix diversity tended to be C1, which was the opposite of the results in [57]. High land use mix diversity indicates that there is only a short distance to diverse land use in the respondent's location.…”

Do Accessible Exercise Facilities Influence Community Physical Activities?

“…We found that accessibility to exercise facilities was signi cantly associated with moderate physical activity after adjusting for factors that might affect such activities; the easier the access, the higher the rate of physical activity. Other studies also found that physical activity is affected not only by the physical environment but also subjective perception [27][28][29][30][31] . We con rmed that the relevant social factors included sex, age, and income 30,31 .…”

“…Other studies also found that physical activity is affected not only by the physical environment but also subjective perception [27][28][29][30][31] . We con rmed that the relevant social factors included sex, age, and income 30,31 . Overall, men engaged in more exercise than women, but a subgroup analysis showed that the effect of accessibility to exercise facilities on moderate exercise was similar between the sexes.…”

“…In addition, personal traits, such as a positive attitude toward exercise, in uenced participation in physical activity 29 .Recent studies indicated that "accessibility" in general in uences physical activity, thus not only the objective accessibility to public sports facilities 28 . In addition, the general characteristics and subjective perceptions of the built environment signi cantly in uenced physical activity; such activity varied by the socioeconomic status of the residents 30,31 . Although various authors have explored the associations among the perception, accessibility, and the physical activities of sports facilities, few have evaluated how personal perceptions of exercise facility accessibility affect moderate physical activity in Korea.…”

Do University Students’ Security Perceptions Influence Their Walking Preferences and Their Walking Activity? A Case Study of Granada (Spain)

“…A United Nations Report focusing on Safe Cities and Safe Public Spaces establishes that when women and girls are not safe walking on city streets, it has a massive impact on their lives [20]. With regard to the environmental dimension of sustainability, higher levels of perceived security increase walking preferences and walking activity, this being the most sustainable form of travel [21,22]. With respect to the economic dimension, the costs of using private vehicles and the external costs associated with the use of motorized modes are reduced when walking is increased.…”