Baltimore Region Research Articles

Association of a Housing Mobility Program With Childhood Asthma Symptoms and Exacerbations

Structural racism has been implicated in the disproportionally high asthma morbidity experienced by children living in disadvantaged, urban neighborhoods. Current approaches designed to reduce asthma triggers have modest impact. To examine whether participation in a housing mobility program that provided housing vouchers and assistance moving to low-poverty neighborhoods was associated with reduced asthma morbidity among children and to explore potential mediating factors. Cohort study of 123 children aged 5 to 17 years with persistent asthma whose families participated in the Baltimore Regional Housing Partnership housing mobility program from 2016 to 2020. Children were matched to 115 children enrolled in the Urban Environment and Childhood Asthma (URECA) birth cohort using propensity scores. Moving to a low-poverty neighborhood. Caregiver-reported asthma exacerbations and symptoms. Among 123 children enrolled in the program, median age was 8.4 years, 58 (47.2%) were female, and 120 (97.6%) were Black. Prior to moving, 89 of 110 children (81%) lived in a high-poverty census tract (>20% of families below the poverty line); after moving, only 1 of 106 children with after-move data (0.9%) lived in a high-poverty tract. Among this cohort, 15.1% (SD, 35.8) had at least 1 exacerbation per 3-month period prior to moving vs 8.5% (SD, 28.0) after moving, an adjusted difference of -6.8 percentage points (95% CI, -11.9% to -1.7%; P = .009). Maximum symptom days in the past 2 weeks were 5.1 (SD, 5.0) before moving and 2.7 (SD, 3.8) after moving, an adjusted difference of -2.37 days (95% CI, -3.14 to -1.59; P < .001). Results remained significant in propensity score-matched analyses with URECA data. Measures of stress, including social cohesion, neighborhood safety, and urban stress, all improved with moving and were estimated to mediate between 29% and 35% of the association between moving and asthma exacerbations. Children with asthma whose families participated in a program that helped them move into low-poverty neighborhoods experienced significant improvements in asthma symptom days and exacerbations. This study adds to the limited evidence suggesting that programs to counter housing discrimination can reduce childhood asthma morbidity.

The stratigraphy and stratigraphic nomenclature of the Goochland Terrane in the piedmont province of east-central Virginia

The Goochland terrane is a structurally isolated crustal block in the eastern Piedmont of Virginia. It is composed of the previously named State Farm Gneiss, Montpelier Anorthosite, Sabot Amphibolite, and Maidens Gneiss, but also includes the Scotchtown Gneiss, Teman Gneiss, and Old Bandana Gneiss which are formally named and defined herein. The eastern part of the Goochland terrane is antiformal and cored by Mesoproterozoic rocks (the State Farm Gneiss and the Montpelier Anorthosite). These basement units are overlain by a late Neoproterozoic to early Paleozoic (Ediacaran to Early Cambrian) saprolitic, metavolcanic, and metasedimentary sequence that sequentially includes the Scotchtown Gneiss, Sabot Amphibolite and Maidens Gneiss. The western part of the terrane is synformal and includes in its core two additional units that overlie the Maidens Gneiss: the Teman Gneiss and the Old Bandana Gneiss. Based on mineralogy and zircon grain morphology, the protoliths of the Maidens, Teman, and Old Bandana gneisses were predominantly sedimentary rocks. The protoliths of the Teman Gneiss and Old Bandana Gneiss were deposited unconformably upon the protolith of the Maidens Gneiss. The eastern and western parts of the Goochland terrane are separated by the Dabneys fault, which has considerable east-side-up vertical offset and possibly also significant transverse displacement. Correlation of the upper part of the Goochland terrane (Teman and Old Bandana gneisses) with the Setters and Cockeysville gneisses in the Baltimore region suggests that the Goochland terrane was left about 135 miles (ca. 220 km) southwest of its original North American location, which was to the east of Baltimore, Maryland. This displacement was caused by the oblique collision of the eastern North American continent with the western edge of the Gondwanan craton during the later Carboniferous (Pennsylvanian) Period.

Leveraging the use of labeled benchmark datasets for urban area change mapping and area estimation: a case study of the Washington DC–Baltimore region

ABSTRACT Worldwide economic development and population growth have led to unprecedented changes in urban land use in the twenty-first century. As satellite data become available at higher spatial (3–10 m) and temporal (1–3 days) resolution, new opportunities arise to map and quantify urban area changes. While deep learning (DL) models have recently shown great performance when dealing with satellite data, their training requires a lot of labeled data which are not necessarily available at global scale. Satellite benchmark datasets, commonly used to advance methods, provide labeled data, but are rarely used for mapping and area estimation outside the training data. In this study, we aim to utilize the Sentinel-2-based benchmark dataset, Onera Satellite Change Detection (OSCD), to train a DL model and analyze its performance at local scale to map urban land use changes, estimate area of changes and provide characterization of changes. We apply the model over the Washington DC–Baltimore area for 2018–2019. We show that in just one year almost 1% of the total urban area underwent changes with the majority coming from the construction of commercial buildings, followed by residential buildings. Almost 10% of changes were attributed to the construction of new or renovation of existing schools.

Time is money: Water quality's impact on home liquidity and property values

Policymakers grappling with how to meet EPA water quality standards within the Chesapeake Bay must weigh the cost of water quality restoration against the benefits accrued to nearby homeowners. Missing from this analysis are the benefits homeowners receive from increased home liquidity – or how quickly a home is sold once listed. In this paper, we exploit variation in water clarity data to examine its relationship with prices and liquidity using real estate data (2008–2015) from the Baltimore region. We find a one-foot improvement in Secchi depth, needed to meet the total maximum daily load recommendation for the central and northern portion of the Chesapeake Bay, increases housing prices by $9600, decreases time on market by 19.7 days, and reduces seller holding costs by $1280. This cost-savings is welfare-enhancing for many home sellers, especially absentee homeowners who are likely to net an additional 13.3% in water quality benefits when liquidity changes are considered alongside property value increases. Not accounting for the additional benefits and losses accrued through home liquidity suggests water quality restoration projects and damages from impairment will be undervalued.

Reflections on the Baltimore Natural Dye Initiative and Cultivating Communities of Care

The Baltimore Natural Dye Initiative (NDI) is a multi-agency project exploring the cultural and economic impacts of growing and using natural dyes in the Baltimore region. The project established a dye farm at Parks and People Foundation, and initiated a collaboration between the Maryland Institute College of Art (MICA) and community artists to support learning about natural dyes, their histories, and implications of their use in art, design, and community contexts. Courses in the Fiber Department served as containers for collaboration and supported the development of artist-driven projects that now anchor the NDI and define the expanded curriculum. This paper reflects on the people who have shaped this project and how the learning space, pedagogy, curriculum, and community evolved as a result of their collective work.

Variability of CD4+ Cell Counts in HIV-1-Uninfected Volunteers Who Are Eligible for a Phase I HIV Vaccine Study.

Vaccines and biologics containing CD4 molecules or HIV-1 gp120 might induce antibodies targeting CD4. We evaluated temporal variability of CD4 levels in healthy volunteers to quantify declines that could indicate true adverse events. Prospective observational cohort study of 100 healthy adults without HIV-1 infection from the Baltimore region. Participants enrolled and consented to blood draws for immunologic laboratory panels performed once every 8 weeks for 48 weeks. The primary CD4 measurements were CD4 absolute count (cells/mm) and CD4 percentage (CD4%, total CD4 cells/total lymphocyte cells). CD4 changes over time were modeled using fold changes for CD4 absolute counts and differences for CD4 percentages. Variation of average CD4 cell counts and percentages were highly participant-specific (P < 0.001 for both). However, changes in both CD4 measurements over time were stable in the population. We proposed thresholds to flag unusual drops using 1.5 SD estimates, calculated as 1.5-fold declines for CD4 count and 6.4% declines for CD4 percentage. In this healthy cohort, flagging simultaneous declines in both measurements corresponded to a low false-positive rate (5.26%). Normal biological variation in large lymphocytes should be taken into account to establish thresholds for adverse changes in clinical trials. The inherent subject-specific variability in CD4 levels makes establishing absolute cutoffs difficult. However, this study proposes that thresholds for declines using 1.5 SDs from these data (50% in absolute count and 6.4% for CD4 percentage) allow a small false-positive rate (∼5%) that could maintain sensitivity for true adverse events in a clinical trial.

“GOOD, BETTER, BEST”

AbstractTurner Station, Maryland, is a century-old African American neighborhood just east of Baltimore that housed the families of workers who were employed at a nearby steel plant from the founding of the community in the early 1900s until the plant closed in 2012. Its story provides a window into the lives of the understudied Black working-class during the peak decades of industrial employment and the ensuing decades of decline. Long-time residents recall a vibrant, self-sufficient community with a heterogeneous class structure, produced in part by residential restrictions and employment discrimination that constrained professionals such as physicians and teachers to reside and to practice or work in the neighborhood. They report a high level of collective efficacy and joint responsibility for childrearing. Current and former residents describe a strong emphasis on education as a means of upward mobility. As levels of education rose and residential opportunities opened, the children of the mid-century steelworkers left Turner Station for other communities in the metropolitan area and beyond. As out migration continued, the community suffered a decline: virtually all of the businesses are gone, vacant homes are common, and a more transient population has moved in. The members of the Turner Station diaspora still cherish the memory of the neighborhood, even as many have moved on and up. Their achievements show what happened when a generation of African Americans were given access to decent-paying jobs that did not require a college education—a degree of access that no longer exists because of the decline of industrial employment in the Baltimore region and elsewhere.

The capacity of urban forest patches to infiltrate stormwater is influenced by soil physical properties and soil moisture

Forest patches in developed landscapes perform ecohydrological functions that can reduce urban stormwater flows. However, urban forest patch contributions to runoff mitigation are not well understood due to a lack of performance data. In this study, we focus on the potential of urban forest patch soils to infiltrate rainfall by characterizing rates of unsaturated hydraulic conductivity (K) in 21 forest patches in Baltimore, Maryland. Soil bulk density, organic matter, soil moisture, percent of coarse fragments (≥2 mm), and texture were evaluated at the same locations to assess drivers of K. The K was significantly higher in soils with high sand content and related positively with the percent of coarse fragment material in the soil. Forest patch size did not impact K. We estimate that 68 percent of historic rainfall could be infiltrated by urban forest patch soils at the measured K rates. Continuous monitoring at one forest patch also showed that K is dynamic in time and influenced by antecedent soil moisture conditions. We conservatively estimate that unsaturated urban forest patch soils alone are capable of infiltrating most rain events of low to moderate intensities that fell within these forest patches in the Baltimore region. Considering this ecohydrologic function, the protection and expansion of forest patches can make substantial contributions to stormwater mitigation.

An integrated and personalized traveler information and incentive scheme for energy efficient mobility systems

Recently, the employment of different types of incentives in transportation systems to form advanced transportation congestion management solutions has garnered significant attention. Instead of using presumed or fixed-amount incentives, this paper develops an integrated and personalized traveler information and incentive scheme to incentivize toward a more energy-efficient travel and mobility decisions. We have developed a behavior research and empirical modeling system to quantify the personalized monetary incentives. Then, it is integrated with a control optimizer for optimized incentive allocation. This scheme innovatively integrates behavioral modeling and optimization for travel incentive design. Through a demonstrative case study for a large-scale transportation system in the Washington D.C. and Baltimore regions, the capability of the proposed scheme is highlighted with significant system-level energy savings, reasonable insights on individual travel behavior responses, as well as superior computational efficiency.

A Tool to Guide Clinical Nurse Specialist Orientation, Professional Development, and Evaluation.

Currently, orientation for clinical nurse specialists (CNSs) in the Baltimore region is based on past practices: facility-specific or position-specific. A Chesapeake Bay affiliate work group identified a need to develop a theory-driven, competency-based program and tool to guide orientation and ongoing professional development reflecting the scope of CNS practice. The tool incorporates Benner's concepts of novice-to-expert competence levels, guides progressive development of the CNS, and has relevant assessment metrics that highlight contributions to the patient, nurse, and system. The group developed a comprehensive orientation tool grounded in the spheres of influence and advanced practice competencies and specific, measurable behavioral statements related to competencies from the 2018 National Association of Clinical Nurse Specialists' draft. This program is adaptable to guide the practice of a CNS in any facility, validate competence, and relate to those with varied experience in the role. In a method similar to the process for developing nationally recognized educational standards used to develop the competencies, the program was revised based on an iterative, stepwise process. It was distributed to the membership for evaluation and feedback, which was incorporated into the final version.

An Integrated and Personalized Traveler Information and Incentive Scheme for Energy Efficient Mobility Systems

Abstract Recently, the employment of different types of incentives in transportation systems to form advanced transportation congestion management solutions has garnered significant attention. Instead of using presumed or fixed-amount incentives, this paper develops an integrated and personalized traveler information and incentive scheme to incentivize toward a more energy-efficient travel and mobility decisions. We have developed a behavior research and empirical modeling system to quantify the personalized monetary incentives. Then, it is integrated with a control optimizer for optimized incentive allocation. This scheme innovatively integrates behavioral modeling and optimization for travel incentive design. Through a demonstrative case study for a large-scale transportation system in the Washington D.C. and Baltimore regions, the capability of the proposed scheme is highlighted with significant system-level energy savings, reasonable insights on individual travel behavior responses, as well as superior computational efficiency.

Developing Dedicated Bus Lane Screening Criteria in Baltimore, Maryland

Despite the increasing number of dedicated bus lanes in various cities across the United States, no clear screening criteria or thresholds have emerged for determining appropriate locations for these dedicated facilities. The Maryland Department of Transportation Maryland Transit Administration (MDOT MTA), in coordination with the Baltimore City Department of Transportation, conducted a detailed review of literature, selection of performance measures, and screening evaluation to identify candidate corridors for dedicated bus lanes and criteria to be used for future assessments. A national-level literature review and review of best practices was used to identify performance measures by which to assess the benefits and tradeoffs of installing dedicated bus lanes. As a result of this literature review and evaluation, design was undertaken on the selected corridor segments and implementation has started on the selected corridor segments. By the end of 2017 nearly 5.5 lane miles of dedicated bus lanes were in place, with 4.9 mi of full-time lanes with red paint (methyl methacrylate) and appropriate signing and markings, and 0.5 mi of peak-only lanes with signage and pavement markings but no paint. This effort was conducted in support of BaltimoreLink, MDOT MTA’s overhaul and rebranding of its core bus service, which included redesigning the entire local and express bus system throughout the Baltimore region in 2017.

Interactions of psychosocial factors with built environments in explaining adolescents' active transportation.

The present study examined independent and interacting associations of psychosocial and neighborhood built environment variables with adolescents' reported active transportation. Moderating effects of adolescent sex were explored. Mixed-effects regression models were conducted on data from the Teen Environment and Neighborhood observational study (N=928) in the Seattle, WA and Baltimore regions 2009-2011. Frequency index of active transportation to neighborhood destinations (dependent variable) and 7 psychosocial measures were reported by adolescents. Built environment measures included home walkability and count of nearby parks and recreation facilities using GIS procedures and streetscape quality from environmental audits. Results indicated all 3 environmental variables and 3 psychosocial variables (self-efficacy, social support from peers, and enjoyment of physical activity) had significant positive main effects with active transportation (Ps<0.05). Three of 21 two-way interactions were significant in explaining active transportation (Ps<0.1): self-efficacy×GIS-based walkability index, barriers to activity in neighborhood×MAPS streetscape scores, and self-efficacy×GIS-based counts of parks and recreation facilities. In each two-way interaction the highest active transportation was found among adolescents with the combination of activity-supportive built environment and positive psychosocial characteristics. Three-way interactions with sex indicated similar associations for girls and boys, with one exception. Results provided modest support for the ecological model principle of interactions across levels, highlight the importance of both built environment and psychosocial factors in shaping adolescents' active transportation, demonstrated the possibility of sex-specific findings, and suggested strategies for improving adolescents' active transportation may be most effective when targeting multiple levels of influence.

Differential eligibility of African American and European American lung cancer cases using LDCT screening guidelines

IntroductionLung cancer incidence and mortality is higher among African Americans compared with European Americans in the USA where screening guidelines are currently in place and based on age at diagnosis...

Abstract 3406: The identification of serum cytokine inflammatory markers as classifiers of lung cancer mortality for stage I lung adenocarcinoma: a retrospective cohort study

Abstract Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer-related mortality worldwide. Low-dose CT (LDCT) imaging is now recommended to screen high-risk lung cancer individuals in the USA. The sensitivity of LDCT has resulted in increased detection of stage I lung cancer and a 20% reduction in lung cancer mortality. The current standard of care for stage 1 lung cancer patients is surgery alone. However, between 20% and 30% of these patients will develop recurrence and therefore are in need of further treatment upon diagnosis. This study aims to explore and validate biomarkers to identify patients at high-risk of mortality so that additional treatment modalities can be offered at time of diagnosis. Our recent work on a small panel of circulating cytokines identified elevated levels of IL-6, a pro-inflammatory cytokine, as an indicator of poor survival. To further examine the potential of inflammatory biomarkers as prognostic indicators, 125 stage I lung adenocarcinoma cases were selected from the National Cancer Institute-Maryland lung cancer case-control study. This is an on-going prospective study of non-small cell lung cancer based in the greater Baltimore region of the USA. A panel of 33 inflammatory markers was measured for each case using the Mesoscale V-Plex assay. The magnitude of association between serum inflammatory marker expression levels and lung cancer-specific survival was tested using multivariable Cox proportional hazards regression modeling (Stata 12.0 statistical software). All calculations were adjusted for age, gender, stage and smoking status. Maximum follow up time was 15 years. Five analytes were significantly associated with shorter survival. In concordance with the previous study, IL-6 was again associated with shorter survival (HR, 2.63; 95% CI, 1.25-5.56). Other cytokines associated with shorter survival included CRP (HR, 2.25; 95% CI, 1.09-4.65), Eotaxin-3 (HR, 2.20; 95% CI, 0.97-4.86), IL-12p40 (HR 1.98; 95% C.I. 1.00 - 3.91), and IL-17 (HR, 2.22; 95% CI, 1.08-4.58). Although IL6 and CRP were positively correlated (Rho = 0.451, P&amp;lt;0.0001), the association between IL-6 and survival was independent of CRP (HR, 2.46; 95% CI, 1.19-5.09). These results support the potential of cytokine markers as a prognostic tool to further classify stage I lung cancer and thus identify patients in need of additional treatment. The associations identified here justify further investigation of a novel, combined cytokine prognostic classifier to serve as a robust predictor of stage I lung adenocarcinoma survival. Citation Format: Claire L. Meaney, Adriana Zingone, Derek Brown, Yunkai Yu, Liang Cao, Brid M. Ryan. The identification of serum cytokine inflammatory markers as classifiers of lung cancer mortality for stage I lung adenocarcinoma: a retrospective cohort study. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 107th Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2016 Apr 16-20; New Orleans, LA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2016;76(14 Suppl):Abstract nr 3406.

Socioeconomic and race/ethnic disparities in observed park quality.

BackgroundThough park presence and access disparities are well studied for their associations with physical activity (PA), disparities in the availability and quality of amenities and facilities within parks have been infrequently examined.MethodsFive hundred forty-three parks from 472 block groups in the Seattle, WA and Baltimore, MD regions were audited using the Environmental Assessment of Public Recreation Spaces (EAPRS) to assess presence and quality (e.g., condition, cleanliness) of amenities (e.g., restrooms, seating) and facilities (e.g., fields, courts). General linear model regressions investigated Census 2000-derived neighborhood race/ethnicity and income main effect and interactive relationships with 7 park quality summary scores: 1) trails, 2) open space, 3) sports facilities, 4) PA facilities count, 5) PA facilities quality, 6) aesthetics, and 7) overall amenities, controlling for park size. The regions were analyzed separately due to differing race/ethnicity distributions.ResultsIn the Seattle region, neighborhood income was significantly negatively associated with sports quality score (p < .043), PA facilities total count (p < .015) and the overall amenities quality score (p < .004) (unexpected direction). In the Baltimore region, neighborhood race/ethnicity (percent White/non-Hispanic) was significantly positively related to the open spaces quality score (p < .011) (expected direction). A significant income-by-race/ethnicity interaction was found for PA facilities quality (p = .014), with high-percent minority neighborhoods having higher quality parks in high- vs. low-income neighborhoods, yet was opposite in mostly White/non-Hispanic neighborhoods. The other income-by-race/ethnicity interaction was for overall amenities quality score (p = .043), where scores in high-percent minority neighborhoods were best in high- vs. low-income neighborhoods. There was little difference in scores within mostly White or mixed neighborhoods by income.ConclusionsPatterns of association of neighborhood race/ethnicity and income with park qualities differed between regions. In the Seattle region, “equitable differences” were found, where lower income neighborhoods had better park quality on average. In the Baltimore region, park quality was more consistently negatively associated with income and race/ethnic diversity, and complex interactions of race/ethnicity by income were detected. These findings emphasize the need to explore other factors that may explain variations in park quality, like local policy, citizen involvement in park decision-making, park funding and allocation, sources of funding and park priorities.

Observations and impacts of transported Canadian wildfire smoke on ozone and aerosol air quality in the Maryland region on June 9–12, 2015

ABSTRACTCanadian wildfire smoke impacted air quality across the northern Mid-Atlantic (MA) of the United States during June 9–12, 2015. A multiday exceedance of the new 2015 70-ppb National Ambient Air Quality Standard (NAAQS) for ozone (O3) followed, resulting in Maryland being incompliant with the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) revised 2015 O3 NAAQS. Surface in situ, balloon-borne, and remote sensing observations monitored the impact of the wildfire smoke at Maryland air quality monitoring sites. At peak smoke concentrations in Maryland, wildfire-attributable volatile organic compounds (VOCs) more than doubled, while non-NOx oxides of nitrogen (NOz) tripled, suggesting long range transport of NOx within the smoke plume. Peak daily average PM2.5 was 32.5 µg m−3 with large fractions coming from black carbon (BC) and organic carbon (OC), with a synonymous increase in carbon monoxide (CO) concentrations. Measurements indicate that smoke tracers at the surface were spatially and temporally correlated with maximum 8-hr O3 concentrations in the MA, all which peaked on June 11. Despite initial smoke arrival late on June 9, 2015, O3 production was inhibited due to ultraviolet (UV) light attenuation, lower temperatures, and nonoptimal surface layer composition. Comparison of Community Multiscale Air Quality (CMAQ) model surface O3 forecasts to observations suggests 14 ppb additional O3 due to smoke influences in northern Maryland. Despite polluted conditions, observations of a nocturnal low-level jet (NLLJ) and Chesapeake Bay Breeze (BB) were associated with decreases in O3 in this case. While infrequent in the MA, wildfire smoke may be an increasing fractional contribution to high-O3 days, particularly in light of increased wildfire frequency in a changing climate, lower regional emissions, and tighter air quality standards.Implications: The presented event demonstrates how a single wildfire event associated with an ozone exceedance of the NAAQS can prevent the Baltimore region from complying with lower ozone standards. This relatively new problem in Maryland is due to regional reductions in NOx emissions that led to record low numbers of ozone NAAQS violations in the last 3 years. This case demonstrates the need for adequate means to quantify and justify ozone impacts from wildfires, which can only be done through the use of observationally based models. The data presented may also improve future air quality forecast models.

Spatial heterogeneous impact of built environment on household auto ownership levels: evidence from analysis at traffic analysis zone scales

Household auto ownership modeling plays an important role in travel demand analysis because it reveals a key link between travel behavior and built environment. The object of this paper is to estimate the impact of built environment on household auto ownership levels by using a multilevel, mixed ordered probit model, which captures the spatial heterogeneity across traffic analysis zones (TAZs). Parameters are estimated with Bayesian estimation method via Markov Chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) sampling. The data come from the household travel survey 2007–2008 for the Washington–Baltimore Region. Empirical results indicate that our multilevel ordered probit model can effectively address the spatial heterogeneity across zones and provide better model fit than traditional ordered probit model. It is found that built environment can explain about 42.8% of the spatial heterogeneity in household auto ownership. Our findings can help policy makers develop a better understanding of how the built environment can influence household auto ownership.

Creating New Identities: Chinese American Women Professionals in Greater Baltimore

This qualitative paper explores the attitudes, values and social practices of a small group of first generation Chinese American professional women in the Greater Baltimore Region. The research focuses on ethnic self-ascription, marriage, dating and interethnic social relations. To explore boundary persistence and acculturation, informants answered an online survey. After this stage, several informants were interviewed in a semi-structured format. Qualitative analysis suggests that Chinese immigrants selectively acculturate through situational interaction with co-ethnic and out-group actors. Informants interact with non-co ethnics at work, and increasingly in non-work settings. Some date and marry outside of the ethnic label, though most marry within group. In areas such as culinary habits and parenting, cultural attitudes and practices deemed “Chinese” prevail, but values identified as Chinese can vary by individual. Within the Chinese ethnic category, informants tend to prefer interaction with Chinese from the same region in China. Yet, interethnic dating and marriage do not necessarily weaken ethnic identity persistence. The central point is that Chinese American ethnic expression varies by individual, and is framed within place specific multi-scalar structures of regional culture, economy and attitudes toward immigrants and race.

Patterns of Walkability, Transit, and Recreation Environment for Physical Activity.

Diverse combinations of built environment (BE) features for physical activity (PA) are understudied. This study explored whether patterns of GIS-derived BE features explained objective and self-reported PA, sedentary behavior, and BMI. Neighborhood Quality of Life Study participants (N=2,199, aged 20-65 years, 48.2% female, 26% ethnic minority) were sampled in 2001-2005 from Seattle / King County WA and Baltimore MD / Washington DC regions. Their addresses were geocoded to compute net residential density, land use mix, retail floor area ratio, intersection density, public transit, and public park and private recreation facility densities using a 1-km network buffer. Latent profile analyses (LPAs) were estimated from these variables. Multilevel regression models compared profiles on accelerometer-measured moderate to vigorous PA (MVPA) and self-reported PA, adjusting for covariates and clustering. Analyses were conducted in 2013-2014. Seattle region LPAs yielded four profiles, including low walkability/transit/recreation (L-L-L); mean walkability/transit/recreation (M-M-M); moderately high walkability/transit/recreation (MH-MH-MH); and high walkability/transit/recreation (H-HH). All measures were higher in the HHH than the LLL profile (difference of 17.1 minutes/day for MVPA, 146.5 minutes/week for walking for transportation, 58.2 minutes/week for leisure-time PA, and 2.2 BMI points; all p<0.05). Baltimore region LPAs yielded four profiles, including L-L-L; M-M-M; high land use mix, transit, and recreation (HLU-HT-HRA); and high intersection density, high retail floor area ratio (HID-HRFAR). HLU-HT-HRA and L-L-L differed by 12.3 MVPA minutes/day; HID-HRFAR and L-L-L differed by 157.4 minutes/week for walking for transportation (all p<0.05). Patterns of environmental features explain greater differences in adults' PA than the four-component walkability index.