Community Walking Research Articles

Development and Implementation of a GIS-Based Active Route Visualization Tool to Facilitate Equitable Planning for Walking and Cycling Routes in Small Communities

Active transportation modes such as walking and bicycling have demonstrated several benefits for health, the environment, the economy, and road safety. However, the transportation planning process in rural areas rarely incorporates this mode of transportation. In fact, many small and rural towns lack the resources, experience, and capabilities to conduct detailed modeling of active transportation. In response, this research developed an Active Route Visualization (ARV) Tool to support planning and decision making in small cities and rural towns. By incorporating a modified three-step modeling process that used active trip rates developed from the 2017 National Household Travel Survey, the ARV Tool provided a map that highlighted the daily volumes of active travel in the community and ranked the roadway segments that had greater potential to support walking and bicycling. This research demonstrated application of the ARV Tool in the city of Atmore, AL. Implementation of the tool was valuable in this rural city as it supported a community coalition effort in partnership with the Alabama Cooperative Extension System to promote active transportation. In this process, the community coalition reviewed and discussed the ARV Tool outputs and provided invaluable local knowledge and feedback that were incorporated into the action plans. Small and rural towns can benefit from an easy-to-use, practical, and data-driven tool that provides insights to initiate discussions to identify priorities and opportunities for active transportation.

Pre-fracture ambulation capacity, Charlson comorbidity index, and dementia as predictors of functional impairment after bipolar hemiarthroplasty for unstable intertrochanteric fracture. A retrospective analysis in 158 octogenarian patients

Background: the primary purpose of this study was to assess the ambulatory capacity 12 months after surgery in patients that underwent bipolar hemiarthroplasty (BH) due to unstable intertrochanteric fractures (UITF). Secondly, to identify which preoperative variables influenced these modifications. MethodsWe retrospectively analyzed a consecutive series of patients older than 80 years with UITF treated with BH between 2010 and 2019. Ambulatory capacity was assessed before surgery, at 3 and 12 months postoperatively, using Koval's classification and the modified Harris Hip Score (mHHS). The registered variables were: gender, age, osteoporosis, Charlson comorbidity index (CCI), ASA classification, body mass index (BMI), and dementia. The identification of variables that impaired postoperative functionality was performed by uni- and multivariate analysis. Results158 patients were included with a median age of 87 (range 80–102) years and a follow-up of 29.2 (range 12–56) months. The 1-year overall ambulatory capacity impairment was 28.5% and significantly affected pre-fracture community walkers (p = 0.001). A CCI >4 (OR 2.72; p = 0.044), dementia (OR 14.13; p = 0.0001), and a Koval 2–3 (OR 12.84; p = 0.001) were identified as risk factors for this impairment. ConclusionAmbulation impairment at one year was 28.5%. The predictive characteristics found in this study help to identify patients with a greater risk of ambulation impairment and to focus rehabilitation plans to reduce this impact.

The influence of community walking adaptability on service level and urban spatial equality: A case study of sports service in three districts of Shanghai

Numerous studies have shown that physical activity in walkable communities reduces the risk of obesity and noncommunicable diseases (NCD). The Chinese government advocates the construction of 15-minute walking blocks to provide citizens with a 15-minute walk to access basic public services, ultimately improving walking behavior and overall health. Based on the walking score index, this paper proposes an improved method to measure the adaptability of neighborhood walking and applies it to Shanghai, China. Based on the physical education resource allocation requirements of the community, the assessment takes into account the walking needs of different pedestrian groups (i.e.,the entire population, senior, children), physical fitness facility attributes (size and category) and actual traffic conditions. The results show that there are significant differences in the scores of community walking trips among different pedestrian groups. On the whole, the communities with high walking score mainly concentrated in the central city; And hard-to-walk neighborhoods are scattered in the outer suburbs. The overall population and the elderly showed higher walking ability for more neighborhoods and lower walking ability when viewed from the perspective of the children group. This study provides a reference for future studies to evaluate various aspects of neighborhood walking adaptability. It is necessary to pay attention to the social inequality caused by different neighborhood walking adaptability, and to intervene in the planning and implementation of building healthy communities in China.

The built environment’s nonlinear effects on the elderly’s propensity to walk

The increased ageing of the population is a vital and upcoming challenge for China. Walking is one of the easiest and most common forms of exercise for older people, and promoting walking among older people is important for reducing medical stress. Streetscape green visibility and the normalised difference vegetation index (NDVI) are perceptible architectural elements, both of which promote walking behaviour. Methodologically we used Baidu Street View images and extracted NDVI from streetscape green visibility and remote sensing to scrutinize the nonlinear effects of streetscape green visibility and NDVI on older people’s walking behaviour. The study adopted a random forest machine learning model. The findings indicate that the impact of streetscape green visibility on elderly walking is superior to NDVI, while both have a favourable influence on senior walking propensity within a particular range but a negative effect on elderly walking inside that range. Overall the built environment had a non-linear effect on the propensity to walk of older people. Therefore, this study allows the calculation of optimal thresholds for the physical environment, which can be used by governments and planners to formulate policies and select appropriate environmental thresholds as indicators to update or build a community walking environment that meets the needs of local older people, depending on their own economic situation.

A pilot randomized controlled trial evaluating outdoor community walking for knee osteoarthritis: walk

ObjectivesTo determine the feasibility of a randomized controlled trial (RCT) examining outdoor walking on knee osteoarthritis (KOA) clinical outcomes and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) structural changes.MethodThis was a 24-week parallel two-arm pilot RCT in Tasmania, Australia. KOA participants were randomized to either a walking plus usual care group or a usual care control group. The walking group trained 3 days/week. The primary outcome was feasibility assessed by changes being required to the study design, recruitment, randomization, program adherence, safety, and retention. Exploratory outcomes were changes in symptoms, physical performance/activity, and MRI measures.ResultsForty participants (mean age 66 years (SD 1.4) and 60% female) were randomized to walking (n = 24) or usual care (n = 16). Simple randomization resulted in a difference in numbers randomized to the two groups. During the study, class sizes were reduced from 10 to 8 participants to improve supervision, and exclusion criteria were added to facilitate program adherence. In the walking group, total program adherence was 70.0% and retention 70.8% at 24 weeks. The walking group had a higher number of mild adverse events and experienced clinically important improvements in symptoms (e.g., visual analogue scale (VAS) knee pain change in the walking group: − 38.7 mm [95% CI − 47.1 to − 30.3] versus usual care group: 4.3 mm [− 4.9 to 13.4]).ConclusionsThis study supports the feasibility of a full-scale RCT given acceptable adherence, retention, randomization, and safety, and recruitment challenges have been identified. Large symptomatic benefits support the clinical usefulness of a subsequent trial.Trial registration number12618001097235.Key Points• This pilot study is the first to investigate the effects of an outdoor walking program on knee osteoarthritis clinical outcomes and MRI joint structure, and it indicates that a full-scale RCT is feasible.• The outdoor walking program (plus usual care) resulted in large improvements in self-reported knee osteoarthritis symptoms compared to usual care alone.• The study identified recruitment challenges, and the manuscript explores these in more details and provides recommendations for future studies.

Predictive discriminative accuracy of walking abilities at discharge for community ambulation levels at 6 months post-discharge among inpatients with subacute stroke.

[Purpose] This study aimed to compare the predictive accuracy of walking ability at discharge among subacute stroke inpatients at 6 months post-discharge in terms of community ambulation level and establish optimal cut-off values. [Participants and Methods] This prospective observational study included 78 patients who completed follow-up assessments. Patients were classified into three groups based on the Modified Functional Walking Category (household/most limited community walkers, least limited community walkers, and unlimited community walkers) obtained by telephone survey at 6 months post-discharge. Predictive accuracy and cut-off values for discriminating among groups were calculated from 6-minute walking distance and comfortable walking speed measured at the time of discharge using receiver operating characteristic curves. [Results] Between household/most limited and least limited community walkers, 6-minute walking distance and comfortable walking speed offered similar predictive accuracy (area under the curve, 0.6-0.7), with cut-off values of 195 m and 0.56 m/s, respectively. Between least limited and unlimited community walkers, the areas under the curve were 0.896 for 6-minute walking distance and 0.844 for comfortable walking speed, with cut-off values of 299 m and 0.94 m/s, respectively. [Conclusion] Walking endurance and walking speed among inpatients with subacute stroke provided superior predictive accuracy for unlimited community walkers at 6 months post-discharge.

A Machine-Learning Classification of Walking in the Community Using Inertial Sensors and Smart Insole

<h3>Research Objectives</h3> - To improve the success rate to classify five different common walking conditions using various machine learning schemes. <h3>Design</h3> - Cross-sectional study. <h3>Setting</h3> - Walking Conditions during Community Walking; 1) Even surface; 2) Slope up; 3) Slope down; 4) Stair up; 5) Stair down. <h3>Participants</h3> Five healthy participants (37.8+/-7.25 yrs, F:4). <h3>Interventions</h3> - Walking over five different kinds of gait activities in community 1) walking on even surface; 2) Slope up; 3) Slope down; 4) Stair up; 5) Stair down - Analyzed post-processed data from sensors to classify the walking condition using machine learning from the signals of five Inertial Measurements Units (IMU), attached to waist, bilateral lower and upper legs, and smart insoles that measured total and hind/forefoot pressure distributtion. <h3>Main Outcome Measures</h3> - Analyzed 32934 gait data out of 47,033 training data using an Artificial Neural Netwroks (ANN), which was a Feed Forward Neural Network (FFNN) - Investigated 3 different initial sets of variables; 1) Validation ratio 10%, Test ratio 20%, 2) Validation data ratio 15%, Test data ratio 15%, 3) Validation ratio 20%, Test ratio 10%. <h3>Results</h3> - HIghest accuracy was achieved when validation ratio 15% and test data ratio 15% with the hidden layers was 1000 using FFNN (98.3%). <h3>Conclusions</h3> - 5 gait conditions were successfully categorized using FFNN with higher accuracy rate - Machine learning and senor network would be potentially useful to assist pathological gait, stroke, in the disabled by identifying walking condition in the community. <h3>Author(s) Disclosures</h3> All authors declare that no conflicts or lack thereof on this presentation.

Locomotor Adaptation Training to Prevent Mobility Disability

Mobility disability is prevalent in aging populations. While existing walking interventions improve aspects related to mobility, meaningful and sustained changes leading to preventing and reversing mobility disability have remained elusive. Split-belt treadmills can be used to train gait adaptability and may be a potential long-term rehabilitation tool for those at risk for mobility decline. As adaptability is necessary for community walking, we investigated the feasibility of a small, randomized controlled 16-week gait adaptability training program in a cohort of 38 sedentary older adults at risk for mobility disability. Individuals were randomly assigned to one of three groups: traditional treadmill training, split-belt treadmill training, or no-contact control. Both treadmill interventions included progressive training 3 days a week, focusing on increasing duration and speed of walking. Cognitive, functional, cardiovascular, and gait assessments were completed before and after the intervention. While individuals were able to complete split-belt treadmill training, only Timed Up and Go performance was significantly improved compared to traditional treadmill training. As the stimulus provided by the split-belt training was difficult to control, we did not observe a clear benefit for split-belt treadmill training over traditional treadmill training. Our findings indicate a cautionary tale about the implementation of complex training interventions.

Comparison of Self-Reported vs Objective Measures of Long-Term Community Ambulation in Lower Limb Prosthesis Users

ObjectiveTo determine normal variation in walking metrics in a population of lower limb amputees who use lower limb prostheses over a 6-month period and to provide a means to interpret clinically meaningful change in those community walking metrics. DesignProspective cohort study monitoring walking behavior and subjective and objective measures of activity. SettingVeterans Administration and university amputee clinics. Participants86 individuals with lower limb amputation who use protheses. InterventionsStepWatch activity monitor tracked subjects’ walking for 24 weeks; Global Mobility Change Rating collected weekly. Main Outcome MeasuresAssociation between change in Global Mobility Change Rating and change in any of the walking metrics. ResultsWalking metrics including step count, cadence, cadence variability, and walking distance in a population of lower limb prosthesis users were obtained. There was a high correlation in the walking metrics indicating higher function with higher functional classification level (K-levels) but also substantial overlap in all metrics and a very weak correlation between subject-reported activity level and objective measures of walking performance. ConclusionThe overlap in walking metrics with all K-levels demonstrates that no single metric measured by StepWatch can determine K-level with 100% accuracy. As previously demonstrated in other populations, subjects’ interpretations of their general activity level was inaccurate, regardless of their age or activity level. Objective measures of walking appear to provide a more accurate representation of patients’ activity levels in the community than self-report. Therefore, objective measures of walking are useful in supporting K-level determinations. However, clinicians cannot rely on a single metric to determine K-level.

Effect of neuromodulation on pain and functional mobility in people with HTLV-1: randomized clinical trial protocol

BACKGROUND: The main symptoms of myelopathy associated with human T-cell lymphotropic virus type 1 or tropical spastic paraparesis (HAM / TSP) are the presence of high intensity pain in the lower back, spasticity and weakness in the lower limbs, loss of balance and difficulties in locomotion. Pulsed Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (rTMS) has been able to influence cortical plasticity, decreasing spasticity, increasing motor performance and promoting analgesia in several similar conditions. OBJECTIVE: To analyze the effect of neuromodulation by pulsed transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) on pain and functional mobility in individuals with HAM / TSP. METHODOLOGY: A randomized clinical trial will be conducted in a sample made up of 40 participants randomly allocated into two groups: Sham Group (SG) with 20 and Test Group (TG) with 20 patients. Individuals aged&gt; 20 years, community walkers with or without orthosis, with chronic pain (? 6 months) in the lumbar region and / or lower limbs will be included. Individuals with epilepsy, cancer, pregnant women, patients with cardiac pacemakers, metallic implants in the brain or skull, users of illicit drugs and / or use of controlled medications in the last six months will be excluded. The protocol will be applied for 10 consecutive days with eight months of follow-up. Our hypothesis is that when using rTMs according to the proposed procedure, it will be possible to relieve pain and improve the functional mobility of these individuals with a long-lasting effect. CONCLUSION: We hope that rTMS is a promising treatment to reduce pain intensity and to improve functional mobility in individuals undergoing active modality. We declare this protocol a promising resource for the treatment of htlv-1 individuals in reducing pain and improving functional mobility. Yes, this protocol has already been applied to 6 patients. However, with the pandemic the study had to be discontinued. However, despite the small sample size and not being fully applied as suggested by the protocol, it was possible to notice a satisfactory result of the intervention. Thus, the application of this protocol can contribute to identify the result of this therapeutic modality in a safer way, as well as assist in the treatment of symptoms of this population, favoring a better quality of life.

Neuromuscular Training, Exercise Physiology Clinic, Real-time Exercise, and Cardiac Rehabilitation

Neuromuscular Training, Exercise Physiology Clinic, Real-time Exercise, and Cardiac Rehabilitation

Locomotor Adaptation Deficits in Older Individuals With Cognitive Impairments: A Pilot Study.

Gait dysfunction and fall risk have been well documented in people with Alzheimer's Disease (AD) and individuals with mild cognitive impairment (MCI). Normal locomotor adaptation may be an important prerequisite for normal and safe community walking function, especially in older adults with age-related neural, musculoskeletal, or cardiovascular changes and cognitive impairments. The split-belt walking task is a well-studied and robust method to evaluate locomotor adaptation (e.g., the ability to adjust stepping movements to changing environmental demands). Here, we capitalized on the split-belt adaptation task to test our hypothesis that a decreased capacity for locomotor adaptation may be an important contributing factor and indicator of increased fall risk and cognitive decline in older individuals with MCI and AD. The objectives of this study were to (1) compare locomotor adaptation capacity in MCI and AD compared to healthy older adults (HOA) during split-belt treadmill walking, and (2) evaluate associations between locomotor adaptation and cognitive impairments. Our results demonstrated a significant decrease in split-belt locomotor adaptation magnitude in older individuals with MCI and AD compared to HOA. In addition, we found significant correlations between the magnitude of early adaptation and de-adaptation vs. cognitive test scores, demonstrating that individuals with greater cognitive impairment also display a reduced capacity to adapt their walking in response to the split-belt perturbation. Our study takes an important step toward understanding mechanisms underlying locomotor dysfunction in older individuals with cognitive impairment.

Let’s Take A Walk: Exploring the Impact of an Inclusive Walking Program on the Physical and Mental Health of Adults with Intellectual Disability

Background: People with intellectual disabilities experience health disparities and poorer health outcomes than people without disabilities. Increased physical activity has been found to reduce the impact of chronic health conditions among people with intellectual disabilities.&#x0D; Method: The current study explored the impact of an inclusive walking program on the physical and mental health of adults with intellectual disabilities. Let’s Take A Walk paired adults with intellectual disabilities, hereafter referred to as Community Walkers (n = 27), with college students to walk around a college campus twice a week for 45 minutes across 10 weeks. Data on mental health outcomes, specifically depression and anxiety, were collected from 24 Community Walkers across four-time points (pre-, mid-, post-, and 3-months following intervention), and data on physical health outcomes were collected across two-time points (pre- and post-intervention).&#x0D; Results: Community Walkers reported significant decreases in both depression and anxiety from pre to post-implementation. Particularly promising was clinically significant decreases in anxiety symptoms over the 10-week program. No differences were noted on Community Walkers’ measures of physical health.&#x0D; Conclusion: Inclusive walking programs are a valuable and promising mechanism for building social connections and inclusion and improving mental health for adults with intellectual disabilities.

Impact of community-based rehabilitation on the physical functioning and activity of daily living of stroke patients: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Purpose This study aimed at establishing the impact of community-based rehabilitation (CBR) on the physical functioning and activity of daily living (ADL) of patients with stroke (PWS). Materials and methods Based on the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines, an electronic search was conducted in five databases, including PubMed, OVID Embase, OVID Medline, Cochrane Library, and Web of Science between May 2010 and 2020. Meta-analysis was performed using the Comprehensive Meta-Analysis Version 2 software to establish whether the studies were sufficiently homogenous. Results Twenty studies out of 828 publications were included in the present systematic review. A significant difference between CBR intervention and control groups was identified about the physical functional capacity in mobility, 6-metre walk test (6MWT) (g = 0.351, 95% CI (0.110, 0.592)), community walking test (g= −0.473, 95% CI (−0.926, −0.020)) and on the other hand a significant improvement in ADL was found (g = 0.138, 95% CI(0.051, 0.224)). Conclusions CBR is revealed to be effective in improving the physical functioning and ADL for PWS and is drawn based on eligible studies which were conducted in high-income countries (HICs). This highlights a gap between developed and less-resourced countries as far as CBR for PWS is concerned and calls for a further study. Protocol Registration: CRD42020159683 Implication for rehabilitation Community-based rehabilitation (CBR) is recommended as one of the best programme for treating stroke patients with stroke (PWS) after they are discharged from hospitals. CBR is effective in improving the physical functioning and activity of daily living of PWS. Further research should be carried out to compare between CBR and institution-based rehabilitation for PWS, especially the less-resourced settings which are grappling with a challenge of limited skilled rehabilitation professionals.

TLP-CCC: Temporal Link Prediction Based on Collective Community and Centrality Feature Fusion.

In the domain of network science, the future link between nodes is a significant problem in social network analysis. Recently, temporal network link prediction has attracted many researchers due to its valuable real-world applications. However, the methods based on network structure similarity are generally limited to static networks, and the methods based on deep neural networks often have high computational costs. This paper fully mines the network structure information and time-domain attenuation information, and proposes a novel temporal link prediction method. Firstly, the network collective influence (CI) method is used to calculate the weights of nodes and edges. Then, the graph is divided into several community subgraphs by removing the weak link. Moreover, the biased random walk method is proposed, and the embedded representation vector is obtained by the modified Skip-gram model. Finally, this paper proposes a novel temporal link prediction method named TLP-CCC, which integrates collective influence, the community walk features, and the centrality features. Experimental results on nine real dynamic network data sets show that the proposed method performs better for area under curve (AUC) evaluation compared with the classical link prediction methods.

Oxygen pulse best predicts energy expenditure during stair ascent and descent in individuals with chronic stroke.

To determine whether minute ventilation-to-carbon dioxide production (VE/VCO2), oxygen pulse (VO2/HR), and rate pressure product (RPP: VO2 * HR/1000) can explain energy expenditure during stair ascent/descent and whether energy expenditure during stair ascent/descent can discriminate between walking abilities in individuals with chronic stroke. Regression analysis of cross-sectional data from 50 individuals between 1 and 4 years post-stroke was carried out to investigate the prediction of energy expenditure during stair ascent/descent. In addition, discriminant analysis was carried out to investigate the discrimination between walking abilities for energy expenditure: community (walking speed ≥ 0.8 m/s) and non-community (walking speed < 0.8 m/s) walkers. Oxygen pulse and rate pressure product were retained in the model. Oxygen pulse alone explained 70% of the variance in energy expenditure during stair ascent/descent. By adding rate pressure product, 79% of the variance was explained. Energy expenditure was able to discriminate the community from the non-community walkers, with a cutoff value of 13.8 ml∙kg-1∙min-1 and correctly classified 62% of the non-community and 78% of the community walkers. Oxygen pulse and rate pressure product significantly predicted energy expenditure during stair ascent/descent in individuals with chronic stroke. Energy expenditure during stair ascent/descent discriminated community from non-community walkers.

Community WALKing and home-baSed circuiT tRaining in peOple liviNG with intermittent claudication (WALK-STRONG): protocol for a randomised controlled feasibility trial

Why we are undertaking the research: Peripheral artery disease is a common problem where the blood vessels in the legs are narrowed by fatty deposits. Supervised exercise programmes are recommended to help treat this condition, as they can reduce leg pain and improve fitness. However, not many people are able to access these programmes typically because of barriers including travel burdens, time constraints or other commitments. As an alternative, researchers are developing home-based programmes which do not require people to travel to centres for their sessions. In the UK and to the author’s knowledge, there are not many well researched home-based programmes available for people living with peripheral artery disease. What we aim to do: We plan to undertake a study to see how feasible our home-based programme is. People with peripheral artery disease will either be asked to continue with their normal routine or will be prescribed an exercise programme, with an activity watch to monitor physical activity. This programme will include increasing the number of steps walked each day, an exercise circuit (twice a week) and a telephone support call with a member of the research team to discuss their progress or lack of progress. Questionnaire responses, blood samples, walking ability, muscle strength and the amount of daily exercise will be compared between the two groups at the start of the 12-week programme, at the end, and 12 weeks after the programme has finished. By doing this study, we will be able to refine our home-based exercise programme so that it can be tested on a larger scale to see if it is a good option for people with peripheral artery disease who may not be able to attend a supervised exercise programme.

Impact of bike share on transit ridership in a smaller city with a university-oriented bike share program

The concept of bike sharing has existed around the world for several decades. However, the prevalence and popularity of bike share programs has increased rapidly, both in the United States and internationally, in the last decade. Initially implemented in larger cities, the programs’ effectiveness and applicability is prompting smaller communities to launch their own programs. While bike share is expanding to many smaller cities, there is a need to better understand the impact of bike share programs on other travel modes such as automobile, public transportation, bicycling, and walking in smaller communities. To that end, this study analyzes the impact of bike share on mode share and transit usage in a smaller, university city of Fargo, North Dakota. This objective is achieved by surveying North Dakota State University (NDSU) students who are the primary users of the bike share program; surveys were conducted before and after the launch of the bike share program. A regression model was also developed, using daily transit ridership data, to estimate the impact of bike share use on bus ridership. Results showed that the bike share program did have some negative effect on bus ridership.

Stages of Change in Physical Activity and Neighborhood Walkability Among Older Adults living in the Urban Setting

As aging in place increases in popularity, it is important to understand potential negative outcomes related to the trend. For this presentation, the conceptual-theoretical-empirical (C-T-E) scoping review technique was used to organize research on in-home falls of community-dwelling older adults. Research and theory were included from the fields of social gerontology, disability, policy, social justice, medicine, rehabilitation, and housing. While research from these multiple fields overlaps, an overarching conceptual framework for organizing this literature was found to categorize the theories into three main conceptual areas. The three conceptual areas are: intrinsic (related to the person only), extrinsic (related to external factors only), and interaction between intrinsic and extrinsic (related to the interaction between the person and external factors). This conceptual framework shares similarities with work by others in use of the terms intrinsic and extrinsic, and it draws on the larger influence of Bronfenbrenner's socio-ecological model. However, this review extends previous work by providing a framework for organizing the contributions to falls research across multiple disciplines.

Stages of Change in Physical Activity and Neighborhood Walkability Among Older Adults living in the Urban Setting

Insufficient physical activity (PA) is considered an independent risk factor for chronic diseases. Although older adults living in lower-income areas often experience obstacles to walking locally, few studies have compared their walking experiences and the degree of readiness to change on engaging in PA. The purpose of this study was to compare perceptions of neighborhood walkability by the stages of change among older adults living in a lower-income community. Participants were recruited in 2018 at a regional health clinic in Flint, MI. To be eligible, participants had to be over 65 years old and Flint residents. Of the 132 participants, the mean age was 69.74 (SD=5.00) years old. The majority of respondents were female (66%); African American (77%); single, divorced, or widowed (75%); and educated below a GED level (84%). The results showed that older adults at the pre-contemplation/contemplation stage (PC/C) were less likely to perceive the availability of sidewalks on most streets and more likely to complain about much traffic along the street than those at the action/maintenance stage (A/M) (p < 0.05). After controlling for covariates, multiple regression analysis showed that those at PC/C were less likely to state that their neighborhoods were accessible (β = .17*) and to perceive the presence of walking hazard (e.g., lack of sidewalks) (β = -.17*). Those who engaged in PA less than 30 minutes per day perceived the neighborhoods were accessible (β = .23*). Findings suggest that it is essential to develop friendly support systems and accommodations to encourage walking in lower-income communities.