Home Neighborhood Research Articles

Active commute to school: does distance from school or walkability of the home neighbourhood matter? A national cross-sectional study of children aged 10–11 years, Scotland, UK

ObjectivesTo study the extent to which home-to-school distance and neighbourhood walkability were associated with self-reported active travel to school (ATS) (eg, walking, cycling), and to explore how distance moderates the...

Urban Moveability and physical activity in children: longitudinal results from the IDEFICS and I.Family cohort

BackgroundPhysical activity (PA) is one of the major protective behaviours to prevent non-communicable diseases. Positive effects of the built environment on PA are well investigated, although evidence of this association is mostly based on cross-sectional studies. The present study aims to investigate the longitudinal effects of built environment characteristics in terms of a moveability index on PA of children in their transition phase to adolescence using data of the IDEFICS/I.Family cohort.MethodsWe used data on 3394 accelerometer measurements of 2488 children and adolescents aged 3 to 15 years old from survey centres of three countries, Germany, Italy, and Sweden, who participated in up to three surveys over 6 years. In network-dependent home neighbourhoods, a moveability index was calculated based on residential density, land use mix, street connectivity, availability of public transport and public open spaces such as green spaces and public playgrounds in order to quantify opportunities for PA of children and adolescents. Linear trajectories of light PA (LPA) and moderate-to-vigorous PA (MVPA) were estimated using linear mixed models accounting for repeated measurements nested within individuals. Least squares means were estimated to quantify differences in trajectories over age.ResultsLPA and MVPA declined annually with age by approximately 20 min/day and 2 min/day respectively. In girls, the moveability index showed a consistent significantly positive effect on MVPA ( hat{beta} = 2.14, 95% CI: (0.11; 4.16)) for all ages, while in boys the index significantly lessened the decline in LPA with age for each year. ( hat{beta} = 2.68, 95% CI: (0.46; 4.90)).Availability of public open spaces was more relevant for MVPA in girls and LPA in boys during childhood, whereas in adolescence, residential density and intersection density became more important.ConclusionBuilt environment characteristics are important determinants of PA and were found to have a supportive effect that ameliorates the decline in PA during the transition phase from childhood to adolescence. In childhood environmental support for leisure time PA through public open spaces was found to be the most protective factor whereas in adolescence the positive influence of street connectivity and residential density was most supportive of physical activity.

How adolescents define their home neighborhoods conceptually and spatially.

To advance person-centered methods of operationalizing youths' social environment, we explored adolescents' definitions of "home neighborhood" by integrating narrative data with geographic information systems. We gathered data using semi-structured interviews and sketch maps with 55 adolescents aged 11-19 (78% African-American) in urban neighborhoods. We analyzed transcripts for themes through an iterative coding process and geocoded neighborhood sketches and activity locations using ArcGIS software. Thematic analyses revealed that adolescents identify their home neighborhood based on relationships with residents, personal histories, and positive cognitive or affective responses to the area. Participants rarely drew polygons to represent neighborhoods, and their activities were often located outside of self-identified boundaries. Their views on the "home neighborhood" construct did not predict their strategies for defining spatial boundaries. Overall, the results suggest that adolescents hold idiosyncratic perspectives on their neighborhood spaces, shaped by their experiences and social identities, that have implications for place-based research and initiatives targeting youth.

Association between the built environment and active transportation among U.S. adolescents

IntroductionAs a major determinant of obesity and cardiovascular disease in the United States, decreasing physical activity (PA) has led researchers to study factors influencing daily PA. One opportunity for modifying PA is in relation to transportation to and from school and/or work. We examined the association between characteristics of the built environment of home neighborhoods and transportation-related PA to school or work among youth and emerging adults. MethodsThe data were drawn from Waves 1 and 4 of the NEXT Generation Health Study (n = 2780), a nationally representative, longitudinal cohort study starting with 10th grade (Wave 1) in the 2009–2010 school year. Modes of travel to/from school were categorized into three groups: those using active transportation (walking/cycling), public transportation, and passive transportation (being driven or chauffeured/driving). Neighborhood characteristics included land use mix, street connectivity, residence density, park density, recreational density, and walkability. Multinomial logistic regressions and one-way ANOVAs were used to examine multivariate associations between modes of travel to and from work/school and neighborhood characteristics. Analysis accounted for complex survey features including stratification, clustering and sampling weights. ResultsAfter controlling for covariates (i.e., ethnicity, sex, education, and socioeconomic status), more land use diversity, street connectivity, residence density, and walkability were significantly correlated with active transportation in both waves and more park and recreational density were significantly correlated with active transportation in Wave 1, compared with passive transportation. ConclusionsMore mixed land use, greater connected streets as well as higher walkability and density of residence, parks and recreational facilities were associated with active transportation; suggesting city planning officials may consider creating more walkable and liveable communities to promote daily transportation-related PA.

Beyond the bus stop: Where transit users walk

ObjectivesExtending the health benefits of public-transit investment requires understanding how transit use affects pedestrian activity, including pedestrian activity not directly temporally or spatially related to transit use. In this study, we identified where transit users walked on transit days compared with non-transit days within and beyond 400 m and 800 m buffers surrounding their home and work addresses. MethodsWe used data collected from 2008 to 2013 in King County, Washington, from 221 non-physically-disabled adult transit users, who were equipped with an accelerometer, global positioning system (GPS), and travel diary. We assigned walking activity to the following buffer locations: less than and at least 400 m or 800 m from home, work, or home/work (the home and work buffers comprised the latter buffer). We used Poisson generalized estimating equations to estimate differences in minutes per day of total walking and minutes per day of non-transit-related walking on transit days compared with non-transit days in each location. ResultsWe found that durations of total walking and non-transit-related walking were greater on transit days than on non-transit days in all locations studied. When considering the home neighborhood in isolation, most of the greater duration of walking occurred beyond the home neighborhood at both 400 m and 800 m; results were similar when considering the work neighborhood in isolation. When considering the neighborhoods jointly (i.e., by using the home/work buffer), at 400 m, most of the greater duration of walking occurred beyond the home/work neighborhood. However, at 800 m, most of the greater duration of walking occurred within the home/work neighborhood. ConclusionsTransit days were associated with greater durations of total walking and non-transit related walking within and beyond the home and work neighborhoods. Accordingly, research, design, and policy strategies focused on transit use and pedestrian activity should consider locations outside the home and work neighborhoods, in addition to locations within them.

High-speed Internet access and housing values

ABSTRACTA hedonic model is estimated that relates house values to high-speed Internet access while controlling for the potential endogeneity of Internet access. Results show that single-family homes with access to a 25 Mbps broadband connection have a price that is about $5,977, or 3%, more than similar homes in neighborhoods with 1 Mbps. The rural premium is lower at $5,099. A cost-benefit exercise on the viability of rural broadband shows that demand will generally not support private investment, but that the revenue gap from upgrading legacy networks could be readily covered by the Universal Service Fund and other public subsidies.

Probabilistic walking models using built environment and sociodemographic predictors

BackgroundIndividual sociodemographic and home neighborhood built environment (BE) factors influence the probability of engaging in health-enhancing levels of walking or moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA). Methods are needed to parsimoniously model the associations.MethodsParticipants included 2392 adults drawn from a community-based twin registry living in the Seattle region. Objective BE measures from four domains (regional context, neighborhood composition, destinations, transportation) were taken for neighborhood sizes of 833 and 1666 road network meters from home. Hosmer and Lemeshow’s methods served to fit logistic regression models of walking and MVPA outcomes using sociodemographic and BE predictors. Backward elimination identified variables included in final models, and comparison of receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves determined model fit improvements.ResultsBuilt environment variables associated with physical activity were reduced from 86 to 5 or fewer. Sociodemographic and BE variables from all four BE domains were associated with activity outcomes but differed by activity type and neighborhood size. For the study population, ROC comparisons indicated that adding BE variables to a base model of sociodemographic factors did not improve the ability to predict walking or MVPA.ConclusionsUsing sociodemographic and built environment factors, the proposed approach can guide the estimation of activity prediction models for different activity types, neighborhood sizes, and discrete BE characteristics. Variables associated with walking and MVPA are population and neighborhood BE-specific.

Moderators Of The Relationship Between Worksite Walkability And Physical Activity

PURPOSE: This study examined traditional and novel moderators (i.e., age, sex, race, income, # of children <18 yrs, ratio of cars to drivers, home walkability) of the relationship between worksite neighborhood walkability (WNW) and physical activity (PA). METHODS: Participants (n = 512, mean 44 yrs, 59% female, 70% White) were employed (not at home) during the baseline phase of a larger trial. Measures included self-reported PA (total min/week, min/week of transport-PA inside (TPAin) and outside (TPAout) the home neighborhood; NPAQ) and Actigraph-measured PA (min/week moderate-to-vigorous PA in bouts [MVPA] and sedentary-light PA [SLPA]). GIS-assessed WNW (500m network buffer of residential, intersection, and transit densities; land use mix). Negative binomial regression estimated associations of WNW with PA, each moderator, and WNW x moderator (i.e., age, sex, race, income, # of children <18, car:driver ratio, home walkability) interactions. Alpha level set at 0.10 to probe conditional effects. Main effects of covariates (residence tenure, distance to work, reason moved to residence, total household members; and in accelerometer models, wear time) were included. RESULTS: Sex and # of children <18 yrs moderated relationships of WNW with MVPA and SLPA. Race moderated the relationship of WNW with TPAout. For women, the conditional effect of WNW on MVPA was positive (p = .04) while the conditional effect of WNW on SLPA was negative (p = .04); effects not different from zero for men. For adults with no children <18, the conditional effect of WNW on MVPA was positive (p = .01) while the conditional effect of WNW on SLPA was negative (p = .01); not different from zero for those with at least 1 child. For White participants, the conditional effect of WNW on TPAout was negative (p = .07); not different from zero for non-Whites. No other moderators (age, income, car:driver ratio, or home walkability) interacted with WNW. CONCLUSIONS: For women, adults without young children, and Whites (but not men, those with young children, and non-Whites), PA is influenced by walkability of worksite environments in mostly expected directions. An underexplored aspect of behavioral ecological models is identifying who is sensitive to the environmental conditions that can bolster health promotion efforts.

Associations Between Environmental Conditions and Executive Cognitive Functioning and Behavior During Late Childhood: A Pilot Study.

Numerous studies have established the influence of detrimental home conditions on child cognition and behavior; however, fewer have assessed these outcomes in the context of relatively “normal” range of home environmental conditions. Given the exquisite sensitivity to the environment of the neural substrates that undergird executive functioning (EF) and behavioral self-regulation in children, it is possible that a range of conditions within the home, even in the absence of maltreatment or economic deprivation, may impact these outcomes. The purpose of the present exploratory investigation was to further define the relationship between features of the home environment using the HOME inventory (a structured interview and observation of parent and child) and several dimensions of child EF and behavioral problems. In addition, this study sought to elucidate potentially differential associations between home and parent-reported neighborhood conditions—a hypothetically less direct influence on cognition in this age group—and level of child functioning. A battery of EF performance tasks and a widely-used checklist of behavioral problems were administered to 66 children, 8–11 years old from a lower middle income, working class sample. Results showed significant relationships between the home environment and several dimensions of EF and behavioral problems. In contrast, neighborhood conferred additional effects only on rule-breaking and aggression, not cognition, which is consistent with evidence that externalizing behavior in this age group becomes increasingly oriented toward outside influences. These findings warrant follow-up studies to establish causality. A broader program of research designed to delve further into the relationship between nuanced influences from the home and child cognition and behavior has implications for parenting strategies that foster healthy development. Neighborhood contexts should also be considered during early and mid-adolescent years based on existing studies and findings reported herein suggesting that this period of newfound autonomy and the heightened significance of peer relationships may influence externalizing behaviors, with implications for protective courses of action.

The Social Context of HIV Prevention and Care among Black Men Who Have Sex with Men in Three U.S. Cities: The Neighborhoods and Networks (N2) Cohort Study.

Background: In many parts of the world, stark racial disparities in human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) prevalence, incidence, prevention, and care outcomes persist among gay, bisexual, and other men who have sex with men (MSM), with Black MSM significantly impacted in the United States (U.S.). Individual-level characteristics, including sexual behaviors and socioeconomic status, do not fully account for racial/ethnic disparities in HIV among MSM. We hypothesize that neighborhood contexts and network characteristics influence risk for HIV infection as well as HIV-related prevention and care behaviors. As such, the study design includes the use of real-time geospatial methods and in-depth assessments of multiple network typologies to investigate the impact of neighborhood and network-level factors on HIV prevention and treatment among Black MSM residing in longstanding priority HIV elimination areas in the U.S., namely Chicago, Illinois and in the Deep South (Jackson, Mississippi and New Orleans, Louisiana) (n = 450, n = 50, and n = 100, respectively). We describe the design, sampling methods, data collection, data management methods, and preliminary findings of the ongoing ‘Neighborhoods and Networks (N2) Cohort Study’. Methods/Design: N2 employs a prospective longitudinal design. The sample includes Black MSM participants in Chicago recruited via respondent-driven sampling and assessed every six months over two years of follow-up. Participants enrolled in Jackson and New Orleans are being recruited through existing health and community services and assessed every six months over one year of follow-up. Mobility within and between neighborhoods is being assessed using global positioning system (GPS) technology. Social and sexual networks among Black MSM are being studied through egocentric network inventories as well as newer methods of creating meso-level networks that involve social media (Facebook) and mobile phone contacts. Key HIV prevention outcomes such as pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) care engagement, and HIV/STI (sexually transmitted infections) biomarkers will be examined at baseline and follow-up. Results: As of 31 December 2018, a total of 361 men were enrolled across all study sites: 259 in Chicago and 102 in the Deep South (75 in New Orleans and 27 in Jackson). At baseline, participants ranged in age from 17 to 65 years old (mean = 34.3, standard deviation = 5.1) with 123 men (34.1%) self-reported as HIV positive. While HIV treatment levels were similar between sites, men in the Deep South reported higher rates of adherence than men in Chicago (63.3% versus 49.4%, p = 0.03). Sexual risk profiles were mainly the same between men from different study sites, with 22.9% of men in Chicago and 28.9% in the Deep South reporting consistent condom use during vaginal and anal sex (p = 0.26). Regarding their home neighborhoods, men in the Deep South were more likely than those in Chicago to characterize theirs as having a good reputation (43.1% versus 24.7%, p < 0.001) and as being safe (37.3% versus 21.2%, p = 0.002). Conclusions: The focus on Black MSM in the N2 Study will allow for a nuanced exploration of the attitudes, beliefs, behaviors, and practices of a diverse group of Black MSM. The study is also positioned to provide novel insight about neighborhood and network characteristics that influence HIV-related behaviors. A health equity framework ensures that Black MSM are not explicitly or implicitly deemed as deviant, disordered, or the non-reference group. Findings from N2 will provide guidance for the implementation of more impactful HIV prevention interventions that engage a diverse population of Black MSM as we work toward HIV elimination in the U.S.

The Impact of Demand Response Programs on Reducing the Emissions and Cost of A Neighborhood Home Microgrid

The desire to increase energy efficiency and reliability of power grids, along with the need for reducing carbon emissions has led to increasing the utilization of Home Micro-grids (H-MGs). In this context, the issue of economic emission dispatch is worthy of consideration, with a view to controlling generation costs and reducing environmental pollution. This paper presents a multi-objective energy management system, with a structure based on demand response (DR) and dynamic pricing (DP). The proposed energy management system (EMS), in addition to decreasing the market clearing price (MCP) and increasing producer profits, has focused on reducing the level of generation units emissions, as well as enhancing utilization of renewable energy units through the DR programs. As a consequence of the nonlinear and discrete nature of the H-MGs, metaheuristic algorithms are applied to find the best possible solution. Moreover, due to the presence of generation units, the Taguchi orthogonal array testing (TOAT) method has been utilized to investigate the uncertainty regarding generation units. In the problem being considered, each H-MG interacts with each other and can negotiate based on their own strategies (reduction of cost or pollution). The obtained results indicate the efficiency of the proposed algorithm, a decrease in emissions and an increase in the profit achieved by each H-MG, by 37% and 10%, respectively.

The chippers, the quitters, and the highly symptomatic: A 12-month longitudinal study of DSM-5 opioid- and cocaine-use problems in a community sample

BackgroundIndividual trajectories of drug use and drug-related problems are highly heterogeneous. There is no standard taxonomy of these trajectories, but one could be developed by defining natural categories based on changes in symptoms of substance-use disorders over time. MethodsOur study was conducted in a community sample in Baltimore, Maryland. At baseline, all participants were using opioids and/or cocaine, but none were in treatment. Drug use and symptomatology were assessed again at 12 months (N = 115). ResultsWe defined Quitters as participants who had not used for at least 30 days at follow-up (17%). For the remaining participants, we performed longitudinal cluster analysis on DSM symptom-counts, identifying three trajectory clusters: newly or persistently Symptomatic (40%) participants, Chippers (21.5%) with few symptoms, and Converted Chippers (21.5%) with improved symptom counts.Logistic regression showed that profiles of Quitters did not resemble Chippers, but instead resembled Symptomatic participants, having high probability of disorderly home neighborhood, nonwhite race, and negative mood. Quitters tended to have two protective factors: initiating opioid-agonist treatment during the study (reffect = 0.25, CL95 0.02–0.48) and lack of polydrug use (reffect = 0.25, CL95 0.004–0.49). Converted Chippers tended to be white, with orderly home neighborhoods and less negative mood (reffects 0.24 to 0.31, CL95 0.01–0.54). ConclusionsChanges in DSM symptomology provided a meaningful measure of individual trajectories. Quitters shared psychosocial characteristics with Symptomatic participants, but not with participants who continued to use with few symptoms. This suggests that Quitters abstained out of necessity, not because their problems were less severe.

Prescribing Physical, Occupational, and Speech Therapy Services for Children With Disabilities.

Pediatric health care providers are frequently responsible for prescribing physical, occupational, and speech therapies and monitoring therapeutic progress for children with temporary or permanent disabilities in their practices. This clinical report will provide pediatricians and other pediatric health care providers with information about how best to manage the therapeutic needs of their patients in the medical home by reviewing the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health; describing the general goals of habilitative and rehabilitative therapies; delineating the types, locations, and benefits of therapy services; and detailing how to write a therapy prescription and include therapists in the medical home neighborhood.

Abstract 018: New York City Youth Cardiovascular Fitness and Subsequent School Absenteeism Have an Inverse, Dose-Response Relationship, Regardless of How Poverty is Measured

Introduction: Recent research demonstrates that cardiovascular fitness improvements are associated with lower absenteeism, particularly for girls attending schools located in high poverty neighborhoods. Poverty at the student, school, and neighborhood levels may each have unique effects on both cardiovascular fitness and school absenteeism. There is a need to simultaneously explore the effects of poverty measures collected at different levels of observation on the longitudinal fitness-absenteeism relationship and across gender in order to inform policy targeting reduced school absenteeism. Hypothesis: It was hypothesized that poverty measured at the neighborhood level would have the strongest magnitude of effects on the cardiovascular fitness-absenteeism relationship compared with poverty measured at the school and student levels. Methods: Data for this study were drawn from the New York City Fitnessgram dataset. Inclusion criteria were enrollment in a New York City public school for at least 2 consecutive years in grades 6-8 (2006-2013) while attending a school that collected Fitnessgram measurements. Negative binomial longitudinal mixed models with random-intercepts were run to test the association between the exposure, child-specific change in cardiovascular fitness from the year prior, and the outcome, days absent the subsequent year. Separate crude and adjusted models were run stratified by student (individual household), school (percent of students living in poverty or qualifying for free/reduced price school meals) and neighborhood (home- and school-area) poverty measures, and also by gender. Models were adjusted for individual- and group-level confounders (time, grade, race/ethnicity, place of birth, change in obesity status, and school size), and clustering by individual student and school. Results: The sample included 360,743 students (67% black or Hispanic, 51% male, 69% qualifying for free/reduced price school meals). Adjusted estimates showed an inverse-dose response fitness-absenteeism relationship across all poverty measures, with the highest magnitude of effects for youth attending schools in high poverty neighborhoods (IRR= -0.12, 95%CI: -0.20, -0.04 in girls; IRR= -.13, 95%CI: -.29, .03 in boys), and in girls attending schools with a high proportion of students qualifying for free/reduced school meals (IRR= -.11, 95%CI: -.23, -.01). Conclusions: In conclusion, there is an inverse, dose-response trend between cardiovascular fitness and subsequent absenteeism in high poverty youth, regardless of how poverty is measured, and particularly among girls. Future research should examine the potential for distinct youth physical activity interventions tailored to the individual, school and neighborhood levels to reduce school absenteeism associated with poverty.

Neighborhood built environment associations with adolescents' location-specific sedentary and screen time

Less is known about how neighborhood environments relate to sedentary time as compared to physical activity. This study examined relations of perceived and objective neighborhood environments with TV time, total screen time, total sedentary time, sedentary time at home, sedentary time in the home neighborhood, and time spent at home, in 524 12-16 year olds. Better perceived aesthetics and a perceived neighborhood environment index were related to less TV and screen time, and greater cul-de-sac density was related to less total and home sedentary time. Greater street connectivity, mixed land use, and an objective neighborhood environmental index were related to more total sedentary time. Findings suggest that some neighborhood environment attributes may not have the same potential influences on limiting sedentary time as they do for supporting physical activity.

Understanding the Lifestyle of Older Population: Mobile Crowdsensing Approach

In this paper, we present a mobile crowdsensing approach to understand the daily lifestyle of the older population in Singapore. By implementing novel clustering, sensor fusion, and user profiling techniques to analyze the multisensor data (location, noise, and light) collected from a smartphone application, we identified the travel patterns at several points of interest (POI), the impact of travel frequency for certain POI, and three main user profiles. The results show that older adults mostly spend time at food courts and community centers in their home neighborhood, but they travel away from the neighborhood for healthcare and religious purposes. We found that POIs have more visits if they are easily accessible (in terms of travel time from home) regardless of the distance from home.

Children's mobility and environmental exposures in urban landscapes: A cross-sectional study of 10–11 year old Scottish children

Research into how the environment affects health and related behaviour is typically limited in at least two ways: it represents the environment to which people are exposed using fixed areal units, and, it focuses on one or two environmental characteristics only. This study developed a methodology for describing children's mobility and the complexity of their environmental exposure across a 1934 km2 study area, including urban, suburban and rural zones. It conceptualised and modelled this area as a landscape, comprised of spatially discrete amenities, infrastructure features, differing land covers/use and broader environmental contexts. The model used a 25 m2 grid system (∼3 million cells). For each cell, there was detailed built-environment information. We joined data for 100 10/11-year-old children who had worn GPS trackers to provide individual-level mobility information for one week during 2015/16 to our model. Using negative binomial regression, we explored which landscape features were associated with a child visiting that space and time spent there. We examined whether relationships between the features across our study area and children's use of the space differed by their sociodemographic characteristics.We found that children often used specific amenities outside their home neighbourhood, even if they were also available close to home. They spent more time in cells containing roads/transportation stops, food/drink retail (Incidence rate ratio (IRR):4.02, 95%CI 2.33 to 6.94), places of worship (IRR:5.98, 95%CI 3.33 to 10.72) and libraries (IRR:7.40, 95%CI 2.13 to 25.68), independently of proximity to home.This has importance for the optimal location of place-based health interventions. If we want to target children, we need to understand that using fixed neighbourhood boundaries may not be the best way to do it. The variations we found in time spent in certain areas by sex and socio-economic position also raise the possibility that interventions which ignore these differences may exacerbate inequalities.

Associations between spatial access to physical activity facilities and frequency of physical activity; how do home and workplace neighbourhoods in West Central Scotland compare?

BackgroundOver a third of the Scottish population do not meet physical activity (PA) recommendations, with a greater proportion of those from disadvantaged areas not meeting recommended levels. There is a great need for detailed understanding of why some people are active while others are not. It has been established that features within home neighbourhoods are important for promoting PA, and although around 60% of time spent in exercise daily is undertaken outside the residential environment, relatively little research includes both home and workplace neighbourhood contexts. This study utilised an existing west central Scotland survey and spatial data on PA facilities to examine whether, for working adults, there are links between access to facilities, within home and workplace neighbourhoods, and frequency of PA, and whether such associations differ by socio-economic group.MethodsUsing a Geographic Information System (GIS), home and workplace postcodes of a sub-sample of ‘Transport, Health and Well-being’ 2010 study respondents (n = 513) were mapped, along with public (i.e. public-sector funded) and private (i.e. private-sector funded) PA facilities (e.g. sports halls, gyms, pools etc.) within 800 m and 1600 m path/street network buffers of home and workplace postcodes. Using Analysis of Variance, associations between spatial access to PA facilities (i.e. facility counts within buffers) and self-reported PA (i.e. days being physically active in past month) were analysed. Models were run separately for access to any, public, private, and home, workplace, and home/workplace facilities. Associations were examined for all respondents, and stratified by age and income deprivation.ResultsRespondents’ PA frequency was associated with spatial access to specific types of facilities near home and near home or workplace (combined). In general, PA frequency was higher where individuals lived/worked in closer proximity to private facilities and frequency lower where individuals lived/worked nearby to public facilities. Results varied by age and income deprivation sub-groups.ConclusionThis research contributes to methods exploring neighbourhood contextual influences on PA behaviour; it goes beyond a focus upon home neighbourhoods and incorporates access to workplace neighbourhood facilities. Results demonstrate the importance of examining both neighbourhood types, and such findings may feed into planning for behaviour-change interventions within both spaces.

Higher residential and employment densities are associated with more objectively measured walking in the home neighborhood

IntroductionUnderstanding where people walk and how the built environment influences walking is a priority in active living research. Most previous studies were limited by self-reported data on walking. In the present study, walking bouts were determined by integrating one week of accelerometry, GPS, and a travel log data among 675 adult participants in the baseline sample of the Travel Assessment and Community study at Seattle, Washington in the United State. MethodsHome neighborhood was defined as being within 0.5 mile of each participants’ residence (a 10–min walk), with home neighborhood walking defined as walking bout lines with at least one GPS point within the home neighborhood. Home neighborhood walkability was constructed with seven built environment variables derived from spatially continuous objective values (SmartMaps). Collinearity among neighborhood environment variables was analyzed and variables that were strongly correlated with residential density were excluded in the regression analysis to avoid erroneous estimates. A Zero Inflated Negative Binomial (ZINB) served to estimate associations between home neighborhood environment characteristics and home neighborhood walking frequency. ResultsThe study found that more than half of participants’ walking bouts occurred in their own home neighborhood. Higher residential density and job density were the two neighborhood walkability measures related to higher likelihood and more time walking in the home neighborhood, highest tertile residential density (22.4–62.6 unit/ha) (coefficient = 1.43; 95% CI 1.00–2.05) and highest tertile job density (12.4–272.3 jobs/acre) (coefficient = 1.62; 1.10–2.37). ConclusionsThe large proportion of walking that takes place in the home neighborhood highlights the importance of continuing to examine the impact of the home neighborhood environment on walking. Potential interventions to increase walking behavior may benefit from increasing residential and employment density within residential areas.

The spatial dynamics of race in the transition to university: Diverse cities and White campuses in U.K. higher education

AbstractUsing exceptionally detailed administrative data on all 412,000 students attending university in the United Kingdom in 2014–2015 combined with spatial census data from 2011, we explore for the first time how the ethnic composition of where students grow up is linked to where they attend university. We calculate a “diversity score” for every U.K. university, which is then compared with the ethnic diversity of the surrounding area, allowing us to explore the institutional geography of ethnicity in U.K. universities. These scores provide the basis for a multilevel analysis of factors influencing whether students move towards more or less ethnically diverse universities than where they have grown up. White students are more likely than their ethnic‐minority peers to move towards a university that is more diverse than their home neighbourhood. We thus explore how students' mobility decisions for university are influenced by the uneven geography of race in U.K. cities and universities.