Sprawl and Health

Ewing 2005 - "Can the Physical Environment Determine Physical Activity Levels?"

Ewing, Reid
"Can the Physical Environment Determine Physical Activity Levels?"
Exercise and Sport Sciences Reviews
April 2005; v.33, n.2; pp.69-75
On the Web (pdf)
Relevance: medium high

Ewing seems to be primarily reviewing and re-presenting earlier work, but does so in a concise, easy-to-grasp way. Although he doesn't show any of the data or analysis, Ewing offers elasticity estimates for the effect of the physical environment on physical activity and its mediators. The effects are greatest for the mode share of walking and public transportation. CAVEAT: Ewing shows no statistical tests or analysis, so the accuracy of these estimates is unknown.

Handy 2002 - "How the Built Environment Affects Physical Activity: Views from Urban Planning"

Handy, Susan L.; Boarnet, Marlon G. et al
"How the Built Environment Affects Physical Activity: Views from Urban Planning"
American Journal of Preventive Medicine
August 2002; v.23, n.2 (supplement)
On the Web (pdf)
Relevance: low

The authors give a good overview of how urban planners think about how the built environment impacts physical activity, namely walking and biking.  They cover how to measure the built environment and travel behavior, how the built environment affects travel by foot differently from travel by car, and some tips on how empirically to connect the built environment to physical activity.

Giles-Corti 2005 - "How Important is Distance To, Attractiveness, and Size of Public Open Space?"

Giles-Corti, Billie; Broomhall, Melissa; et al
"How Important is Distance To, Attractiveness, and Size of Public Open Space?"
American Journal of Preventive Medicine
February 2005; vol.28, n.2 (supplement 2); pp.169-176
On the Web
Relevance: low

The authors surveyed Australian adults in Perth and used some sort of GIS to conclude that people walk more if they have more access to large, attractive public open space with facilities for multiple types of users. While access alone to open space was not significantly associated with achieving recommended levels of physical activity, access to large, attractive open space increased the likelihood of walking at least 6 times per week totaling >180 minutes by 50%.

Humpel 2004 - "Perceived Environment Attributes, Residential Location, and Walking for Particular Purposes"

Humpel, Nancy; Owen, Neville; et al.
"Perceived Environment Attributes, Residential Location, and Walking for Particular Purposes"
American Journal of Preventive Medicine
February 2004; vol.26, n.2; pp.119-125
On the Web
Relevance: medium-low

The authors conducted a survey of 400 Australian adults (mean age 60) on their walking habits and environmental perceptions. "Aesthetics, convenience of facilities, and access to services were positively associated with the neighborhood walking for men; convenience was associated with neighborhood walking for women."  People who walked more were more likely to say that weather did not influence their decision to walk.  Women were also more likely to walk if they lived near the coast.

King 2003 - "The Relationship Between Convenience of Destinations and Walking Levels in Older Women"

King, Wendy C.; Brach, Jennifer S.; et al.
"The Relationship Between Convenience of Destinations and Walking Levels in Older Women"
American Journal of Health Promotion
Sept-Oct 2003; vol.18, n.1; pp.74-82
On the Web
Relevance: medium-high

Using a small sample (149) of older women, the authors found that living within a 20 minute walk of a park; biking or walking trail; or a department, discount, or hardware store was significantly related to walking more, as objectively measured by pedometer readings.  Walking was also associated with living near more destinations and with a better neighborhood rating for walking.

Humpel 2002 - "Environmental Factors Associated with Adults' Participation in Physical Activity: A Review"

Humpel, Nancy; Owen, Neville; Leslie, Eva.
"Environmental Factors Associated with Adults' Participation in Physical Activity: A Review"
American Journal of Preventive Medicine
May 2002; vol.22, n.3; pp.188-199
On the Web
Relevance: medium-low

The authors reviewed 19 studies, finding that "accessibility, opportunities, and aesthetic attributes had significant associations with physical activities. Weather and safety showed less-strong relationships." Several of the studies focused on excercise facilities and equipments, but others looked at neighborhood attributes.

Owen 2004 - "Understanding the Environmental Influences on Walking: Review and Research Agenda"

Owen, Neville; Humpel, Nancy; et al.
"Understanding the Environmental Influences on Walking: Review and Research Agenda"
American Journal of Preventive Medicine
July 2004; vol.27, n.1; pp.67-76.
On the Web
Relevance: medium

The authors review eighteen studies and conclude that the early evidence is promising.  The studies show that aesthetic attributes, convenience of walking facilities (sidewalks, trails), accessibility of destinations, and perceptions about traffic are associated with utilitarian walking.  However, better theoretical models and more studies, especially ones that examine a causal relationship, are needed.

Ewing 2003 - "Relationship Between Urban Sprawl and Physical Activity, Obesity, and Mortality"

Ewing, Reid; Schmid, Tom, et al
"Relationship Between Urban Sprawl and Physical Activity, Obesity, and Mortality"
American Journal of Health Promotion
September/October 2003; vol.18, n.1; pp.47-57
On the Web
Relevance: high

The authors estimated the impact of a county and metropolitan area sprawl index on obesity, physical activity, and related diseases. They found that the county  index significantly influenced the number of minutes spent in leisure-time walking, average BMI, obesity status, and prevalence of hypertension.

Chertok 2004 - “Comparison of Air Pollution Exposure for Five Commuting Modes in Sydney – Car, Train, Bus, Bicycle and Walking”

Chertok, Michael ; Voukelatos, Alexander ; Sheppeard, Vicky ; and Rissel, Chris
“Comparison of Air Pollution Exposure for Five Commuting Modes in Sydney – Car, Train, Bus, Bicycle and Walking”
Health Promotion Journal of Australia
April 2004; v.15,n.1; pp.63-67
On the Web (pdf)
Relevance: high

The study measured the BTEX pollutant and NO2 exposure of 44 subjects on their regular daily commutes, each lasting at least 30 minutes each way.  Car commuters were exposed to the highest levels of BTEX pollutants, while bus commuters were exposed to the highest levels of NO2.  Train (light and heavy rail) commuters were exposed to the lowest levels of all pollutants measured.  Walking and cycling commuters were exposed to significantly lower levels of BTEX than car commuters and of NO2 than bus commuters. 

Pucher 2003 - “Promoting Safe Walking and Cycling to Improve Public Health: Lessons from The Netherlands and Germany”

Pucher, John; Dijkstra, Lewis.
“Promoting Safe Walking and Cycling to Improve Public Health: Lessons from The Netherlands and Germany.”
American Journal of Public Health
September 2003; v.93, n.9; pp.1509-1516
On the Web
Relevance: high

Pucher and Dijkstra used data from national travel and crash surveys to compute fatality trends fatality and injury rates for pedestrians and cyclists in The Netherlands, Germany, and the United States.  The authors found that Americans walked/biked far less than do Dutch and Germans but were much more likely to be killed or injured than were Dutch and German pedestrians and cyclists, both on a per-trip and per-kilometer basis.  Causes include urban design and traffic regulations.