Variations in active transport behavior among different neighborhoods and across adult lifestages.

OBJECTIVE Built environment characteristics are closely related to transport behavior, but observed variations could be due to residents own choice of neighborhood called residential self-selection. The aim of this study was to investigate differences in neighborhood walkability and residential self-selection across life stages in relation to active transport behavior. METHODS The IPEN walkability index, which consists of four built environment characteristics, was used to define 16 high and low walkable neighborhoods in Aarhus, Denmark (250.000 inhabitants). Transport behavior was assessed using the IPAQ questionnaire. Life stages were categorized in three groups according to age and parental status. A factor analysis was conducted to investigate patterns of self-selection. Multivariable logistic regression analyses were carried out to evaluate the association between walkability and transport behavior i.e. walking, cycling and motorized transport adjusted for residential self-selection and life stages. RESULTS A total of 642 adults aged 20-65 years completed the questionnaire. The highest rated self-selection preference across all groups was a safe and secure neighborhood followed by getting around easily on foot and by bicycle. Three self-selection factors were detected, and varied across the life stages. In the multivariable models high neighborhood walkability was associated with less motorized transport (OR 0.33 95%CI 0.18-0.58), more walking (OR 1.65 95%CI 1.03-2.65) and cycling (OR 1.50 95% CI 1.01-2.23). Self-selection and life stage were also associated with transport behavior, and attenuated the association with walkability. CONCLUSION This study supports the hypothesis that some variation in transport behavior can be explained by life stages and self-selection, but the association between living in a more walkable neighborhood and active transport is still significant after adjusting for these factors. Life stage significantly moderated the association between neighborhood walkability and cycling for transport, and household income significantly moderated the association between neighborhood walkability and walking for transport. Getting around easily by bicycle and on foot was the highest rated self-selection factor second only to perceived neighborhood safety.

[1]  M. Petticrew,et al.  What Are the Health Benefits of Active Travel? A Systematic Review of Trials and Cohort Studies , 2013, PloS one.

[2]  O. Franco,et al.  Public health benefits of strategies to reduce greenhouse-gas emissions: urban land transport , 2009, The Lancet.

[3]  M. Hamer,et al.  Active commuting and cardiovascular risk: a meta-analytic review. , 2008, Preventive medicine.

[4]  Greet Cardon,et al.  Do adults like living in high-walkable neighborhoods? Associations of walkability parameters with neighborhood satisfaction and possible mediators. , 2011, Health & place.

[5]  Ding Ding,et al.  Built environment, physical activity, and obesity: what have we learned from reviewing the literature? , 2012, Health & place.

[6]  G. Cardon,et al.  Relationships between neighborhood walkability and adults' physical activity: How important is residential self-selection? , 2011, Health & place.

[7]  B. Saelens,et al.  Stepping towards causation: do built environments or neighborhood and travel preferences explain physical activity, driving, and obesity? , 2007, Social science & medicine.

[8]  Matthew A. Turner,et al.  In Economics and Social Sciences Working Papers Series Fat City: Questioning the Relationship between Urban Sprawl and Obesity Fat City: Questioning the Relationship between Urban Sprawl and Obesity , 2022 .

[9]  G. Cardon,et al.  Neighborhood SES and walkability are related to physical activity behavior in Belgian adults. , 2010, Preventive medicine.

[10]  Harvey Goldstein,et al.  Partitioning variation in multilevel models , 2002 .

[11]  F. Bull,et al.  The impact of the built environment on health across the life course: design of a cross-sectional data linkage study , 2013, BMJ Open.

[12]  B. Saelens,et al.  Built environment correlates of walking: a review. , 2008, Medicine and science in sports and exercise.

[13]  J. Sallis,et al.  Neighborhood built environment and income: examining multiple health outcomes. , 2009, Social science & medicine.

[14]  J. Scheiner.  MOBILITY BIOGRAPHIES: ELEMENTS OF A BIOGRAPHICAL THEORY OF TRAVEL DEMAND , 2007 .

[15]  U. Ekelund,et al.  Global physical activity levels: surveillance progress, pitfalls, and prospects , 2012, The Lancet.

[16]  Xinyu Cao,et al.  Examining the Impacts of Residential Self‐Selection on Travel Behaviour: A Focus on Empirical Findings , 2009 .

[17]  Anne Vernez Moudon,et al.  Walking and Bicycling: An Evaluation of Environmental Audit Instruments , 2003, American journal of health promotion : AJHP.

[18]  J. Gehl.  Cities for People , 2010 .

[19]  Takemi Sugiyama,et al.  Advancing science and policy through a coordinated international study of physical activity and built environments: IPEN adult methods. , 2013, Journal of physical activity & health.

[20]  P. Mokhtarian,et al.  Self-Selection in the Relationship between the Built Environment and Walking: Empirical Evidence from Northern California , 2006 .

[21]  Ralph Buehler,et al.  Making Cycling Irresistible: Lessons from The Netherlands, Denmark and Germany , 2008 .

[22]  Johannes Brug,et al.  International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity Environmental Influences on Energy Balance-related Behaviors: a Dual-process View , 2005 .

[23]  P. McManus,et al.  Geographical mobility over the life course: motivations and implications , 2008 .

[24]  J. Sallis,et al.  Many Pathways from Land Use to Health: Associations between Neighborhood Walkability and Active Transportation, Body Mass Index, and Air Quality , 2006 .

[25]  Konstadinos G. Goulias,et al.  Active travel behavior , 2008 .

[26]  Robert Cervero,et al.  Built environments and mode choice: toward a normative framework , 2002 .

[27]  W. Riggs.  Steps toward validity in active living research: research design that limits accusations of physical determinism. , 2014, Health & place.

[28]  J. Scheiner,et al.  Changes in travel mode use after residential relocation: a contribution to mobility biographies , 2013 .

[29]  Takemi Sugiyama,et al.  Bicycle Use for Transport in an Australian and a Belgian City: Associations with Built-Environment Attributes , 2010, Journal of Urban Health.

[30]  C. Terwee,et al.  Independent Validation of an Existing Model Enables Prediction of Hearing Loss after Childhood Bacterial Meningitis , 2013, PloS one.

[31]  A. El-geneidy,et al.  Validating walkability indices: How do different households respond to the walkability of their neighborhood? , 2011 .

[32]  Penny Gordon-Larsen,et al.  Environment and Physical Activity Dynamics: The Role of Residential Self-selection. , 2011, Psychology of sport and exercise.

[33]  J. Pucher,et al.  Infrastructure, programs, and policies to increase bicycling: an international review. , 2010, Preventive medicine.

[34]  J. Sallis,et al.  The development of a walkability index: application to the Neighborhood Quality of Life Study , 2009, British Journal of Sports Medicine.

[35]  R. Ewing,et al.  The built environment and obesity. , 2007, Epidemiologic reviews.

[36]  Lawrence D Frank,et al.  Perceived neighborhood environmental attributes associated with adults’ transport-related walking and cycling: Findings from the USA, Australia and Belgium , 2012, International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity.

[37]  Jasper Schipperijn,et al.  Developing Suitable Buffers to Capture Transport Cycling Behavior , 2014, Front. Public Health.

[38]  Alan Shiell,et al.  In search of causality: a systematic review of the relationship between the built environment and physical activity among adults , 2011, The international journal of behavioral nutrition and physical activity.

[39]  Reid Ewing,et al.  Travel and the Built Environment , 2010 .

[40]  A. Bauman,et al.  Neighborhood walkability and the walking behavior of Australian adults. , 2007, American journal of preventive medicine.