We present an operational proposal for the evaluation of walkability. Its distinguishing characteristic in conceptualising walkability is to take into account and combine three distinct elements in a multicriteria evaluation model: the availability of attractive destinations, their effective distances along a detailed representation of the street network and the qualities relevant to walkabilit...

This study examined the cross-sectional associations between perceived neighborhood walkability and walking time, physical activity, wellbeing, and loneliness, and examined which components of walkability were most strongly associated with better wellbeing and less loneliness in older adults. Participants were community-dwelling Chinese adults aged 60+ (n = 181). Walkability was measured using ...

BACKGROUND Few studies have considered the joint effects of social and physical environments on physical activity (PA). The primary purpose of this study was to examine the compounding effects of neighbourhood walkability and social connectedness on PA. METHODS Data were collected from adults (n = 380) in Waterloo, Ontario, Canada. Perceptions of neighbourhood social connectedness and walkabi...

BACKGROUND Previous studies found a complex relationship between area-level socioeconomic status (SES) and walkability. These studies did not include neighborhood dynamics. Our aim was to study the association between area-level SES and walkability in the city of Madrid (Spain) evaluating the potential effect modification of neighborhood dynamics. METHODS All census sections of the city of Ma...

Although the health benefits of walking are well established, participation is lower in rural areas compared to urban areas. Most studies on walkability and walking have been conducted in urban areas, thus little is known about the relevance of walkability to rural areas. A computer-assisted telephone survey of 2402 adults (aged ≥18 years) was conducted to determine walking behaviour and percep...

BACKGROUND In adult research, neighborhood walkability has been acknowledged as an important construct among the built environmental correlates of physical activity. Research into this association has only recently been extended to adolescents and the current empirical evidence is not consistent. This study investigated whether neighborhood walkability and neighborhood socioeconomic status (SES...

BACKGROUND Physical activity is essential for health; walking is the easiest way to incorporate activity into everyday life. Previous studies report positive associations between neighbourhood walkability and walking but most focused on cities in North America and Australasia. Urban form with respect to street connectivity, residential density and land use mix-common components of walkability i...

A recent focus of design and building regulations, including form-based codes and the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design for Neighborhood Development rating system, has been on promoting pedestrian activity. This study assessed perceptions of walkability for residential and commercial streetscapes with different design attributes in order to inform form-based regulations and codes th...

Background: We investigate the association of different composite walkability measures with individual walking behaviors to determine if multicomponent metrics of walkability are more useful for assessing the health impacts of the built environment than single component measures. Methods: We use a previously published composite walkability measure as well as a new measure that was designed to r...

BACKGROUND Objective walkability is an important correlate of adults' physical activity. Studies investigating the relation between walkability and children's physical activity are scarce. However, in order to develop effective environmental interventions, a profound investigation of this relation is needed in all age groups. The aim of this study was to investigate the association between obje...