Various studies have shown that neighborhood quality is linked to neighborhood attachment and satisfaction. However, most have relied upon residents’ own perceptions rather than independent observations of the neighborhood environment. This study examines the reliability and validity of the revised Residential Environment Assessment Tool (REAT 2.0), an audit instrument covering both public and ...

This study examines how the neighborhood environments experienced over multiple generations of a family influence parents’ educational expectations and aspirations, children’s cognitive skills, and children’s health. Building on recent research showing strong continuity in neighborhood environments across generations of family members, we argue for a revised perspective on “neighborhood effects...

There is a need for greater understanding of how perceptions and objective measures of the physical environment influence physical activity among seniors. The goal of this study was to examine the degree of association between perceived and objective characteristics of the neighborhood environment and the relation of each type of measurement to neighborhood walking in older adults. Data on self...

OBJECTIVE Diabetes-specific distress is an important psychological issue in people with diabetes. The neighborhood environment has the potential to be an important factor for diabetes distress. This study investigates the associations between neighborhood characteristics and diabetes distress in adults with type 2 diabetes. METHODS We used cross-sectional data from a community-based sample of...

INTRODUCTION Few studies have assessed how people's perceptions of their neighborhood environment compare with objective measures or how self-reported and objective neighborhood measures relate to consumption of fruits and vegetables. METHODS A telephone survey of 4,399 residents of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, provided data on individuals, their households, their neighborhoods (self-defined),...

Optimization of existing measurement tools is necessary to explore links between aspects of the neighborhood built environment and health behaviors or outcomes. We evaluate a scoring method for virtual neighborhood audits utilizing the Active Neighborhood Checklist (the Checklist), a neighborhood audit measure, and assess street segment representativeness in low-income neighborhoods. Eighty-two...