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How the built environment affects physical activity: views from urban planning
Susan L Handy1, Marlon G Boarnet, Reid Ewing
1School of Architecture, University of Texas at Austin, USA.
American Journal of Preventive Medicine
|July 23, 2002
Summary
Urban planning influences physical activity and health. Creating walkable, livable communities requires better data and refined measures linking the built environment to travel behavior.
Area of Science:
- Urban planning
- Public health
- Transportation science
Background:
- The relationship between the built environment and human behavior, particularly physical activity, is a key interest in urban planning.
- Direct assessments linking urban design to personal health through physical activity are emerging but still limited.
- Urban planning concepts offer a foundation for research on the built environment's impact on physical activity.
Purpose of the Study:
- To explore how urban planning strategies, land use, and design policies can promote physical activity like walking and bicycling.
- To examine the theoretical frameworks, such as derived demand from economics, used to understand the link between the built environment and travel behavior.
- To identify key research challenges and suggest directions for future studies to strengthen the evidence base.
Main Methods:
- Reviewing existing research and theoretical frameworks connecting urban planning, the built environment, and physical activity.
- Analyzing the concept of 'derived demand' in travel behavior as applied to the built environment.
- Identifying methodological needs for future research, including refined measures and data integration.
Main Results:
- Evidence suggests that urban design, land use, and transportation systems promoting walking and bicycling contribute to healthier, more livable communities.
- The concept of travel as a derived demand is a current theoretical framework used to link built environment and travel behavior.
- Current research faces limitations in developing alternative frameworks for walking, refining built environment measures, and collecting comprehensive, spatially matched data.
Conclusions:
- Integrated urban design, land use, and transportation planning can foster active lifestyles and enhance community well-being.
- Further research requires developing new theoretical models for walking behavior, improving built environment and travel behavior measurements, and enhancing data integration.
- Addressing these research gaps is crucial for providing conclusive evidence on the built environment's role in promoting physical activity and health.