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Perceived neighborhood size: implications for physical activity-environment research.
Richard Suminski1, Katie Heinrich, Jason A Wasserman
1Dept of Physiology, Kansas City University of Medicine and Biosciences, Kansas City, MO.
Journal of Physical Activity & Health
|April 29, 2014
Summary
Perceived neighborhood size relates to exercise and demographics. A 1200-meter radius accurately captures most perceived neighborhood areas for walking studies.
Area of Science:
- Urban planning and public health
- Environmental psychology
- Spatial analysis
Background:
- Many studies on environment and walking yield nonsignificant results, potentially due to spatial incongruence.
- Environmental characteristics examined may not align with where walking behavior actually occurs.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate factors associated with perceived neighborhood size.
- To assess the agreement between perceived and investigator-defined neighborhood areas.
Main Methods:
- Door-to-door surveys in 12 U.S. Census block groups with adults aged 18-87.
- Participants reported exercise habits and drew neighborhood maps.
- Geographical Information Software (GIS) analyzed map congruence and calculated areas.
Main Results:
- Women perceived smaller neighborhood sizes than men; perceived size correlated with biking and education.
- In men, education and age negatively associated with perceived size, while perceived neighborhood support for exercise positively associated.
- Perceived neighborhood areas largely (approx. 90%) overlapped with investigator-defined areas (1200-m radius).
Conclusions:
- Individual factors, including exercise, influence perceptions of neighborhood size.
- A standard 1200-m radius (15-minute walk) effectively encompasses most perceived neighborhood areas for research.
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