Environmental Correlates of Recreational Walking in the Neighborhood

To assess environmental correlates of neighborhood recreational walking.

The study used a cross-sectional survey.

The study was conducted in the local community.

Participants were adults who recently relocated and walk for recreation in their current neighborhood.

The outcome measure was participant-reported neighborhood recreational walking in participants' prior neighborhood. Exposure measures were (1) participant-reported social and environmental characteristics of the prior neighborhood and (2) geographic information system-derived environmental characteristics assessed within a buffer around participant's prior address.

Participants reporting current neighborhood recreational walking (n = 231) were characterized by whether they walked for recreation in their prior neighborhood. Associations between neighborhood characteristics and neighborhood recreational walking were assessed using logistic regression.

Neighborhood recreational walking was associated with perceptions of the presence of recreational facilities (odds ratio [OR] = 2.49, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.29-4.84), interesting things to see (OR = 2.82, 95% CI = 1.46-5.45), and others being active (OR = 3.56, 95% CI = 1.80-7.05), and was inversely associated with concerns about crime (OR = .40, 95% CI = .20-.77) and traffic (OR = .43, 95% CI = .22-.87). This behavior was associated with objectively measured presence of walking trails (OR = 3.58, 95% CI = 1.07-4.46), percentage of street length with speed limits ≤25 mph (OR = 1.31 for 10% increase, 95% CI = 1.08-1.61), and percentage of tree canopy coverage (OR = 1.55 for 10% increase, 95% CI = 1.12-2.14).

Recreational walking may be influenced by environmental factors that support a safe, enjoyable, and social experience, attributes that are not necessarily prioritized in transportation walking. Outcome and exposure specificity are important when studying recreational walking.