rflaris midterm paper 1

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Running Head: THE BUILT ENVIRONMENT AND PHYSICAL INACTIVITY

The Affects of the Built Environment on Human

Travel Behavior and Physical Activity

Reynalyn M. Flaris

Urban & Regional Planning 228

Professor Maloney & Professor Painter

October 15, 2012



THE BUILT ENVIRONMENT AND PHYSICAL INACTIVITY 2

Recent studies have shown the causal relationship between built environments and the

prevalence of certain public health issues among Americans. Urban design, the placement of

public transportation systems, and housing development are all crucial subjects taken under great

consideration as medical professionals and public health departments study water contamination,

lead poisoning, asthma induced by particulates, and most prominently – obesity within the

environment. (Massam 2002) The built environment represents a significant determinant of this

health crisis. (Kuiper 2009) Aside from medical issues that are considered to be in relation to the

built environment, many behavioral health professionals claim that social issues such as high

rates of unemployment, drug related crimes, and poverty can be related to the built environment

as well.

The definition of the built environment relates to the intersection of the “urban design”

which includes the arrangement and public appearance of things, “land use” which takes into

consideration the spatial and density aspect of placement, and “transportation systems” which

covers the roadways, sidewalks, tracks, bridges and other physical structures that are meant to

address traffic within these locations. (Handy, Boarnet, Ewing & Killingsworth 2002) Although

this is a topic that is multifaceted, this paper focuses on the widespread cases of obesity and

decreased physical activity that is largely correlated to the built environment. It focuses on the

essential collaboration of public planning agencies and local health departments and what

researchers have found to be consequential without the collaboration of these departments.

A Collaborative Approach

The federal government has taken huge initiatives with the efforts of public health and

public planning departments to thoroughly investigate communities where medical and social

issues have been seen more rampant than others. Michelle Obama’s “Let’s Move Campaign”




underlined the importance of the partnership between the Housing and Urban Development

Department (HUD), the Department of Transportation Department (DOT), and the

Environmental Protection Agency. (Let’s Move Campaign 2012) The collaboration of such

departments aimed to mainly address Obesity, a growing health problem that is seen most

prevalent in African American and Hispanic Communities. (Let’s Move Campaign 2012)

The desire to improve an individual’s or a community’s quality of life or the

consideration of consequences when quality of life is threatened must come to the attention of

planners and researchers when developing new built structures or reevaluating the use of others.

(Massam 2002) It is their responsibility to consider all negative and positive effects that the new

or reinvented projects may have for all possible stakeholders involved. (Massam 2002) Public

health departments aim to examine and address the deterioration of an individual or community’s

health and provide alternatives for a sustainable life and environment. (Kuiper 2009) The fact

that certain social and medical issues are becoming more chronic and are seen more heavily in

some communities than others is an indicator that the integration of these two bodies, whether it

be on a federal or local level, is not achieving what they are sought out to do. (Kuiper 2009) This

can be due to a number of different things including jurisdiction, response from stakeholders,

limited resources, or limited research enabling significant decision making to prevent further

advancement of the issues.

Physical Activity Discouraged in Some Built Environments

The most recent research focuses on the examination of behaviors within young children

and adolescents. (Ding et al 2011) The focus of this population is mainly due to the fact that

over the past thirty years, as many dramatic changes in the modern family and everyday

lifestyles of Americans have changed, childhood obesity rates have tripled today and will




continue to rise until there is strong government intervention. (Let’s Move Campaign 2012) As

it stands now, more than forty percent of young children are obese, which means one in every

three students are obese. (Let’s Move Campaign 2012) Without much needed intervention, in

the next thirty years, over sixty percent of Americans will be obese and statistics show that if an

individual has an obese parent they are more likely to become obese, eighty percent more likely

if both parents are obese. (Ding et al 2011)

The growing research associated with urban planning, public health, and transportation

have examined the relationship between built environment and physical activity within the

individuals that live in these built environments. Recent efforts in research pertaining to urban

planning have focused on the idea that the design and land use of new projects can actually be

linked to increased use of public transit and encourage bicycling or walking in the community or

can inversely encourage physical inactivity. (Handy, Boarnet, Ewing, & Killingsworth 2002)

The design of even the streets within a community can encourage residents to be pedestrians and

be active by walking or bicycling. Lack of attention to the design and how the design can affect

the community can also discourage residents from being physically active within their

community resulting in more cars being unnecessarily utilized, increasing the amount of traffic.

(Ding et al 2011) When streets are designed well they can have a positive effect on the

community and the community will thrive. (Chen 2012)

According to a research study done by Susan Handy, PhD, Marlon Boarnet, PhD, Reid

Ewing, PhD, and Richard Killingsworth, MPH, throughout relevant studies conducted, the

authors notices there are five interrelated and often correlated dimensions that are present on a

neighborhood scale pertaining to the built environment. (Handy, Boarnet, Ewing &

Killingsworth 2002) Density and intensity of development is usually measured as the ratio of




people per square mile or acre, this is directly related to employment, population within a certain

area or building floor space. Due to the fact that this is collected quantitatively this can be easier

to measure than others characteristics. (Handy, Boarnet, Ewing & Killingsworth 2002) Mix of

land uses can include homes, businesses, offices, or other ways the land is being used. (Handy,

Boarnet, Ewing & Killingsworth 2002) This is a harder characteristic to measure, as there is no

standardized approach in collecting these measures. (Handy, Boarnet, Ewing & Killingsworth

2002) Connectivity of the street network is related to the flow of traffic, alternative routes, and

is usually measured by the average block length. (Handy, Boarnet, Ewing & Killingsworth 2002)

Scale of streets measurements is usually displayed graphically and not numerically as it is often

in direct relation to the scale of cars or buildings nearby. (Handy, Boarnet, Ewing &

Killingsworth 2002) Aesthetic qualities of a place have to do with the attractiveness of a place,

positive aesthetic qualities can include landscape, resting places, and the curve of sidewalks that

allow people to feel safe and want to return to the place. These are things that are often

described and can’t really be measured. (Handy, Boarnet, Ewing & Killingsworth 2002)

Table 1. Dimensions of the Built Environment

(Handy, Boarnet, Ewing & Killingsworth 2002, pp 66)




Table 1 describes the dimensions and how they are usually measured. It also gives information

about why the dimensions are important since these are terms that are recurring in many studies

that focus on the built environment. Taken from a research study conducted by Ding Ding,

MPH, James F. Sallis, PhD, Jacqueline Kerr, PhD, Suzanna Lee, MPH, and Dori Rosenberg

PhD, MPH Table 2 illustrates the positive effects that the attributes of the built environment are

expected to have on the physical activity levels of its residents. (Ding et al 2011)

Table 2. Expected Direction of Associations Between Attributes of Neighborhood Environment andDomains of Physical Activity Among Youth

(Ding et al 2011, pp444)

This study objectively measured how often parents and/of children and adolescents from

the ages of three years old to eighteen years old were more likely to be physically active in their

environment because of certain physical attributes of their built environment. (Ding et al 2011)

The study found that from what was projected, more than fifty percent of the residents showed

significant association to physical activity and the surrounding environments. While other

variables such as socio-economic-status or whether it is a rural or urban environment can




influence the outcome of how often a resident is physically active and how resources are actively

used in their built environments, the variables studied in Table 1 shows a strong association

between people’s predictive behavior being associated with the built environment. (Ding et al

2011) The strongest direct correlation of physical activity to the built environment, was

walkability, access to recreation facilities, traffic/speed volume and open space, and the presence

of street trees and other vegetation making streets look more attractive. (Ding et al 2011)

The Cause and Effects According to Stakeholders

Angela Sosa, a mother of three, living in north San Jose, California, only a few blocks

from the school that her six year old daughter and seven year old son attends still chooses to

drive her two kids to school everyday. Every school day she gets up in the morning and buckles

her thirteen-month old son into the

car seat only to drive less than seven

minutes to Laneview Elementary

School whereas walking time would

be a maximum of seventeen to

twenty minutes. She states that there

are a number of different reasons for

this, sometimes the weather is too

cold for the baby, other times she

wants the kids to have that extra ten

minutes to eat rather than spending it

on walking to the school, but most importantly, she believes that the major streets they have to

cross (Cropley Avenue and Morrill Avenue) are not safe. Here, she is talking about the




connectivity of the streets in her area. Not too far from their home is Cataldi Park, only fourteen

minutes walking time from their house but again, the busy streets make it too scary for her to

walk with the kids. She also states that the sidewalks near some parts of Cataldi park are very

thin and that the kids get scared when they see dogs walking. So to avoid the kids stepping in

the streets or having to step aside for dogwalkers, she doesn’t even walk them around some parts

of the park anymore. Instead, she takes them to the other side of town to Cunningham Park,

which is a secluded park despite the fact that it does cost money to enter. Mrs. Sosa states that

when she was young she used to walk thirty minutes to school up until she was in eighth grade,

she would’ve continued but her high school was too far. She reflects and recognizes that kids

can’t do that now, saying that San Jose is so much busier and these people are in a rush to get to

work.

Although Morrill Middle School is even closer to their house than the elementary school

Mrs. Sosa states that she will continue driving them even when they are in middle school

because she wouldn’t ever want her childr en in danger. When asked what things could be put in

place that would make her feel safe in walking her children to school or to the park, she states

that more pedestrian cross walks and one way streets can make it safer and that the streets are

much too wide. She wishes that the schools were not so close to main streets as some

commuters use the street that the school is on as a shortcut when there is traffic on Morrill

Avenue. Mrs. Sosa vows that until the design of the surrounding areas of the school and the

design of the park is redone she will not find it safe for her kids to walk to school or to the park

even under her supervision.

A former resident of Los Angeles, California, Delia Hong now attends Columbia

University in New York. She states that when she was in college for her undergraduate degree,




called Greenbelt Alliance has formed focus groups that allows neighbors to be involved in

designing new or upgraded streets in their area. (Chen 2012) Speaking directly to stakeholders

and asking what their goals are or what things would motivate them to be more physically active

in their community is a great way to promote healthy ways to commute and utilize the resources

in their community. While speaking to the residents in the community is not always possible for

urban planners especially when there is not a third party to conduct the focus groups, such as the

Greenbelt Alliance, there should be set standards for new road designs to create roadways that

are more pedestrian- friendly and allow safer traffic patterns in cases where high automobile

traffic volume is unavoidable. (Ding et al 2011) With zoning laws and jurisdictions changing so

frequently it does little to create a standardized approach to address the five dimension as

mentioned in Table 1. The two main research studies mentioned were studies that gathered

information from previous conducted studies. There is a gap in research, most sources regarding

travel behavior is not focused on the explanation of travel changes itself but more so focused on

the destinations. (Handy, Boarnet, Ewing & Killingsworth 2002) In this case important and

valuable data could be missing. This is why it is so imperative to provide an investment of

interest, resources and research to study specifically changes in travel behaviors to find linkage

to the built environment.

Local Health Departments should also play a role in ensuring the “walkability” of

neighborhoods as obesity is linked to lack of physical activity. As urban planning and public

health policies are usually developed with the adult in mind, this needs to be reshaped to think of

the improvement of safety and quality of life for the children in America as they are the

generation that will suffer if policies remain the same. A child-centered approach will not only

allow planners to create built environments that promote healthy living and sustainable




communities but with this same approach, traffic issues would be addressed as well. If public

planners took the approach of putting children as the primary stakeholders, instead of

encouraging more automobile use such as increased freeway lines or widening streets, they could

instead widen sidewalks or bike lanes to encourage a positive change towards healthy living.




Citations

Chen, A. September 26, 2012. Greenbelt Alliance http://www.greenbelt.org/events/great-

streets-with-allan-jacobs/. Accessed October 12, 2012

Ding, D. , Sallis, J. , Kerr, J. , Lee, S. , & Rosenberg, D. (2011). Neighborhood Environment and

Physical Activity Among Youth: A Review. American Journal of Preventive Medicine,

41(4), 442-455. Retrieved from Academic Search Premier on October 13, 2012.

Handy, S. , Boarnet, M. , Ewing, R. , & Killingsworth, R. (2002). How the Built Environment

Affects Physical Activity: Views from Urban Planning. American Journal of Preventive

Medicine, 23(2 Supplement 1), 64-73. Retrieved from Ingenta on October 10, 2012.

Kuiper, H. (2009). Shaping the built environment for health: Strategies for California's Local

Public Health and Environmental Health Departments. Retrieved from ProQuest

Dissertations and Theses on October 12, 2012.

Let’s Move Campaign Programs Facts. Website: http://www.letsmove.gov/learn-facts/epidemic-

childhood-obesity. Accessed on October 3, 2012.

Massam, B. (2002). Quality of Life: Public Planning and Private Living. Progress in Planning ,

58(3), 141-227. Retrieved from Academic Search Premier on October 9, 2012.

Stakeholder Interviews

Interview with Angela Sosa conducted on October 13, 2012

2899 Via Encinitas Way San Jose, Ca 95132

[email protected]

Interview with Delia Hong conducted via Skype on October 11, 2012

Contact info given only upon request

Lives in New York, NY

rflaris midterm paper 1

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