This article examines park use in relation to neighborhood social (safety and poverty) and urban ... more This article examines park use in relation to neighborhood social (safety and poverty) and urban form (pedestrian infrastructure and street network pattern) characteristics among youth and adult subpopulations defined by age and gender. We utilized System for Observing Play and Recreation in Communities (SOPARC) and Geographic Information Systems to objectively measure park use and park and neighborhood characteristics in 20 neighborhood parks. Heterogeneous negative binomial regression models indicated that the relationship between park use and types of activity settings, and park use and neighborhood attributes vary by age and gender. In general, the study found that park and activity setting size; activity settings such as playgrounds, basketball courts, pool and water features, shelters, and picnic areas; and availability of sidewalks and intersections in the park’s neighborhood were positively associated with park use, whereas crime, poverty, and racial heterogeneity of the sur...
Parks provide opportunities for physical activity for children. This study examined sex differenc... more Parks provide opportunities for physical activity for children. This study examined sex differences in correlates of park-based physical activity because differences may indicate that a standard environmental intervention to increase activity among children may not equally benefit boys and girls. The System for Observation Play and Recreation in Communities was used to measure physical activity among 2,712 children and adolescents in 20 neighborhood parks in Durham, North Carolina, in 2007. Sedentary activity, walking, vigorous park activity, and energy expenditure were the primary outcome variables. Hierarchical logit regression models of physical activity were estimated separately for boys and girls. Type of activity area and presence of other active children were positively associated with boys' and girls' physical activity, and presence of a parent was negatively associated. A significant interaction involving number of recreation facilities…
Prevailing measures of street design have largely ignored the relational properties between local... more Prevailing measures of street design have largely ignored the relational properties between local and global street design as correlates of walking behavior. This study contributes to understanding relationships between the syntactical properties of street design and walking behavior by examining whether space syntax measures in New Urbanist and conventional suburban neighborhoods are associated with the walking patterns of residents in these communities. Relying on geographic information systems, survey data and travel diaries, the study relates control, local integration and global integration to walking behavior, while adjusting for the effect of individual-and household-level characteristics. It finds significant relationships between the number of leisure trips and all three syntactical measures. It also finds a consistent positive relationship between total utilitarian walking and two of the space syntax variables, control and global integration. By explaining individuals' walking behavior using relational measures of street design, urban designers and planners are encouraged to expand their consideration of how street design may influence walking beyond the local purview.
This article examines park use in relation to neighborhood social (safety and poverty) and urban ... more This article examines park use in relation to neighborhood social (safety and poverty) and urban form (pedestrian infrastructure and street network pattern) characteristics among youth and adult subpopulations defined by age and gender. We utilized System for Observing Play and Recreation in Communities (SOPARC) and Geographic Information Systems to objectively measure park use and park and neighborhood characteristics in 20 neighborhood parks. Heterogeneous negative binomial regression models indicated that the relationship between park use and types of activity settings, and park use and neighborhood attributes vary by age and gender. In general, the study found that park and activity setting size; activity settings such as playgrounds, basketball courts, pool and water features, shelters, and picnic areas; and availability of sidewalks and intersections in the park’s neighborhood were positively associated with park use, whereas crime, poverty, and racial heterogeneity of the sur...
Parks provide opportunities for physical activity for children. This study examined sex differenc... more Parks provide opportunities for physical activity for children. This study examined sex differences in correlates of park-based physical activity because differences may indicate that a standard environmental intervention to increase activity among children may not equally benefit boys and girls. The System for Observation Play and Recreation in Communities was used to measure physical activity among 2,712 children and adolescents in 20 neighborhood parks in Durham, North Carolina, in 2007. Sedentary activity, walking, vigorous park activity, and energy expenditure were the primary outcome variables. Hierarchical logit regression models of physical activity were estimated separately for boys and girls. Type of activity area and presence of other active children were positively associated with boys' and girls' physical activity, and presence of a parent was negatively associated. A significant interaction involving number of recreation facilities…
Prevailing measures of street design have largely ignored the relational properties between local... more Prevailing measures of street design have largely ignored the relational properties between local and global street design as correlates of walking behavior. This study contributes to understanding relationships between the syntactical properties of street design and walking behavior by examining whether space syntax measures in New Urbanist and conventional suburban neighborhoods are associated with the walking patterns of residents in these communities. Relying on geographic information systems, survey data and travel diaries, the study relates control, local integration and global integration to walking behavior, while adjusting for the effect of individual-and household-level characteristics. It finds significant relationships between the number of leisure trips and all three syntactical measures. It also finds a consistent positive relationship between total utilitarian walking and two of the space syntax variables, control and global integration. By explaining individuals' walking behavior using relational measures of street design, urban designers and planners are encouraged to expand their consideration of how street design may influence walking beyond the local purview.
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