Elsevier

Health & Place

Volume 13, Issue 1, March 2007, Pages 111-122
Health & Place

Walkability of local communities: Using geographic information systems to objectively assess relevant environmental attributes

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.healthplace.2005.11.001Get rights and content

Abstract

Geographic Information Systems (GIS) can be used to objectively measure features of the built environment that may influence adults’ physical activity, which is an important determinant of chronic disease. We describe how a previously developed index of walkability was operationalised in an Australian context, using available spatial data. The index was used to generate a stratified sampling frame for the selection of households from 32 communities for the PLACE (Physical Activity in Localities and Community Environments) study. GIS data have the potential to be used to construct measures of environmental attributes and to develop indices of walkability for cities, regions or local communities.

Section snippets

Background

Physical inactivity is a major risk factor for overweight and obesity, diabetes, heart disease and some cancers (United States Department of Health and Human Services, 1996). In Australia, some 30% of adults are sedentary in their leisure time (Owen and Bauman, 1997) and over 50% are insufficiently active to accrue health benefits (Booth et al., 1997). Environmental and policy interventions form one of the major strategic approaches to promoting participation in physical activity in

Walkability of local communities

While research into factors associated with physical activity has tended to concentrate on demographic and psychosocial variables (Trost et al., 2002), it is argued that environments can influence physical activity behaviours directly (Sallis and Owen, 2002). The influence of attributes of the built environment on habitual behaviour patterns such as walking are not yet well understood by behavioural scientists (Sallis and Owen, 1999), but community design disciplines (particularly

What are geographic information systems?

GIS is a computer-based tool for the capture, storage, manipulation, analysis, modelling, retrieval and graphic presentation of spatially referenced information. GIS uses sophisticated databases and software to analyse data by location, revealing hidden patterns, relationships and trends that may not be apparent in spreadsheets or through the use of the standard statistical packages from epidemiology or the social sciences.

Spatial data is referenced to known locations on the Earth's surface. To

Using Australian GIS data to derive a walkability index

The potential walkability dimensions of proximity and connectivity described above can be readily operationalised using GIS methods. A number of approaches have previously been used to measure walkability and the connectivity of different neighbourhood designs (Aultman-Hall et al., 1997; Cervero and Kockelman, 1997; Handy, 1996; Hess, 1997; Greenwald and Boarnet, 2001; Randall and Baetz, 2001). The spatial index of walkability described in this paper is built upon the method originally

Field validation—how does the walkability index perform?

Field validation was conducted in Adelaide, to check the performance of the walkability index and determine how well the method worked as a means of sorting areas on the basis of environmental attributes which support walking behaviour. The research team spent several days in the field, systematically visiting local areas corresponding with each of the walkability quartiles and selected income ranges. A list of all selected CCD was used to review neighbourhood characteristics and ensure they

Future developments and applications of walkability-related measures

The four characteristics utilised in the method described above are a starting point to a more detailed and informed measure of walkability. It is clear there are many other factors linked with walking behaviour, some identified in the research reviewed for this study and others that warrant further consideration. With GIS, the capacity to capture, store, manipulate and analyse different spatial characteristics is largely untapped in the physical activity and environmental influences of

Conclusions

There are a wide array of potential applications of GIS methods for guiding environmental and policy initiatives to promote walking and biking, and to increase overall physical activity levels. Increased computing capabilities, in concert with the availability of GIS-based land use and transportation data provide considerable opportunity to develop objective measures of the built environment that form independent predictors of human activity patterns. As demonstrated in the PLACE study in

Acknowledgements

The authors are grateful to the South Australian Government Department for Transport and Urban Planning for providing access to the relevant GIS data used in this study. The National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) Project Grant #213114 and NHMRC Program Grant #301200 supported the PLACE (Physical Activity in Localities and Community Environments) study. At the time of writing, Dr Leslie was supported by an NHMRC Public Health Fellowship # 301261. We thank James Sallis for his

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