BackgroundThe burden of ill-health due to inactivity has recently been highlighted. Better studies on environments that support physical activity are called for, including longitudinal studies of environmental interventions. A programme of residential street improvements in the UK (Sustrans ‘DIY Streets’) allowed a rare opportunity for a prospective, longitudinal study of the effect of such changes on older adults’ activities, health and quality of life.MethodsPre–post, cross-sectional surveys were carried out in locations across England, Wales and Scotland; participants were aged 65+ living in intervention or comparison streets. A questionnaire covered health and quality of life, frequency of outdoor trips, time outdoors in different activities and a 38-item scale on neighbourhood open space. A cohort study explored changes in self-report activity and well-being postintervention. Activity levels were also measured by accelerometer and accompanying diary records.ResultsThe cross-sectional surveys showed outdoor activity predicted by having a clean, nuisance-free local park, attractive, barrier-free routes to it and other natural environments nearby. Being able to park one's car outside the house also predicted time outdoors. The environmental changes had an impact on perceptions of street walkability and safety at night, but not on overall activity levels, health or quality of life. Participants’ moderate-to-vigorous activity levels rarely met UK health recommendations.ConclusionsOur study contributes to methodology in a longitudinal, pre–post design and points to factors in the built environment that support active ageing. We include an example of knowledge exchange guidance on age-friendly built environments for policy-makers and planners.

Migration within Europe and between Europe and other parts of the world is a major driver of population change and has far reaching effects on land use. The theory, historical trends and actual patterns of migration were reviewed and from these an understanding of different categories of migration was developed. The pressures for land use change caused by different types of migration were developed and interpreted into a map of Europe, resolved at NUTSx level and a set of descriptions of land use change projections, examples of which are presented. The paper suggests that the implications of migration on land use change need further research and better data in order to be able to be more certain of trends. In the modern world migration will continue to be a major influence on land use and European policies which consider migration and land use as separate issues are likely to miss important connections.

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Sky vine (Thunbergia grandiflora Roxb) is a vine with important structural components for forest environments. Studies on growth and development are necessary, because of the environmental and economic importance. The leaf area determination is essential for ecophysiological studies to understand the relationship of the plant with the environment. The objective of this work was to estimate an allometric equation to estimate the leaf area of T. grandiflora from linear dimensions. 200 leaves of different shapes and sizes were collected from adult plants and the length (L), width (W), the product between length and width (LW), and real leaf area (LA) were measured. The linear regression, linear without intercept, quadratic, cubic, power, and exponential models were used to estimate the equations. The criteria for determining the best model were higher determination coefficient (R2), Willmott's agreement index (d), lower Akaike information criterion (AIC), the root of the mean error square (RMSE), and BIAS index closer to zero. The leaf area of T. grandiflora can be estimated satisfactorily by the equation ŷ = 0.58*LW.