Built Environments and Active Living in Rural and Remote Areas: a Review of the Literature

Abstract

Rural children and adults are more likely to have obesity than their urban counterparts even after adjustment for individual-level behaviors, suggesting that rural environments may promote obesity. The rural built environment may be an important area of research that can help us understand rural-urban disparities in obesity. The purpose of this review is to summarize the rural built environment and active living literature, and to address key issues, gaps, and observations in the field. A literature review was conducted in spring 2015 to identify research published from 2000 to 2015. Our review suggests that limited active living built environments in rural communities and unique rural barriers to physical activity may contribute to a higher prevalence of obesity compared to urban populations. More empirical research is needed to build the evidence-base for the association between rural built environments, active living, and obesity. School- and community-based policies that expand active living opportunities in rural areas should also be closely examined.

Ciclovia in a Rural Latino Community: Results and Lessons Learned

“…8 This suggests that ciclovias in rural areas have a similar draw and potential to promote physical activity as in urban areas. In rural areas there are limited high quality accessible and affordable places for physical activity, such as parks, recreation centers, 5 and ciclovias could provide opportunities for rural residents to obtain physical activity by taking advantage of the existing resources of the streets and opening them up for physical activity. Participants who attended more than one ciclovia called Sunday Streets in San Francisco engaged in ≥20 minutes of physical activity compared with first time participants.…”

“…4 This inactivity may in part be due to the lack of opportunities for physical activity and an infrastructure that is not conducive to walking and biking in rural communities. 5 …”

Assessing the active living environment in three rural towns with a high proportion of Native Hawaiians and other Pacific Islanders

“…23 A literature review in 2015 identified very few studies that targeted rural areas, and of those studies, even fewer have targeted minority or indigenous populations. 24-26 …”

Urban‐Rural Differences in Aerobic Physical Activity, Muscle Strengthening Exercise, and Screen‐Time Sedentary Behavior

“…Adherence to recommended guidelines in the United States is generally low, but these PA‐related behavior patterns may vary by setting. Previous literature has indicated that rural communities, often defined as those in nonmetropolitan counties, may face unique challenges to engaging in PA associated with the built environment, such as less access to community resources including parks/green spaces, walkable destinations, and public transportation . Such barriers faced by rural communities may be compounded by differences in social factors, such as a lack of presence of physically active role models, increased caregiving duties, and less social support for engaging in PA …”