City structure, obesity, and environmental justice: An integrated analysis of physical and social barriers to walkable streets and park access

An environmental justice assessment of public beach access in Miami, Florida

“…We used the closest ten beach sites because there might be special traits at certain beach sites that make them more desirable such as pavilions, restrooms, and shower facilities. Additionally, prior studies on accessibility have weighted sites according to their capacity or size (Cutts, Darby, Boone, & Brewis, 2009;Maroko et al, 2009;Wolch, Wilson, & Fehrenbach, 2005;Zhang et al, 2011). Research on social carrying capacity at public beaches indicates that the most important factor in choosing a beach site for recreation is the availability of automobile parking (Da Silva, 2002).…”

The Spatial Logic of Parks

“…One recent study of park distribution found that lower-income groups were more likely to have walkable access to neighbourhood parks than other groups (Cutts et al, 2009). However, they also found evidence that parks in low-income and minority neighbourhoods appeared to be "offset by social characteristics" (Cutts et al, 2009(Cutts et al, , p. 1314, meaning that there is a difference between a park being available (close by) and a park being accessible (open to all groups).…”

Obesity: Cultural and Biological Factors

“…For example, neighborhood walkability (influenced by such factors as road structure and repair, types of destinations available and proximity, and safety) makes a big difference to how much people living in cities walk (Rundle et al, 2009). Parks provide an important venue for both formal and informal exercise, and park access similarly is unevenly distributed; higher income areas tend to have better parks (more accessible, safer, better facilities) (Cutts et al, 2009;Saelens et al, 2003). People who live near parks or good physical fitness facilities in cities are shown to get significantly more exercise than those who do not (Giles-Corti et al, 2005;Gordon-Larsen et al, 2006) and child obesity rates are suggested to be significantly lower where access to green spaces is better (Sallis and Glanz, 2006).…”

“…The uneven distribution of worse exercise and food amenities in lower income and minority neighborhoods makes obesity risk an 'environmental justice' issue for some (Taylor et al, 2006;Cutts et al, 2009), and provides one explanation why minorities can be at higher risk of obesity even once socioeconomic factors are taken into account (Chang, 2006;Robert and Reither, 2004). Studies of built environment factors in low-income countries reveal patterns that are very different from that typically observed in highincome countries; for example, Mowafi et al's (2012) analysis of Cairo shows no significant association of access to green spaces with BMI variation.…”