If we build it, who will come? The case for attention to equity in healthy community design

Sones, Meridith; Fuller, Daniel; Kestens, Yan; Winters, Meghan

doi:10.1136/bjsports-2018-099667

Cited by 4 publications

(4 citation statements)

References 6 publications

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“…74 Of course, the trail itself could change who lives nearby by changing housing affordability, 27,69 possibly exacerbating rather than ameliorating disparities in physical inactivity. 75 Home values rose in the Westside Trail and Proctor Creek Greenway area, as they did elsewhere in the study (eAppendix 5; http://links.lww.com/EDE/B912). Results were nevertheless robust to these changes, suggesting residential changes did not meaningfully affect results over the 2-year period.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 60%

Have Paved Trails and Protected Bike Lanes Led to More Bicycling in Atlanta?: A Generalized Synthetic-Control Analysis

et al. 2022

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Background: Bicycling is an important form of physical activity in populations. Research assessing the effect of infrastructure on bicycling with high-resolution smartphone data is emerging in several places, but it remains limited in low-bicycling US settings, including the Southeastern US. The Atlanta area has been expanding its bicycle infrastructure, including off-street paved trails such as the Atlanta BeltLine and some protected bike lanes. Methods: Using the generalized synthetic-control method, we estimated effects of five groups of off-street paved trails and protected bike lanes on bicycle ridership in their corresponding areas. To measure bicycling, we used 2 years (October 1, 2016 to September 30, 2018) of monthly Strava data in Atlanta’s urban core along with data from 15 on-the-ground counters to adjust for spatiotemporal variation in app use. Results: Considering all infrastructure as one joint intervention, an estimated 1.10 (95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.99, 1.18) times more bicycle–distance was ridden than would have been expected in the same areas had the infrastructure not been built, when defining treatment areas by the narrower of two definitions (defined in text). The Atlanta BeltLine Westside Trail and Proctor Creek Greenway had especially strong effect estimates, e.g., ratios of 1.45 (95% CI: 1.12, 1.86) and 1.55 (1.10, 2.14) under each treatment-area definition, respectively. We estimated that other infrastructure had weaker positive or no effects on bicycle–distance ridden. Conclusions: This study advances research on the topic because of its setting in the US Southeast, simultaneous assessment of several infrastructure groups, and data-driven approach to estimating effects. See video abstract at, http://links.lww.com/EDE/B936.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 60%

Have Paved Trails and Protected Bike Lanes Led to More Bicycling in Atlanta?: A Generalized Synthetic-Control Analysis

et al. 2022

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“…From the studies we reviewed in relation to changing the built environment, it seems plausible that increased community engagement could not only result in even better health outcomes, but also in positive process outcomes related to strengthening the social capital in the community alongside an increased sense of ownership of the interventions. Indeed, research suggests that not only are real-world changes in the built environment important in soliciting more reliable evidence, by involving the communities in which behaviour change is sought, a greater attention to the wider socio-cultural context will be held [35], improving the likelihood of impact [34].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Shaping Pathways to Child Health: A Systematic Review of Street-Scale Interventions in City Streets

Ortegón-Sanchez

Vaughan

Christie

et al. 2022

IJERPH

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Street-level built environment factors, for example, walking infrastructure, building density, availability of public transport, and proliferation of fast-food outlets can impact on health by influencing our ability to engage in healthy behaviour. Unhealthy environments are often clustered in deprived areas, thus interventions to improve the built environments may improve health and reduce inequalities. The aim of this review was to identify whether street-level built environment interventions can improve children’s health in high income countries. A secondary aim was to describe key built environment elements targeted in interventions and research gaps. A systematic review of published literature was conducted by a multi-disciplinary team. Ten intervention papers were included. Physical activity or play was the only health outcome assessed. Most interventions described temporary changes including closure of streets to traffic (N = 6), which were mainly located in deprived neighbourhoods, or the addition of technology to ‘gamify’ active travel to school (N = 2). Two studies reported permanent changes to street design. There was limited evidence that closing streets to traffic was associated with increases in activity or play and inconclusive evidence with changes to street design and using technology to gamify active travel. Our ability to draw conclusions was hampered by inadequate study designs. Description of interventions was poor. Rigorous evaluation of built environment interventions remains challenging. We recommend a multi-disciplinary approach to evaluation, explicit reporting of built environment indicators targeted in interventions and offer solutions to others working in this area.

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“…This situation requires alternative approaches, such as for example, walking meetings, which has been reported to also lead to social benefits ( 161 ), as well as some recently proposed solutions with promising results, including intermittent upper body ergometry, an attractive option for those who prefer to remain in the seated position ( 162 ), and low-cost standing desks, which are made out of cardboard, are suitable for use in different locations such as at home, and can have an inexpensive and environment-friendly recycling process ( 163 , 164 ). Despite the challenges involved in implementing public policies that contemplate widespread access to PA promotion and sedentary behavior reduction initiatives, especially in low-income settings, localized comprehensive interventions have been recently implemented in many countries, including Canada and Brazil, and must be scaled up ( 60 , 101 , 146 , 165 ).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A Critical Review on New Approaches for Chronic Disease Prevention in Brazil and Canada: From Wholistic Dietary Guidelines to Physical Activity Security

Schwartz

Perotto

et al. 2021

Front. Cardiovasc. Med.

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In light of new evidence on the prevention of chronic diseases and the elevated rates of overweight and obesity in Brazil and Canada, this critical review aims to interpret and synthesize current aspects regarding dietary and physical activity initiatives in both countries and make future recommendations. The pioneering work presented in the last Brazilian dietary guidelines has been called a model that can be applied globally, given its conceptualization of healthy eating that translates easily to practical guidance. The new Canadian Food Guide has incorporated similar aspects, also putting the country as a leader in dietary guidance. With these new recommendations, citizens in both Brazil and Canada have access to impactful evidence-informed nutritional guidelines. Both documents propose eating patterns that focus not only on health benefits, such as chronic disease prevention, but also incorporate well-being concerning cultural, economic, sociodemographic, biological, and ecological dimensions. A similar approach is required for physical activity to allow individuals to have attainable health and life goals and thereby fully enjoy their lives, regardless of geographical location, health status, and socioeconomic condition, a concept recently described as physical activity security. The wholistic dietary guidelines from both countries represent a change in paradigm in public health. Likewise, national evidence-based policies are warranted to reduce disparities in physical activity, allowing healthier and more active lifestyles for everyone.

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If we build it, who will come? The case for attention to equity in healthy community design

Cited by 4 publications

References 6 publications

Have Paved Trails and Protected Bike Lanes Led to More Bicycling in Atlanta?: A Generalized Synthetic-Control Analysis

Have Paved Trails and Protected Bike Lanes Led to More Bicycling in Atlanta?: A Generalized Synthetic-Control Analysis

Shaping Pathways to Child Health: A Systematic Review of Street-Scale Interventions in City Streets

A Critical Review on New Approaches for Chronic Disease Prevention in Brazil and Canada: From Wholistic Dietary Guidelines to Physical Activity Security

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