Neighborhood sociodemographics and change in built infrastructure

Abstract

While increasing evidence suggests an association between physical infrastructure in neighbourhoods and health outcomes, relatively little research examines how neighbourhoods change physically over time and how these physical improvements are spatially distributed across populations. This paper describes the change over 25 years (1985–2010) in bicycle lanes, off-road trails, bus transit service, and parks, and spatial clusters of changes in these domains relative to neighbourhood sociodemographics in four U.S. cities that are diverse in terms of geography, size and population. Across all four cities, we identified increases in bicycle lanes, off-road trails, and bus transit service, with spatial clustering in these changes that related to neighbourhood sociodemographics. Overall, we found evidence of positive changes in physical infrastructure commonly identified as supportive of physical activity. However, the patterning of infrastructure change by sociodemographic change encourages attention to the equity in infrastructure improvements across neighbourhoods.

The development of a participatory assessment technique for infrastructure: Neighborhood-level monitoring towards sustainable infrastructure systems

“…Hundreds of environmental justice studies have documented unequal exposures by race, ethnicity, and economic class regarding waste and petrochemical facility siting (Hernandez, Collins, & Grineski, 2015) as well as the distribution of urban trees (Landry & Chakraborty, 2009), liquor stores and bars (Romley, Cohen, Ringel, & Sturm, 2007), urban green space and parks (Boone, Buckley, Grove, & Sister, 2009; Wolch, Byrne, & Newell, 2014), and bicycle lanes, off-road trails, and transit services (Hirsch, Green, Peterson, Rodriguez, & Gordon-Larsen, 2017), among others. Additionally, there is a growing body of work that shows how climate change, disasters, and critical infrastructure create unequal impacts on communities of color, indigenous peoples, the poor, and in low-income countries (Mohai, Pellow, & Roberts, 2009).…”

Race and Insurance Status as Predictors of Bicycle Trauma Outcome in Adults

“…7-10 However, the rate of helmet use is known to be lower among children who are either of color or lower income. [11][12][13][14][15][16][17] Although helmet laws increase helmet usage, there are currently only 22 states with active helmet laws; moreover, these laws overwhelmingly focus on children and none of them pertain to statewide helmet use for all ages. 18,19 Although much of the current literature on bicycle trauma describes race and SES with respect to children, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has found the highest fatality rate among bicyclists to be in the 55-59 age group and the highest injury rate to be in the 20-24 age group.…”

Physical Activity in Older Mexican Americans Living in Two Cities on the U.S.-Mexico Border

“…Despite both being on the U.S.-Mexico border, El Paso is a much larger county than Cameron County and, as such, may have more amenities for physical activity, such as better access to parks, trails, and bike paths, which may in turn be responsible for the higher levels of physical activity. In the few studies that have compared metropolitan areas, size and socioeconomic context have been identified as important factors in physical activity amenities [ 40 , 41 ]. Although the exact mechanisms are not well known, individual and community resources may limit or enable real or perceived options for activity.…”