Neighborhood built environment and transport and leisure physical activity : findings using objective exposure and outcome measures in New Zealand

Background: Evidence of associations between neighborhood built environments and transport-related physical activity (PA) is accumulating, but few studies have investigated associations with leisure-time PA.

Objective: We investigated associations of five objectively measured characteristics of the neighborhood built environment—destination access, street connectivity, dwelling density, land-use mix and streetscape quality—with residents’ self-reported PA (transport, leisure, and walking) and accelerometer-derived measures of PA.

Methods: Using a multicity stratified cluster sampling design, we conducted a cross-sectional survey of 2,033 adults who lived in 48 New Zealand neighborhoods. Multilevel regression modeling, which was adjusted for individual-level (sociodemographic and neighborhood preference) and neighborhood-level (deprivation) confounders, was used to estimate associations of built environment with PA.

Results: We found that 1-SD increases in destination access, street connectivity, and dwelling density were associated with any versus no self-reported transport, leisure, or walking PA, with increased odds ranging from 21% [street connectivity with leisure PA, 95% confidence interval (CI): 0%, 47%] to 44% (destination accessibility with walking, 95% CI: 17%, 79%). Among participants who self-reported some PA, a 1-SD increase in street connectivity was associated with a 13% increase in leisure PA (95% CI: 0, 28%). SD increases in destination access, street connectivity, and dwelling density were each associated with 7% increases in accelerometer counts.

Conclusions: Associations of neighborhood destination access, street connectivity, and dwelling density with self-reported and objectively measured PA were moderately strong, indicating the potential to increase PA through changes in neighborhood characteristics.

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The URBAN Study and the Neighbourhood and Health Study were funded by the Health Research Council of New Zealand (grants 07/356 and 08/048).