Neighborhood Built Environment and Income: Examining Multiple Health Outcomes

By James F. Sallis, Brian Saelens, L. Frank, T. Conway, D. Slymen, K. Cain, James E. Chapman, Jacqueline Kerr. Social Science & Medicine (1967), 2009

684 citations recorded by the source corpus.

There is growing interest in the relation of built environments to physical activity, obesity, and other health outcomes. The purpose of the present study was to test associations of neighborhood built environment and median income to multiple health outcomes and examine whether associations are similar for low- and high-income groups. This was a cross-sectional study of 32 neighborhoods in Seattle, WA and Baltimore, MD regions, stratified by income and walkability, and conducted between 2001–2005. Participants were adults aged 20–65 years (n=2199; 26% ethnic minority). The main outcomes were daily minutes of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) from accelerometer monitoring, body mass index (BMI) based on self-report, and mental and physical quality of life (QoL) assessed with the SF-12. We found that MVPA was higher in high- versus low-walkability neighborhoods but did not differ by neighborhood income. Overweight/obesity (BMI≥25) was lower in high-walkability neighborhoods. Physical QoL was higher in high-income neighborhoods but unrelated to walkability. Adjustment for neighborhood self-selection produced minor changes. We concluded that living in walkable neighborhoods was associated with more physical activity and lower overweight/obesity but not with other benefits. Lower- and higher-income groups benefited similarly from living in high-walkability neighborhoods. Adults in higher-income neighborhoods had lower BMI and higher physical QoL.

Subfields: Health, Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health, Transportation

View Paper: https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/3f4ebdca1e47d77f8da1ac4f92cdb3fe42467caa

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Citations in the corpus

The Relation of Perceived and Objective Environment Attributes to Neighborhood Satisfaction (2017, background): “…use mix–access, attractive aesthetics (Saelens & Handy, 2008), more land use diversity, and four-way intersections were found to be related to more walking (Boer, Zheng, Overton, Ridgeway, & Cohen, 2007), and higher walkability has been linked to lower BMI (Brown et al., 2009; Sallis et al., 2009).”
In search of causality: a systematic review of the relationship between the built environment and physical activity among adults (2011, methodology): “Specifically, Sallis et al. [55] found that minutes of leisure walking in high walkable neighborhoods attenuated after adjusting for reasons for moving to the neighborhood.”
Obesity stigma: important considerations for public health. (2010, background): “as urban design, land use, public transportation availability,(52,53)density and location of food stores and restaurants,(54) and neighborhood barriers such as safety and walkability.(53,55,56) Significant changes have taken place in the food environment with increased accessibility”
Mind the theoretical gap: interpreting, using, and developing behavioral theory in HCI research (2013, background): “This led to new research and partnerships, such as increased interaction between behavioral scientists and urban planners ( e.g., [39,64]).”
The development of a walkability index: application to the Neighborhood Quality of Life Study (2009, methodology): “Unlike prior studies, the NQLS is based on an ecological model that emphasises multiple levels of influence on behaviours, including the physical environment,”