The Built Environment & Walking

1. The Built Environment& Walking Orion Stewart, AICP Research Scientist Urban Form Lab University of Washington

2. Topics Conceptual frameworks of the BE as it relates to walking • Socio-ecological model • The 7 D’s • Behavioral model of the environment • Built environment change framework • Hierarchy of walking needs Overview of elements that support walking 2

3. Socio-ecological model Broader economic, policy, and institutional environments Built environment Social environment Household environment Walk Individual 3

4. Socio-ecological model Walking characteristics • Context and purpose • Overall walking • Walking for transportation • Walking for recreation/leisure • Walking in the neighborhood, at the workplace, etc. • Frequency, duration, and intensity • Time (minutes per week) • Trips (trips per week) • MET-minutes (intensity and duration) • Thresholds (low/medium/high, walker/non-walker) 4

5. Socio-ecological model Individual- and household-level elements related to walking • Income (high and low) • Education (high and low) • Age (older) • Sex (?) • Race/Ethnicity (?) • Household size (?) • Number of cars (fewer cars) • Dog ownership (dog present) • Cognitive constructs: attitude, perceived behavioral control, perceived benefits, self-efficacy 5

6. Socio-ecological model Social environment-level elements related to walking • Social support construct: • How often do family, friends, and/or work colleagues walk with you? • How often do family, friends, and/or work colleagues encourage you to walk? • Subjective norm construct: • If I were to walk regularly, most of the people who are important to me would approve (agree/disagree) • Most of the people who are important to me would recommend that I walk regularly (agree/disagree) 6

7. Socio-ecological model Broader economic, policy, and institutional environment-level elements related to walking • Cost of car ownership • Driver education • Traffic regulations and enforcement • Focus on mobility vs. accessibility 7

8. Socio-ecological model Built Environment elements related to walking • Density – jobs and residences per areal unit • Diversity – land use mix, jobs/housing balance • Design – block size, intersection density • Destination accessibility – distance to job, store • Distance to transit – distance to transit stop • Demand management – parking supply, cost • Demographics – see individual/HH level of SEM 8

9. Behavioral model of the environment Source: Moudon and Lee 2003 Three components of the environment • Origin/destination • Route • Area Four interactive relationships • Spatiophysical • Spatiobehavioral • Spatiopsychosocial • Policy 9

10. Behavioral model of the environment Origin/destination characteristics 10

11. Behavioral model of the environment Route characteristics 11

12. Behavioral model of the environment Area characteristics 12

13. Affordance The link from objective (physical to behavioral) to subjective (psyschosocial) characteristics • Properties of an environment only exist in relation to a person • Physical attributes and other people’s behavior within an environment drive an individual’s perception of that environment and subsequent behavior • Affordance captures the “agent-environment mutuality” 13

14. Built environment change framework Source: Moudon and Burke, in review 14

15. Built environment change framework BME: policy physical behavioral/psychosocial SEM: individual, HH, social environment 15

16. Hierarchy of walking needs Conceptual framework for a study of microscale environmental characteristics that influence walking behavior on main streets Source: Mehta, 2008 16

17. Hierarchy of walking needs Conceptual framework for a study of microscale environmental characteristics that influence walking behavior on main streets BME: physical and behavioral BME: psychosocial SEM: individual, HH, social environment Source: Mehta, 2008 17

18. Hierarchy of walking needs Source: Mehta, 2008 18

19. Hierarchy of walking needs Hierarchy of walking needs 19

20. Summary • Different types of walking: context and amount • BE is one level of the socio-ecological model • Three BE components: origin/destination, route, area • Four interactive relationships with BE components: policy, spatiophysical, spatiobehavioral, and spatiopsychosocial • Affordance as the conceptual link between objective and subjective BE 20

21. Operationalizing the BE framework TheSmall Town Walkability study • Nine small towns in Washington, Texas, and the Northeast; ~200 participants per town • Telephone survey on neighborhood walking in the past month, as well as neighborhood, social, household, and individual characteristics. Neighborhood defined as a 20-minute walk from home. • Objective GIS data on parcel, street network, and natural environment characteristics measured within one-km network buffer of home • Multivariate model of the odds of walking for utilitarian purposes 150+ minutes per week vs. walking 0-149 minutes per week (about 20% of respondents walked more than 150 minutes per week) 21

22. Operationalizing the BE framework Preliminary results 22

23. More results of BE-walk research • Results of meta-analysis of home neighborhood built environment characteristics and walking • Elasticities represent % change in probability of walking per 1% change in BE variable Source: Ewing and Cervero, 2010 23

24. More results of BE-walk research • Results of review of 13 reviews on BE correlates of walking • Results of review of 29 original studies on BE and walking Source: Saelens and Handy, 2008 24

25. References and further readings Slide 4 – walking characteristics Freedson, P. S., K. Brendley, et al. (2008). "New techniques and issues in assessing walking behavior and its contexts." Med Sci Sports Exerc40(7 Suppl): S574-83. Slide 5 – individual and HH elements related to walking (also a good review of BE correlates) Pratt, R. H., J. E. Evans, et al. (2012). Chapter 16, Pedestrian and Bicycle Facilities. Report 95: Response to Transportation System Changes Handbook. Transit Cooperative Research Program. Slide 5 and 6 – cognitive and social constructs Panter, J. R. and A. Jones (2010). "Attitudes and the environment as determinants of active travel in adults: what do and don't we know?" J Phys Act Health7(4): 551-61. Slide 7 – broader policy elements related to walking Pucher, J. and L. Dijkstra (2003) “Promoting safe walking and cycling to improve public health: Lessons from The Netherlands and Germany” American Journal of Public Health 93(9): 1509-1516. Slide 8 and 23 – Seven D BE elements related to walking Ewing, R. and R. Cervero (2010). "Travel and the Built Environment." Journal of the American Planning Association76(3): 265-294. Slide 9 – Behavioral model of the environment MoudonA.V. and C. Lee (2003) “Walking and biking: An evaluation of environmental audit instruments.” American Journal of Health Promotion18: 21-37. Slide 13 – Affordance Gibson, J. J. (1982) "A Preliminary Description and Classification of Affordances," in Reasons for Realism, E. S. Reed and R. Jones, Eds., ed Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum & Associates, pp. 403-406. Slide 14 – Built environment change framework MoudonA.V. and E.M. Berke(in review) “Built environment change: A framework to support health-enhancing behavior through environmental policy and health research.” Slide 16 – Hierarchy of walking needs Mehta, V. (2008). "Walkable streets: pedestrian behavior, perceptions and attitudes." Journal of Urbanism1(3): 217-245. Slide 24 – review of correlates of walking Saelens, B. E. and S. L. Handy (2008). "Built Environment Correlates of Walking: A Review." Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise40(7,Supplement 1): S550-S566. 25