Development of a Neighbourhood Walkability Index for Porto Metropolitan Area. How Strongly Is Walkability Associated with Walking for Transport?

The creation of walkable communities constitutes a cost-effective health promotion strategy, as walking is an accessible and free intervention for increasing physical activity and health. In this cross-sectional ecological study, we developed a walkability index for the Porto Metropolitan Area and w...

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Main Authors: Ana Isabel Ribeiro, Elaine Hoffimann
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2018-12-01
Series:International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/15/12/2767
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spelling doaj-18cd5a01f4584f17abd66729b48dc7092020-11-24T20:44:36ZengMDPI AGInternational Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health1660-46012018-12-011512276710.3390/ijerph15122767ijerph15122767Development of a Neighbourhood Walkability Index for Porto Metropolitan Area. How Strongly Is Walkability Associated with Walking for Transport?Ana Isabel Ribeiro0Elaine Hoffimann1EPIUnit—Instituto de Saúde Pública, Universidade do Porto, 4050-600 Porto, PortugalEPIUnit—Instituto de Saúde Pública, Universidade do Porto, 4050-600 Porto, PortugalThe creation of walkable communities constitutes a cost-effective health promotion strategy, as walking is an accessible and free intervention for increasing physical activity and health. In this cross-sectional ecological study, we developed a walkability index for the Porto Metropolitan Area and we validated it by assessing its association with walking for transportation. Neighborhood walkability was measured using a geographic information system and resulted from the weighted sum of residential density, street connectivity, and a destination-based entropy index. The index was categorized into quintiles of increasing walkability. Among the 1,112,555 individuals living in the study area, 28.1% resided in neighborhoods in the upper quintile of walkability and 15.8% resided in the least walkable neighborhoods. Adjusted regression models revealed that individuals residing in the most walkable neighborhoods are 81% more likely to report walking for transportation, compared with those from the least walkable neighborhoods (odds ratio: 1.81; 95% confidence intervals: 1.76⁻1.87). These results suggest that community design strategies to improve walkability may promote walking behavior.https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/15/12/2767built environmenturban healthurban formwalkingphysical activityhealth promotion
collection DOAJ
language English
format Article
sources DOAJ
author Ana Isabel Ribeiro
Elaine Hoffimann
spellingShingle Ana Isabel Ribeiro
Elaine Hoffimann
Development of a Neighbourhood Walkability Index for Porto Metropolitan Area. How Strongly Is Walkability Associated with Walking for Transport?
International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health
built environment
urban health
urban form
walking
physical activity
health promotion
author_facet Ana Isabel Ribeiro
Elaine Hoffimann
author_sort Ana Isabel Ribeiro
title Development of a Neighbourhood Walkability Index for Porto Metropolitan Area. How Strongly Is Walkability Associated with Walking for Transport?
title_short Development of a Neighbourhood Walkability Index for Porto Metropolitan Area. How Strongly Is Walkability Associated with Walking for Transport?
title_full Development of a Neighbourhood Walkability Index for Porto Metropolitan Area. How Strongly Is Walkability Associated with Walking for Transport?
title_fullStr Development of a Neighbourhood Walkability Index for Porto Metropolitan Area. How Strongly Is Walkability Associated with Walking for Transport?
title_full_unstemmed Development of a Neighbourhood Walkability Index for Porto Metropolitan Area. How Strongly Is Walkability Associated with Walking for Transport?
title_sort development of a neighbourhood walkability index for porto metropolitan area. how strongly is walkability associated with walking for transport?
publisher MDPI AG
series International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health
issn 1660-4601
publishDate 2018-12-01
description The creation of walkable communities constitutes a cost-effective health promotion strategy, as walking is an accessible and free intervention for increasing physical activity and health. In this cross-sectional ecological study, we developed a walkability index for the Porto Metropolitan Area and we validated it by assessing its association with walking for transportation. Neighborhood walkability was measured using a geographic information system and resulted from the weighted sum of residential density, street connectivity, and a destination-based entropy index. The index was categorized into quintiles of increasing walkability. Among the 1,112,555 individuals living in the study area, 28.1% resided in neighborhoods in the upper quintile of walkability and 15.8% resided in the least walkable neighborhoods. Adjusted regression models revealed that individuals residing in the most walkable neighborhoods are 81% more likely to report walking for transportation, compared with those from the least walkable neighborhoods (odds ratio: 1.81; 95% confidence intervals: 1.76⁻1.87). These results suggest that community design strategies to improve walkability may promote walking behavior.
topic built environment
urban health
urban form
walking
physical activity
health promotion
url https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/15/12/2767
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