Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®
Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons™
Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®
Articles 1 - 2 of 2
Full-Text Articles in Social and Behavioral Sciences
Urban Walkability Measures: Data Quality, Cautions, And Associations With Active And Public Transportation Across Canada, Thomas C. Thayer
Urban Walkability Measures: Data Quality, Cautions, And Associations With Active And Public Transportation Across Canada, Thomas C. Thayer
Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository
Geographical Information Systems (GIS) has emerged as a primary tool to study the built environment (BE) and its correlates. Accurate results employing GIS-based methods, however, depend on high-quality data sets and agreement on the appropriate nature and scale of areal units. Exploratory groundtruthing exercises illuminated possible issues of data accuracy. GIS-derived walkability measures for intersection density and land use mix were calculated for 2011 using Census of Canada data to determine whether commercially- or municipally-sourced urban data sets were better suited for BE studies. Road network data were ‘cleaned’ to remove unwalkable sections of road and to repair instances of …
Children's Physical Activity And The Built Environment: The Impact Of Neighbourhood Opportunities And Contextual Environmental Exposure, Christine A. Mitchell
Children's Physical Activity And The Built Environment: The Impact Of Neighbourhood Opportunities And Contextual Environmental Exposure, Christine A. Mitchell
Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository
Childhood obesity rates have risen dramatically since 1981, in part due to decreased physical activity (PA) levels. Research suggests that PA is influenced in part by an individual’s exposure to and engagement with their built environment. Using a multi-tool protocol, this thesis examines how (a) neighbourhood opportunities facilitate or constrain children’s moderate-to-vigorous PA (MVPA) and (b) contextual environmental exposure facilitates or constrains children’s MVPA. Results suggest that children’s MVPA is influenced by their built environment, but more so by the contextual environments that they are directly exposed to rather than their overall neighbourhood settings. Children are mobile and unlikely to …