Public Support for Street-Scale Urban Design Practices and Policies to Increase Physical Activity

Street-scale urban design policies are recommended to increase physical activity in communities; thus, this study examines U.S. public support for such policies.

  • The percentages of people rating neighborhood features as having high importance were higher in people aged 65 years or older versus those less than 65 and minority racial/ethnic groups versus non-Hispanic whites.
  • Two-thirds of adults were willing to take civic action to support local street-scale urban design policy. The odds of being willing to take any action versus none was higher in non-Hispanic blacks and Hispanics versus non-Hispanic whites; was higher in those with household incomes greater than $60,000 versus less than $15,000 per year; and increased as education and perceived importance of neighborhood features increased.

Carlson, Susan A., Guide, Roxanna, Schmid, Thomas L., Moore, Latetia V., Barradas, Danielle T., and Fulton, Janet E. “Public Support for Street-Scale Urban Design Practices and Policies to Increase Physical Activity.” Journal of Physical Activity and Health. 8.Suppl1 (2011): S125-S134.

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