Citation

Lu Y, Sarkar C, Ye Y, Xiao Y. J. Transp. Health 2017; 5: 123-132.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2017, Elsevier Publishing)

DOI

10.1016/j.jth.2016.12.006

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

The US and most developed economies are experiencing an epidemic of chronic diseases related to physical inactivity and obesity. More than 50% of Americans fail to achieve the Surgeon General's recommendation of 30-minute moderate activity on most days, resulting in some 200,000 unnecessary deaths due to stroke, cancer, obesity and diabetes annually. Now compelling evidences suggest physical activity can benefit adults in numerous ways: preventing and treating chronic illnesses and improving physiological and psychological. Furthermore, walking constitutes the most popular habitual physical activity because it can be done at any time, alone or in the company of others, requires no special equipment or clothing, and can easily be incorporated into one's daily routine. Built environment has increasingly been recognized as crucial correlates of walking. The key features influencing the walkability of a neighbourhood environment are the distance to various activity-promoting destinations; connectivity to sidewalks and off-site destinations; availability of trails, sidewalks, or paths for walking; availability and types of food sources; urban greenness; and availability of and proximity to transportation alternatives However, most empirical studies focus on residential neighborhoods with very few exceptions investigating campus environments, such as corporate campus or university campus. In this study, an online mapping questionnaire was developed to collect walking route and intention. Physical environmental characteristics associate with walking on a corporate campus. Street networks supporting campus-to-surrounding continuity impact walking.

Language: en

Keywords

College students; Travel behavior; Walking; Walkability; Travel patterns; Campuses; Physical fitness; Facilities; Travel diaries; Digital mapping