TY  - JOUR
PY  - 2011//
TI  - School site and the potential to walk to school: The impact of street connectivity and traffic exposure in school neighborhoods
JO  - Health and place
A1  - Giles-Corti, Billie
A1  - Wood, Gina
A1  - Pikora, Terri
A1  - Learnihan, Vincent
A1  - Bulsara, Max
A1  - Van Niel, Kimberly
A1  - Timperio, Anna
A1  - McCormack, Gavin
A1  - Villanueva, Karen P.
SP  - 545
EP  - 550
VL  - 17
IS  - 2
N2  - The impact of neighborhood walkability (based on street connectivity and traffic exposure) within 2km of public primary schools on children regularly walking to school was examined. The most (n=13) and least walkable (n=12) schools were selected using a school-specific 'walkability' index and a cross sectional study undertaken of Year 5, 6 and 7 children (n=1480) and consenting parents (n=1332). After adjustment, regularly walking to school was higher in children attending schools in high walkable neighborhoods (i.e, high street connectivity and low traffic volume) (Odds ratio (OR) 3.63; 95% Confidence Interval (CI) 2.01-6.56), and less likely in neighborhoods with high connectivity but high traffic volume (OR 0.32; 95% CI 0.22-0.47). Connected street networks provide direct routes to school but when designed for heavy traffic, the potential for children to walk to school is reduced. This highlights the importance of carefully considering school siting and, particularly, street design in school neighborhoods.<p />  <p>Language: en</p>
LA  - en
SN  - 1353-8292
UR  - http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.healthplace.2010.12.011
ID  - ref1
ER  -