TY  - JOUR
PY  - 2008//
TI  - Accessibility and connectivity in physical activity studies: the impact of missing pedestrian data
JO  - Preventive medicine
A1  - Chin, Gary K. W.
A1  - Van Niel, Kimberly P.
A1  - Giles-Corti, Billie
A1  - Knuiman, Matthew
SP  - 41
EP  - 45
VL  - 46
IS  - 1
N2  - OBJECTIVE: One important characteristic in physical activity research into the built environment is network connectivity, usually calculated using street networks. However, a true pedestrian network may have very different connectivity than a street network. This study, conducted in 2004, examines the difference in walkability analyses when street networks versus pedestrian networks are used for four metropolitan suburbs in Perth, Western Australia. METHODS: A street network of Perth was used to represent the current standard of data for walkability analyses. Aerial photography from 2003 was used to create a pedestrian network, which incorporated pedestrian footpaths into the street network. The street and pedestrian networks were compared using three measures of connectivity: Pedsheds, link node ratio and pedestrian route directness. RESULTS: A comparison of the results using street versus pedestrian networks showed very different outcomes for conventional neighbourhood designs. Connectivity measures for conventional neighbourhoods improved up to 120% with the addition of pedestrian networks, although traditional neighbourhoods still had slightly better connectivity values overall. CONCLUSION: The true pedestrian network increases the connectivity of a neighbourhood and may have significant impact on these measures, especially in neighbourhoods with conventional street designs. It is critical that future studies incorporate pedestrian networks into their analyses.<p />  <p>Language: en</p>
LA  - en
SN  - 0091-7435
UR  - http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ypmed.2007.08.004
ID  - ref1
ER  -