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Mismatch between Perceived and Objectively Measured Land Use Mix and Street Connectivity: Associations with Neighborhood Walking

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Abstract

Studies on the mismatch between objective and perceived measures of walkability and walking provide insights into targeting interventions. These studies focused on those living in more walkable environments, but perceiving them as less walkable. However, it is equally important to understand how the other mismatch (living in less walkable areas, but perceiving them as walkable) is related to walking. This study examined how the mismatch between perceived and objective walkability measures (i.e., living in less walkable areas, but perceiving them as walkable, and living in more walkable areas, but perceiving them as less walkable) was associated with walking. Baseline data from adult participants (n = 1466) of the RESIDential Environment Project (Perth, Australia in 2004-06) collected self-report neighborhood walking for recreation and transport in a usual week and participants’ perceptions of street connectivity and land use mix in their neighborhood. The exposure was the mismatch between objective and perceived measures of these. Multilevel logistic regression examined associations of walking with the mismatch between perceived and objective walkability measures. Perceiving high walkable attributes as low walkable was associated with lower levels of walking, while perceiving a low walkable attribute as walkable was associated with higher levels of walking. Walking interventions must create more pedestrian-friendly environments as well as target residents’ perceptions.

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Acknowledgements

The RESIDE study was funded by the Western Australian Health Promotion Foundation (Healthway; grant 11828), the Australian Research Council (grant LP0455453), and the Australian National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) Capacity Building (grant 458688). The Department of Planning and the Department of Transport (formerly Department for Planning and Infrastructure), the Western Australian Planning Commission, the Western Australian Land Information Authority (2003), Sensis Pty Ltd, National Heart Foundation and Petcare Information and Advisory Service provided funding to support PhD scholarships and in-kind support for the project. Jacinta Francis, Claire Lauritsen, and Roseanne Barnes coordinated data collection, and Kimberly Van Niel, Bryan Boruff, Bridget Beesley, and Sharyn Hickey assisted with the conceptualization and development of the Geographic Information System measures. MJK is supported by a National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) Program Grant (#569940) and a Victorian Government’s Operational Infrastructure Support Program, BGC is supported by an NHMRC Principal Research Fellow Award (#1004900), HB is supported by the NHMRC Centre of Research Excellence in Healthy Liveability Communities (#1061404), and SM by The Australian Prevention Partnership Centre (#9100001) and VicHealth through Community Indicators Victoria. HC is supported by a NHMRC/National Heart Foundation Early Career Fellowship (#1036350).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Behavioural Epidemiology Laboratory, Baker IDI Heart and Diabetes Institute, Melbourne, Australia

    Mohammad Javad Koohsari & Takemi Sugiyama

  2. McCaughey VicHealth Centre for Community Wellbeing, Melbourne School of Population and Global Health, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Australia

    Mohammad Javad Koohsari, Hannah Badland, Takemi Sugiyama, Suzanne Mavoa & Billie Giles-Corti

  3. Spatial Epidemiology and Evaluation Research Group, Sansom Institute for Health Research & School of Population Health, University of South Australia, Adelaide, Australia

    Takemi Sugiyama

  4. Centre for the Built Environment and Health, School of Population Health, The University of Western Australia, Crawley, Western Australia, Australia

    Hayley Christian

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  1. Mohammad Javad Koohsari
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  2. Hannah Badland
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  3. Takemi Sugiyama
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  6. Billie Giles-Corti
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Correspondence to Mohammad Javad Koohsari.

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Koohsari, M.J., Badland, H., Sugiyama, T. et al. Mismatch between Perceived and Objectively Measured Land Use Mix and Street Connectivity: Associations with Neighborhood Walking. J Urban Health 92, 242–252 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11524-014-9928-x

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11524-014-9928-x

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