Elsevier

Social Science & Medicine

Volume 133, May 2015, Pages 313-321
Social Science & Medicine

What shape is your neighbourhood? Investigating the micro geographies of physical activity

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.socscimed.2014.11.041Get rights and content

Highlights

  • We compared talk on physical activity across different places and different people.

  • Neighbourhood and person factors interacted to influence engagement in places.

  • Residents sought out local and non-local places to support healthy lifestyles.

  • For some residents, neighbourhoods varied in the ease of activity opportunities.

  • Activity space and collective lifestyle can inform neighbourhood ‘shape’.

Abstract

Being physically active has demonstrated health benefits, and more walkable neighbourhoods can potentially increase physical activity. Yet not all neighbourhoods provide opportunities for active lifestyles. This paper examines the social context of being active in local and non-local places. We use a social practice theoretical framework to examine how residents talk about and make sense of physical activity and places, contrasting individual and neighbourhood factors. In 2010, fourteen focus groups were held in four neighbourhoods varying by walkability and area-level deprivation (two Auckland and two Wellington, New Zealand), and with participants grouped by gender, ethnicity, and employment. Focus groups elicited discussion on where local residents go for physical activity, and the opportunities and barriers to physical activity in their local area and beyond. Thematic analyses compared across all groups for contrasts and similarities in the issues discussed.

Neighbourhood walkability factors appeared to shape where residents engage with public places, with residents seeking out good places. Individual factors (e.g. employment status) also influenced how residents engage with their local neighbourhoods. All groups referred to being active in places both close by and further afield, but residents in less walkable neighbourhoods with fewer local destinations drew attention to the need to go elsewhere, notably for exercise, being social, and to be in pleasant, restorative environments. Being physically active in public settings was valued for social connection and mental restoration, over and above specifically ‘health’ reasons. Residents talk about being active in local and non-local places revealed agency in how they managed the limitations and opportunities within their immediate residential setting. That is, factors of place and people contributed to the ‘shape’ of everyday residential environments, at least with regard to physical activity.

Section snippets

Background

Being physically active has demonstrated physical and mental health benefits. Residing in neighbourhoods that are more walkable and with better access to greenspace and local transport infrastructure has been associated with increased overall physical activity (Ball et al., 2007, Giles-Corti et al., 2009, Sallis et al., 2009, Witten et al., 2012). However, deeper understanding of the social determinants of health behaviours such as walking and cycling for transport, exercise, and physically

Methods

The four case study neighbourhoods were selected to provide contrast in levels of amenities, qualities and resources that support a range of physical activity, as measured by indices of walkability (a summary measure of street connectivity, landuse mix, dwelling density, retail floor area ration) (Badland et al., 2009), and density of local destinations (including eight domains covering education, transport, recreation, social and cultural, food retail, financial, health, and other retail) (

Results

Firstly we compare talk across the focus groups about where people in their suburb went for physical activity, under four headings: open spaces, significant qualities, streets, and everyday needs. Secondly, we explore what people from different areas conveyed in their talk about what is ‘near’ and what is ‘far’, so as to qualitatively understand ‘scale’ in neighbourhoods. Thirdly, we report differences and similarities in the data from across gender and labour force status groups (ethnicity

Discussion

We have shown that residents actively constructed or shaped ‘neighbourhoods’ in ways that took account of the local constraints and opportunities to live a physically active and healthy lifestyle. The study was conducted across four residential settings that varied in the opportunity structures they provided to residents, such as walkable built environments and quality, accessible public places. Residents' social practices around physical activity (where they went and how they engaged with

Acknowledgements

The authors gratefully acknowledge the participants who contributed to the study, and research assistants who assisted with data collection and preparation. Financial support for this study was provided through The Health Research Council of New Zealand who funded the URBAN Study (HRC 07/356) and the Neighbourhood and Health Study (part of the Health Inequalities Research Programme – HRC 08/48). JP is supported by the European Research Council (grant number ERC-2010-StG Grant 263501).

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