Pedestrians

Teaching Pedestrian Safety in Virtual Reality: A Community-University Collaboration

Johnston, A
Sisiopiku, V
Daniel Rodriguez
Combs, T
Emeira, M
Severson, J
Schwebel, DC
2015

In 2012 the US pedestrian fatality rate increased 6%, with 4,743 deaths occurring that year, equivalent to almost 13 fatalities per day and more than one every two hours. Children aged 5-9 years accounted for 22% of pedestrian fatalities (NHTSA, 2012). Studies suggest young children often negotiate dangerous street environments when travelling unsupervised by adults to and from school (Martin, Lee, & Lowry, 2007) so not surprisingly, community-based initiatives like Walking School Bus and Safe Routes to School are flourishing. A major limitation of such programs, however, is they...

A42 Transportation, Air Pollution and Physical ActivitieS (TAPAS): A Comprehensive Research Programme on Active Travel

Nazelle, A De
Rojas-Rueda, D
Jerrett, M
Daniel Rodriguez
Cole-Hunter, T
Donaire, D
Andersen, Z
Nieuwenhuijsen, MJ
2015
Encouraging walking and cycling as means of transportation may have diverse benefits, such as reduced pollutant emissions and increased physical activity in the population. At the same time, individuals who shift to active travel modes may also experience increased risks of traffic...

Predicting Urban Design Effects on Physical Activity and Public Health: A Case Study

Gibson, JMD
Daniel Rodriguez
Dennerlein, T
Mead, J
Hasch, T
Meacci, G
Levin, S
2015

With increasing global concerns about obesity and related health effects, tools to predict how urban form affects population physical activity and health are needed. However, such tools have not been well established. This article develops a computer simulation model for forecasting the health effects of urban features that promote walking. The article demonstrates the model using a proposed small-area plan for a neighborhood of 10,400 residents in Raleigh, North Carolina, one of the fastest-growing and most sprawling U.S. cities. The simulation model predicts that the plan would...

The Active Living Research 2015 Conference: The Science of Policy Implementation

Daniel Rodriguez
Lounsbery, MAF
Sallis, J
2016

The 2015 Active Living Research (ALR) Conference highlighted the theme of policy implementation because many policies are recommended to enhance active living, and policy adoption is becoming more common, but policies cannot be effective until they are implemented. A better understanding of active living policy implementation will assist researchers and practitioners in improving their policy recommendations and implementation practice.

Walkability and Cardiometabolic Risk Factors: Cross-Sectional and Longitudinal Associations from the Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis

Braun, L
Daniel Rodriguez
Evenson, K
Hirsch, J
Moore, K
Roux, AV Diez
2016
We used data from 3227 older adults in the Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis (2004–2012) to explore cross-sectional and longitudinal associations between walkability and cardiometabolic risk factors. In cross-sectional analyses, linear regression was used to estimate associations of Street Smart Walk Score® with glucose, triglycerides, HDL and LDL cholesterol, systolic and diastolic blood pressure, and waist circumference, while logistic regression was used to estimate associations with odds of metabolic syndrome. Econometric fixed effects models were used to estimate longitudinal...

The Built Environment and Walking Behavior: Addressing Residential Sorting through Matching in the Cardia Study

Braun, L
Daniel Rodriguez
Song, Y
Meyer, K
Lewis, C
Gordon-Larsen, P
2016
Recent research has shown neighborhood walkability to be positively associated with walking behavior. However, accounting for selective migration and socio-spatial segregation is an ongoing challenge. These forms of residential sorting may result in individuals who are not comparable across levels of neighborhood walkability and may therefore lead to biased inferences about the built environment. We explored the implications of residential sorting using coarsened exact matching (CEM), a method that compares individuals who have similar characteristics but are exposed to different “treatments...

Air Pollution, Social Disadvantage, and Walking in Six United States Cities: the Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis

Chen, YH
Adar, S
Marshall, J
Hirsch, J
Daniel Rodriguez
Evenson, K
Sampson, P
Magzamen, S
Kaufman, J
Roux, A
2016
Physical activity may be influenced by walking opportunities, which can differ substantially across neighborhoods. Air pollution similarly varies by location. It remains unclear whether more walking occurs in highly polluted neighborhoods and whether socially disadvantaged populations are less likely to experience walkable neighborhoods with clean air. We studied the spatial distributions and associations of neighborhood level air pollution, walkability, and social factors with self-reported walking. Overall walking was reported between 2010-2012 by 3,661 Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis...

Changes in Walking, Body Mass Index, and Cardiometabolic Risk Factors Following Residential Relocation: Longitudinal Results From the CARDIA Study

Braun, L
Daniel Rodriguez
Song, Y
Meyer, KA
Lewis, CE
Reis, JP
Gordon-Larsen, P
2016
While many studies have found the built environment to be associated with walking, most have used cross-sectional research designs and few have examined more distal cardiometabolic outcomes. This study contributes longitudinal evidence based on changes in walking, body mass index (BMI), and cardiometabolic risk following residential relocation. We examined 1079 participants in the...

Examining the Role of Trip Destination and Neighborhood Attributes in Shaping Environmental Influences on Children’s Route Choice

Moran, M
Daniel Rodriguez
Corburn, J
2018

Routes are a common way through which child pedestrians experience the built environment. However, empirical evidence on route-scale environmental influences on children's walking are scarce and mainly concern home-school itineraries. To address this gap, this study aims to identify environmental influences on children’s route choice, and to explore how these may vary by trip destination and neighborhood type. One hundred and seven children (10–12 year old) living in inner-city and clustered suburban neighborhoods in Rishon LeZion, Israel participated in the study. Participants were...

Neighborhood Characteristics and Transport Walking: Exploring Multiple Pathways of Influence Using a Structural Equation Modeling Approach

Li, J
Auchincloss, AH
Yang, Y
Daniel Rodriguez
Sánchez, BN
2020

In studies of neighborhood effects on transport walking, residential preferences along with other personal characteristics (walking attitude, factors that affect decision to walk for transport) are important factors to consider. However, few studies have examined relationships between neighborhood characteristics and transport walking accounting for a complex suite of personal factors. This study employed a structural equation modeling approach to examine associations between neighborhood characteristics and transport walking behaviors by accounting for residential preferences, self-...