Abstract
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Background
Neighbourhood environments that support active living, such as walking or cycling for transportation, may decrease the burden of chronic conditions related to sedentary behaviour. Many measures exist to summarize features of communities that support active living, but few are pan-Canadian and none use open data sources that can be widely shared. This study reports the development and validation of a novel set of indicators of active living environments using open data that can be linked to national health surveys and can be used by local, regional or national governments for public health surveillance.
Data and methods
A Geographic Information System (GIS) was used to calculate a variety of measures of the connectivity, density and proximity to destinations for 56,589 dissemination areas (DAs) across Canada (2016 data). Pearson correlation coefficients were calculated to assess the association between each measure and the rates of walking to work and taking active transportation to work (a combination of walking, cycling and using public transportation) from census data. The active living environment measures selected for the final database were used to classify the DAs by the favourability of their active living environment into groups by k-medians clustering.
Results
All measures were correlated with walking-to-work and active-transportation-to-work rates at the DA level, whether they were derived using proprietary or open data sources. Coverage of open data was consistent across Canadian regions. Three measures were selected for the Canadian Active Living Environments (Can-ALE) dataset based on the correlation analysis, but also on the principles of suitability for a variety of community sizes and openly available data: (1) three-way intersection density of roads and footpaths derived from OpenStreetMap (OSM), (2) weighted dwelling density derived from Statistics Canada dwelling counts and (3) points of interest derived from OSM. A measure of access to public transportation was added for the subset of DAs in larger urban areas and was strongly related to active-transportation-to-work rates. Active-transportation-to-work rates were graded, in steps, by the five Can-ALE groups derived from the cluster analysis, although walking-to-work rates exceeded the national average only in the most favourable active living environments.
Interpretation
Open data may be used to derive measures that characterize the active living environments of Canadian communities.
Keywords
active living environments, active transportation, walking to work, open data, public health surveillance
DOI: https://www.doi.org/10.25318/82-003-x201900500002-eng
Findings
Modifiable elements of neighbourhood environments (e.g., number of sidewalks, proximity to commercial services, population density) can increase rates of active transportation (walking and cycling for the purpose of transportation, and using public transportation). Public health and urban planning researchers often measure three characteristics of communities that support active travel: higher street connectivity (e.g., intersection density, route directness), higher density (e.g., population density, dwelling density), and greater numbers and diversity of nearby destinations. Canadian research suggests that exposure to these favourable “active living environments” is associated with more optimal markers of health, including more optimal systolic blood pressure, decreased obesity, overweight and diabetes prevalence, and improved body mass trajectories among men. [Full Text]
Authors
Thomas Herrmann (thomas.herrmann@mcgill.ca), William Gleckner, Rania A. Wasfi and Nancy A. Ross are with the Department of Geography at McGill University. Rania A. Wasfi, Benoît Thierry and Yan Kestens are with the Département de médecine sociale et préventive at the Centre de recherche du Centre hospitalier de l’Université de Montréal (CRCHUM) and the École de santé publique at the Université de Montréal (ESPUM).
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What is already known on this subject?
- Active living environments characterized by higher street connectivity, residential density and land use mix or proximity to destinations are associated with higher rates of walking and cycling for transportation.
- Exposure to these environments is associated with increased physical activity levels and more optimal markers of health.
What does this study add?
- This study describes the development of a free-to-use, pan-Canadian database of active living environment measures—the first of its kind in Canada—available for linkage to national datasets or investigator-driven cohorts.
- Measures derived from open data in Canada are similarly associated with walking-to-work and active-transportation-to-work rates as those derived from traditional or proprietary sources, or more strongly associated.
- Active-transportation-to-work rates are graded by active living environment clusters, while walking-to-work rates exceed the national average only in the most favourable active living environments.
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