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Title: Neighbourhood for playing: using GPS, GIS, and accelerometry to delineate areas within which youth are physically active

Author
item YIN, LI - State University Of New York (SUNY)
item RAJA, SAMINA - State University Of New York (SUNY)
item LI, XIAO - State University Of New York (SUNY)
item LAI, YUAN - State University Of New York (SUNY)
item EPSTEIN, LEONARD - State University Of New York (SUNY)
item Roemmich, James

Submitted to: Urban Studies
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 1/22/2013
Publication Date: 5/16/2013
Citation: Yin, L., Raja, S., Li, X., Lai, Y., Epstein, L., Roemmich, J.N. 2013. Neighbourhood for playing: using GPS, GIS, and accelerometry to delineate areas within which youth are physically active. Urban Studies. doi:10.1177/0042098013482510.

Interpretive Summary: Research suggests an association between the built environment characteristics of the neighborhood in which adolescents live and their level of physical activity. The geographic boundaries within which youth play are often arbitrarily assumed in existing research, but the geographic boundaries of neighborhoods likely vary across youth. A one-half-mile radius around adolescents’ residences is widely used as the assumed neighborhood. There are; however, limited empirical data to support this assumption. This study uses diaries and accelerometry to supplement GPS data to delineate neighborhoods within which youth play around their residences. The study found that youth, ages 10-15, tend to focus on one section of the often assumed circled neighborhood and engage playing within a quarter-mile radius around their homes.

Technical Abstract: Abstract: Existing research suggests an association between the built environment characteristics of the neighborhood in which adolescents live and their level of physical activity. The geographic boundaries within which youth play are often arbitrarily assumed in existing research, but the geographic boundaries of neighborhoods likely vary across youth. A one-half-mile radius around adolescents’ residences is widely used as the assumed neighborhood. There are, however, limited empirical data to support this assumption. This study uses diaries and accelerometry to supplement GPS data to delineate neighborhoods within which youth play around their residences. The study found that youth, ages 10-15, tend to focus on one section of the often assumed circled neighborhood and engage playing within a quarter-mile radius around their homes