Built Environment and Physical Activity in Suburban Guangzhou Residences: A People–Environment Transaction Perspective
Publication: Journal of Urban Planning and Development
Volume 145, Issue 4
Abstract
The connection between the built environment and the physical activity of people is increasingly emphasized in China, given its unique suburbanization and dramatic changes in lifestyle. This paper aims to provide more evidence on equivocal findings on specific built environments and physical activities by examining the roles of the built environment on people’s physical activity within suburban residences in Guangzhou (China). Multinomial logistic and ordinal regression analyses were used to identify the factors associated with physical activity that indicated the unique features of urban-type suburban residences: residential density, street connectivity, pedestrian infrastructure, design features, safety, destination accessibility, and pedestrian infrastructure. The confounding effects of individual sociodemographic characteristics are ascertained in interpretive, evaluative, and responsive transactions between the built environment and physical activity, highlighting the determinative nature of perceived environmental opportunities and barriers to physical activity. With the absence of operative transactions, key stakeholders of commodity housing developments should be motivated, and residents need to be educated and empowered to help realize a better, physically active living environment.
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Acknowledgments
This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 71501074), the State Key Lab of Subtropical Building Science, South China University of Technology, China (Grant No. 2016ZB16), and the “Start-up Funding for Youth Talent Researchers,” South China Normal University, China (Grant No. 8S0207). This work is developed based on the doctoral work entitled, “Suburban Living and Health Performance: A Case Study of Panyu in Guangzhou,” of which data are used in this study. Many thanks to Professor Rebecca L. H. Chiu for her inspired guidance and mentorship during the doctoral period, which formed the solid foundation of this work.
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Journal of Urban Planning and Development
Volume 145 • Issue 4 • December 2019
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©2019 American Society of Civil Engineers.
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Received: Aug 5, 2018
Accepted: Feb 20, 2019
Published online: Aug 23, 2019
Published in print: Dec 1, 2019
Discussion open until: Jan 23, 2020
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