Influences of Built Environment on Walking and Cycling by Latent Segments of Aging Population

Walking and bicycling are relatively easy ways for the growing group of older adults to be physically active. The built environment may facilitate or restrict participation in walking and bicycling trips. A study was done to describe aspects of participation in walking and bicycling activities and to explore their role for various segments of the aging population. Specifically, the effect of environmental characteristics, various types of land use, and degree of urbanization on participation in walking and bicycling, for both leisure and transportation, was examined. Detailed individual travel data were correlated with objectively defined environmental attributes. The results show that people make more walking trips in more highly urbanized areas, whereas they use their bikes more often in less-urbanized areas. A significant effect was found for the impact of total surface of recreation areas on both types of physical activity. Specifically, highly urbanized neighborhoods with a low percentage of recreation and green areas are related to physical inactivity. The study suggests that compact, high-density neighborhoods may not be a good urban design concept if health is considered.