UCL Discovery
UCL home » Library Services » Electronic resources » UCL Discovery

Examining the spatially heterogeneous effects of the built environment on walking among older adults

Cheng, L; Shi, K; De Vos, J; Cao, M; Witlox, F; (2021) Examining the spatially heterogeneous effects of the built environment on walking among older adults. Transport Policy , 100 pp. 21-30. 10.1016/j.tranpol.2020.10.004. Green open access

[thumbnail of TP Cheng et al. 2021 accepted version.pdf]
Preview
Text
TP Cheng et al. 2021 accepted version.pdf - Accepted Version

Download (1MB) | Preview

Abstract

Understanding the relationship between the built environment and walking among older adults could offer important insights into land use and transport policies which seek to promote active ageing. However, most previous studies have explored global relationships, i.e. the effects are averaged or assumed to be constant over the region of interest. In this study, we focus on the local spatial variations in the relationship between the built environment and the daily time spent walking by older adults. We apply a geographically weighted regression (GWR) model, using data collected from 702 older adults in Nanjing, China. Our results show that spatial heterogeneity exists for built environment effects within the entire study area. It has an impact on all the relationships, with nuances in the significance level, parameter magnitude or sign reversals, depending on the location. Therefore, policy interventions would only be effective in certain areas for certain built environment attributes. By exploring the local contexts of relationships, we further suggest that the spatial heterogeneity stems from contextual effects, i.e. the specificities of places with a discriminative composition of individual and/or environmental characteristics. Our findings can help to enrich the understanding of associations between land use and travel behaviour, as well as offer local planning guidance for creating age-friendly neighbourhoods.

Type: Article
Title: Examining the spatially heterogeneous effects of the built environment on walking among older adults
Open access status: An open access version is available from UCL Discovery
DOI: 10.1016/j.tranpol.2020.10.004
Publisher version: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tranpol.2020.10.004
Language: English
Additional information: This version is the author accepted manuscript. For information on re-use, please refer to the publisher’s terms and conditions.
Keywords: Built environment, Land use, Walking, Older adults, Active ageing, Spatial heterogeneity
UCL classification: UCL
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL BEAMS
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL BEAMS > Faculty of the Built Environment
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL BEAMS > Faculty of the Built Environment > The Bartlett School of Planning
URI: https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10113990
Downloads since deposit
0Downloads
Download activity - last month
Download activity - last 12 months
Downloads by country - last 12 months

Archive Staff Only

View Item View Item