John D. Omura, Emily N. Ussery, Susan A. Carlson, Dana Olzenak McGuire, Prabasaj Paul, Erin L. Peterson, and Janet E. Fulton are with the Division of Nutrition, Physical Activity, and Obesity, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, GA. Kathleen Arnold-Lewis, John Orr, and Esther M. Ellis are with the US Virgin Islands Department of Health, Christiansted, US Virgin Islands. Lillianne Lewis is with the Division of Environmental Hazards and Health Effects, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Published: August 2018
AI Article Synopsis
Article Abstract
Objectives: To determine the prevalence of community and street-scale design features that promote walking across the US Virgin Islands (USVI).
Methods: In May 2016, the USVI Department of Health, with technical assistance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, conducted a territory-wide audit with a validated tool. We selected street segments (n = 1114) via a 2-stage sampling method, and estimates were weighted to be representative of publicly accessible street length.
Results: Overall, 10.7% of the street length contained a transit stop, 11.3% had sidewalks, 21.7% had at least 1 destination (e.g., stores, restaurants), 27.4% had a traffic calming feature (e.g., speed humps), and 53.2% had at least some street lighting. Several features were less prevalent on residential streets compared with commercial streets, including transit stops, sidewalks, destinations, and street lighting (P < .01).
Conclusions: Across the USVI, community and street-scale features supportive of walking were uncommon. Improving community and street-scale design in the USVI, particularly in residential areas, could increase physical activity by enhancing walkability and therefore improve public health. These data can be used to inform community planning in the USVI.
Background & Aims: While physical inactivity can contribute to chronic diseases, regular activity like walking can help prevent them. In 2010, one in three adults in the U.S.
As an important part of urban ecosystems, plants can reduce NO concentrations in the air. However, there is little evidence of the effects of different plant communities on NO concentrations in street-scale green spaces. We used a multifunctional lifting environmental detector to investigate the impact of environmental factors and small plant communities on NO concentrations in street green spaces during the summer and winter in Nanjing, China.
Street-level built environment factors, for example, walking infrastructure, building density, availability of public transport, and proliferation of fast-food outlets can impact on health by influencing our ability to engage in healthy behaviour. Unhealthy environments are often clustered in deprived areas, thus interventions to improve the built environments may improve health and reduce inequalities. The aim of this review was to identify whether street-level built environment interventions can improve children's health in high income countries.
(1) Background: school travel is an important part of a child's daily activities. A comfortable walking environment can encourage children to walk to school. The existing methods of evaluating walking environments are not specific to children's walks to school.
John D. Omura, Emily N. Ussery, Susan A. Carlson, Dana Olzenak McGuire, Prabasaj Paul, Erin L. Peterson, and Janet E. Fulton are with the Division of Nutrition, Physical Activity, and Obesity, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, GA. Kathleen Arnold-Lewis, John Orr, and Esther M. Ellis are with the US Virgin Islands Department of Health, Christiansted, US Virgin Islands. Lillianne Lewis is with the Division of Environmental Hazards and Health Effects, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Objectives: To determine the prevalence of community and street-scale design features that promote walking across the US Virgin Islands (USVI).
Methods: In May 2016, the USVI Department of Health, with technical assistance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, conducted a territory-wide audit with a validated tool. We selected street segments (n = 1114) via a 2-stage sampling method, and estimates were weighted to be representative of publicly accessible street length.
