Exposure to walkable neighbourhoods in urban areas increases utilitarian walking: Longitudinal study of Canadians

- Utilitarian walking levels are modelled in a longitudinal multivariate analysis.
- Exposure to more walkable neighbourhoods increased utilitarian walking.
- Moving to high walkable neighbourhoods increased the odds of walking (>=hour/week).
- Neighbourhood walkability had positive impact on walking even for inactive people.
- Land use policies should be considered as a means to increasing physical activity.

BackgroundPurposeful or utilitarian walking may allow a time-efficient, low cost accumulation of physical activity. While constructing a built environment that supports utilitarian walking is conceptually appealing, longitudinal research investigating the enduring influences of the environment on walking behaviour has been limited.PurposeThis research examines the relationship between utilitarian walking levels and neighbourhood walkability through longitudinal analyses of a population-based cohort.MethodsData are from Canada׳s National Population Health Survey (n=2976; biannual assessments 1994-2006). Socio-demographic and health data were linked to residential neighbourhoods via postal code. Walkability was measured by the Walk Score®. Levels of utilitarian walking were modelled as a function of Walk Score® and socio-demographic and behavioural covariates using mixed effects ordered logistic regression and fixed effects logistic regression.ResultsModerate utilitarian walking increased from 24% to 36% over the study period, with the highest increase (15%) for participants living in the most walkable neighbourhoods. In multivariate analyses, a one unit increase in the probability of spending more time in the 4th vs. 1st Walk Score® quartile neighbourhoods increased moderate utilitarian walking by 4% (95% C.I. 2.9%, 5.1%). The influence of neighbourhood walkability persisted through adjustment for individual co-variates including leisure time physical activity. Moving to a higher walkable neighbourhood increased the odds of moderate and high utilitarian walking by 59% (95% C.I. 3%-140%) compared to other types of residential moves.ConclusionsExposure to more walkable neighbourhoods and moving from less walkable to more walkable neighbourhoods were associated with increases in utilitarian walking, even for individuals who were otherwise inactive in their leisure time. Walkable neighbourhood environments have the potential to increase utilitarian walking and walking-friendly neighbourhood design should be considered amongst policy options for increasing population level physical activity.