The Built Environment and Physical Activity: In Search of Causality

Dear Colleagues,

The built environment likely plays an important role in shaping physical activity and sedentary behaviours. Most common among these are urban design elements (encompassing walkability); traffic safety; the presence of walking and cycling infrastructure; the aesthetics of the neighbourhood; the availability of recreational facilities; and access to, and quality of, parks and public open spaces. Unlike other health promotion efforts, creating an environment that is supportive of active behaviours has an enduring impact. By-and-large, however, the evidence is from cross-sectional studies that show, for example, that a particular characteristic of the built environment is associated with a particular physical activity behaviour. Longitudinal studies, in particular those that capitalise on changes to the neighbourhood environment, either through modification or relocation, are less common. They are, however, critical to shaping our understanding of the causal relationship between the environment and physical activity.

This Special Issue aims to provide multidisciplinary, state-of-the-art evidence on causal relationships between the physical neighbourhood environment and active behaviours across the lifespan. We welcome studies from different disciplines such as public health, urban design, transportation, epidemiology, geography, and landscape architecture.

We are particularly interested in the following topics:

• Natural experiment studies evaluating the impact of changes to the physical neighbourhood environment on physical activity or sedentary behaviour;
• Longitudinal observational and relocation studies;
• Cost-benefit analyses of physical neighbourhood environment interventions;
• Evaluations of programs that are designed to increase physical activity or reduce sedentary behaviour undertaken in public open spaces, neighbourhood streets, or recreational spaces;
• Interventions designed for vulnerable groups (e.g., children and older adults, lower socioeconomic groups) and in under-studied contexts (e.g., low-middle income countries);
• Implementation: understanding how evidence on interventions within the physical neighbourhood-built environment can inform urban design policy and practice (e.g., successful case studies).

Dr. Jelle Van Cauwenberg
Dr. Jenny Veitch
Dr. Shannon Sahlqvist
Guest Editors

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• physical activity
• sedentary behaviour
• neighbourhood
• interventions
• natural experiments
• walkability
• active living
• urban green spaces
• public open spaces