Frontiers of Architectural Research >

2014 , Vol. 3 >Issue 3: 265 - 270

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foar.2014.04.002

RESEARCH PAPER

Nearby outdoor environments and seniors physical activities

  • Zhe Wang
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  • School of Civil Engineering and Architecture, Henan University, Kaifeng 475004, China

Received date: 01 Oct 2013

Accepted date: 09 Apr 2014

Published date: 19 Nov 2014

Copyright

2014 This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.
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Abstract

More than 60% of older Americans have sedentary lifestyles1 and are recommended more physical activities for health benefit. Nearby outdoor environments on residential sites may impact older inhabitants' physical activities there (defined as walking, gardening, yard work, and other outdoor physical activities on residential sites). This study surveyed 110 assisted-living residents in Houston, Texas, regarding their previous residential sites before moving to a retirement community and physical activities there. Twelve environmental features were studied under four categories (typology, motivators, function, and safety). Based on data availability, a subset of 57 sample sites was analyzed in Geographic Information Systems. Hierarchical linear modeling was applied to estimate physical activities as a function of the environments. Higher levels of physical activity were found to be positively related with four environmental features (transitional-areas, connecting-paths, walk-ability, and less paving).

Key words： Physical activity; Residential site; Environments; Older adults; Survey; Geographic Information Systems

Cite this article

Zhe Wang . Nearby outdoor environments and seniors physical activities[J]. Frontiers of Architectural Research, 2014 , 3(3) : 265 -270 . DOI: 10.1016/j.foar.2014.04.002

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