COMPARATIVE RESEARCH OF AUDIT TOOLS ON BUILT ENVIRONMENT FOR ACTIVE LIVING

Abstract

Nowadays, chronic non-communicable diseases have impacted the overall public health level of societies and caused severe socio-economic burden. Empirical studies have revealed that physical activities can promote active living and help prevent and heal non-communicable diseases. Evaluation of built environment factors associated with physical activities is the precondition of promoting active living through environmental planning and design. This paper focuses on environmental audit tools related to physical activities, reviews the background, interests, and progress of international research, and compares the option forms, main measured factors, scoring methods, and application suitability of 26 audit tools. It then categorizes these audit tools into the ones for community, open space, and other scenarios, and examines their indicator items respectively. The paper concludes a preparation pattern across various audit tools, and identifies that facilities, accessibility, visual quality, and safety are the indicators most commonly measured. This paper attempts to introduce international experience of developing, analyzing, and verifying audit tools to inform Chinese research and practice and provide references for evaluating the design and construction of healthy cities or communities.

Keywords

Audit Tool / Built Environment / Physical Activity / Health Impact Assessment / Urban Design / Quick Environmental Assessment

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