The importance of walking and physical activity as determinants of good health has been well established in the medical and public health literature, but a significant number of Americans live sedentary lifestyles. Aplethora of variables lie behind an individual’s decision to walk, cycle, or exercise. This article focuses on a particular environmental variable, the safety of neighborhood surroundings, and explores how it is influencing physical activity. It integrates literatures from public health, criminology, and planning to identify, qualify, and evaluate the link between safety and security considerations and physical activity. It then proceeds to place safety and security concerns within a spatial context and to examine design and policy interventions that can help create environments more amenable to walking.
Ball, K., A. Bauman, E. Leslie, and N. Owen. 2001. Perceived environmental aesthetics and convenience and company are associated with walking for exercise among Australian adults. Preventive Medicine33: 434-440.
4.
Bauman, A., F. Wallner, A. Miners, and V. Westley-Wise. 1996. No ifs no buts Illawarra physical activity project: Baseline research report. Warrong, NSW: Commonwealth Department of Health and Family Services.
5.
Block, R. L. and C. R. Block. 1995. Space, place, and crime: Hot spot areas and hot places of liquor-related crime. In Crime and place, J. Eck and D. Weisburd, eds. Monsey, New York: Willow Tree Press.
6.
Booth, M. L., N. Owen, A. Bauman, O. Clavisi, and E. Leslie. 2000. Social-cognitive and perceived environmental influences associated with physical activity in older Australians. Preventive Medicine31: 15-22.
7.
Bosselmann, P., E. Macdonald, and T. Kronemeyer. 1999. Livable streets revisited. Journal of the American Planning Association65 (2): 168-180.
8.
Brantingham P. L., and P. J. Brantingham. 1993. Nodes, paths, and edges: Considerations on the complexity of crime and physical environment. Journal of Environmental Psychology-13: 3-28.
9.
Brownson, R. C., E. A. Baker, R. A. Houseman, L. K. Brennan, and S. J. Bacak. 2001. Environmental and policy determinants of physical activity in the United States. American Journal of Public Health91 (12): 1995-2003.
10.
Buerger, M., E. Cohn, and A. Petrossino. 1995. Defining the hot spots of crime, operationalizing theoretical concepts for field research. In Crime and place, J. Eck and D. Weisburd, eds. Monsey, NY: Willow Tree Press.
11.
Burdette, H. L., and R. C. Whitaker. 2003. Neighborhood playgrounds, fast food restaurants, and crime: Relationships to overweight in low-income preschool children (submitted to Preventive Medicine).
12.
Byrne, J.1986. Cities, citizens, and crime: The ecological/nonecological debate reconsidered. In The Social ecology of crime, J. Byrne and R. J. Sampson, eds. New York: Springer Verlang.
13.
Caitlin, T. K., E. J. Simoes, and R. C. Brownson. 2003. Environmental and policy factors associated with overweight among adults in Missouri. American Journal of Health Promotion17 (4): 249-258.
14.
Centers for Disease Control. 1999. Neighborhood safety and prevalence of physical inactivity in selected states, 1996. MMWR—Morbidity and Morality Weekly Report48 (7): 143-146.
15.
Chandola, T.2001. The fear of crime and area differences in health. Health & Place7: 105-116.
16.
City of Toronto. 1992. A working guide for planning and designing safer environments. Toronto: Safe City Committee and Planning Development Department.
17.
Cooper Marcus, C., and C. Francis. 1990. People places: Design guidelines for urban open space. New York: Van Nostrand Reinhold.
18.
Corless, J. and G. Ohland. 1999. Caught in the crosswalk. Retrieved June 7, 2003, from http://www.transact.org/ca/caught99/ack.htm.
19.
Craig, C. L., R. C. Brownson, S. E. Cragg, and A. L. Dunn. 2002. Exploring the effect of the environment on physical activity: A study examining walking to work. American Journal of Preventive Medicine23 (2S): 36-43.
20.
Day, K.1999. Embassies and sanctuaries: Women’s experiences of race and fear in public space. Environment and Planning D: Society and Space17: 307-328.
21.
Dorfman, R. A.1997. Taking a Walk: No longer safe for elders in urban America and Asia. Journal of Aging and Identity2 (2): 139-142.
22.
Eck, J. 1996. Preventing crime at places. In Preventing crime: What works, what doesn’t, what’s promising. L. Sherman, D. Gottfredson, D. Mackenzie, J. Eck, P. Reuter, and S. Bushway, S., eds. Report to the U.S. Congress prepared by the National Institute of Justice. Retrieved September 20, 2005, from http://www.ncjrs.org/works/wholedoc.htm.
23.
Eck, J., and D. Weisburd, eds. 1995. Crime and place. Monsey, New York: Willow Tree Press.
24.
Eubank-Ahrens, B.1987. A closer look at the users of woonerven. In Public streets for public use, A. V. Moudon, eds. New York: Van Nostrand Reinhold.
25.
Evenson, K. R., O. L. Sarmniento, M. L. Macon, K. W. Tawney, A. S. Ammerman. 2002. Environmental, policy, and cultural factors related to physical activity among Latina immigrants. Women and Health36 (2): 43-57.
26.
Ewing, R.1994. Residential street design: Do the British and Australians know something Americans don’t?Transportation Research Record1455: 53-62.
27.
Eyler, A. A., E. Baker, L. Cromer, A. C. King, R. C. Brownson, and R. J. Donatelle. 1998. Physical activity and minority women: A qualitative study. Health Education & Behavior25 (5): 640-652.
28.
Federal Highway Administration. 2002. Safety effects of marked vs. unmarked crosswalks at uncontrolled locations: Executive summary and recommended guidelines (FHWA-RD-01-075). McLean, VA: U.S. Department of Transportation, FHA.
29.
Ferraro, K.1995. Fear of crime: Interpreting victimization risk. Albany: State University of New York Press.
30.
Frank, L. D., and P. O. Engelke. 2001. The built environment and human activity patterns: Exploring the impacts of urban form on public health. Journal of Planning Literature16 (2): 202-218.
31.
Giles-Corti, B., and R. J. Donovan. 2002. The relative influence of individual, social and physical environmental determinants of physical activity. Social Science & Medicine54: 1793-1812.
32.
Gordon, M. T., and S. Riger. 1989. The female fear. New York: The Free Press.
33.
Greenberg, S.1986. Fear and its relationship to crime, neighborhood deterioration and informal social control. In The social ecology of crime, J. Byrne and R. J. Sampson, eds. New York: Springer Verlag.
34.
Handy, S. L., M. Boarnet, R. Ewing, and R. E. Killingsworth. 2002. How the built environment affects physical activity: Views from urban planning. American Journal of Preventive Medicine23 (2S): 64-73.
35.
Hawthorne, W.1989. Why Ontarians walk, why Ontarians don’t walk more: A study of the walking habits of Ontarians. Ontario: Energy Probe Research Foundation.
36.
Hess, P.1997. Measures of connectivity. Places: A Forum of Environmental Design11 (2): 58-65.
37.
Humpel, N., N. Owen, and E. Leslie. 2002. Environmental factors associated with adults’ participation in physical activity: A review. American Journal of Preventive Medicine22 (3): 188-199.
38.
Jackson, R. and C. Kochtitzky. 2001. Creating a healthy environment. Washington, D.C.: Sprawl Watch Clearinghouse Monograph. Retrieved May 12, 2003, from http://www.sprawlwatch.org.
39.
Jacobs, J.1961. The death and life of great American cities. New York: Vintage Books.
40.
Jacobsen, P., C. Anderson, D. Winn, J. Moffat, P. Agran, and S. Sarkar. 2000. Child pedestrian injuries on residential streets: Implications for traffic engineering. Institute of Transportation Engineering Journal on the WebFebruary: 71-75.
41.
Jones, O.2000. Melting geography: Purity, disorder, childhood, and space. In Children’s geographies: Playing, living, learning, S. Holloway and G. Vallentine, eds. London and New York: Routledge.
42.
Kann L., C. W. Warren, and W. J. Harris. 1995. Youth risk behavior surveillance—United States, 1993. MMWR44 (SS-1): 1-55.
43.
Kelling, G., and C. M. Coles. 1996. Fixing broken windows: Restoring order and reducing crime in our communities. New York: Martin Kessler Books.
44.
Killingsworth, R.E., and J. Lamming. 2001. Development and public health: Could our development patterns be affecting our personal health?Urban Land60(7): 12, 14-17.
45.
King, A. C., A. Bauman, and D. B. Abrams. 2002. Forging transdisciplinary bridges to meet the physical inactivity challenge in the 21stcentury. American Journal of Preventive Medicine23(2S):104-106.
46.
King, A. C., C. Castro, S. Wilcox, A. A. Eyler, J. F. Sallis, and R. C. Brownson. 2000. Personal and environmental factors associated with physical inactivity among different racial-ethnic groups of U.S. middle-aged and older-aged women. Health Psychology19(4): 354-364.
47.
King, A. C., W. J. Rejeski, and D. M. Buchner. 1998. Physical activity interventions targeting older adults. A critical review and recommendations. American Journal of Preventive Medicine15(4): 316-333.
48.
Koepsell, T., L. McCloskey, M. Wolf, A. Vernez Moudon, D. Buchner, J. Krauss, and M. Patterson. 2002. Crosswalk markings and the risk of pedestrian-motor vehicle collisions in older pedestrians. Journal of the American Medical Association288(17): 2136-2148.
49.
Kohl, H. W., and K. E. Hobbs. 1998. Development of physical activity behaviors among children and adolescents. Pediatrics101 (3, supplement): 549-554.
50.
Koskela, H.1997. Bold walk and breakings: Women’s spatial confidence versus fear of violence. Gender, Place, and Culture4(3): 301-319.
51.
Koskela, H., and Pain, R.2000. Revisiting fear and place: Women’s fear of attack and the built environment. Geoforum31: 269-280.
52.
La Grange, R., K. Ferraro, and M. Supancic. 1992. Perceived risk and fear of crime: Role of social and physical incivilities. Journal of Research in Crime and Delinquency29(3): 311-334.
53.
Levine, N., K. Kim, and L. Nitz. 1994. Traffic safety and land use: A spatial analysis of Honolulu motor vehicle accidents. Paper presented at the 1994 ACSP Conference in Phoenix, AZ.
Loukaitou-Sideris, A.1999. Hot spots of bus stop crime: The importance of environmental attributes. Journal of the American Planning Association65 (4): 395-411.
56.
Loukaitou-Sideris, A., R. Liggett, and H. Iseki. 2001. Measuring the effects of built environment on bus stop crime. Environment and Planning B: Planning and Design28(2): 255-280.
57.
Loukaitou-Sideris, A., R. Liggett, and H. Iseki. 2002. The geography of transit crime: Documentation and evaluation of crime incidence on and around green line stations in Los Angeles. Journal of Planning Education and Research22(2): 135-151.
58.
Manson, J. E., F. B. Hu, and J. W. Rich-Edwards. 1995. A prospective study of walking as compared with rigorous exercise in the prevention of coronary heart disease. New England Journal of Medicine341: 650-658.
59.
Moore, B. J., N. Glick, B. Romanowski, H. Quinley. 1996. Neighborhood safety, child care, and high costs of fruit and vegetables identified as barriers to increased activity and healthy eating and linked to overweight and income. FASEB J10, A562 (abstract).
60.
Morrell, H.1996. Women’s safety. In Changing places: Women’s lives in the city, C. Booth, J. Darke, and S. Yeandle, eds., 100-110. London: Paul Chapman Publishing Ltd.
61.
Nasar, J. L., and B. Fisher. 1993. Hot spots of fear and crime. A multimethod investigation. Journal of Environmental Psychology13: 187-206.
62.
National Center for Statistics and Analysis. 2002. Traffic Safety Facts 2002: Pedestrians. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT HS 809 614). Retrieved May 12, 2003, from http://www.-nrd.nhtsa.dot.gov/pdf/nrd-30/NCSA/TSF2002/2002pedfacts.pdf.
63.
National Consumer Council. 1987. What’s wrong with walking? A consumer review of the pedestrian environment. London: Her Majesty’s Stationary Office.
64.
National Crime Prevention Council. 1997. Designing safer communities: A crime prevention through environmental design handbook. Washington, D.C.: National Crime Prevention Council.
65.
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. 2003. Safe routes to school: Overview. Retrieved September 4, 2003, from http://www.nhtsa.gov.
66.
Newman, O.1972. Defensible space: Crime prevention through urban design. New York: MacMillan Company.
67.
Newman, O.1976. Design guidelines for creating defensible space. Washington, D.C.: National Institute of Law Enforcement and Criminal Justice.
68.
Newman, O.1981. Community of interest. New York: Doubleday.
69.
Pain, R.2001. Gender, race, age, and fear in the City. Urban Studies38(5/6): 899-914.
70.
Perkins, D. D., A. Abraham, R. Richard, and R. B. Taylor. 1993. The physical environment of street crime. Journal of Environmental Psychology13: 29-49.
71.
Pikora, T., B. Giles-Corti, F. Bull, K. Jamrozik, and R. Donovan. 2003. Developing a framework for assessment of the environmental determinants of walking and cycling. Social Science & Medicine56: 1693-1703.
72.
Poyner, B.1983. Design against crime. London: Butterworth.
73.
Rainwater, L.1979. Fear and the house-as-haven in the lower class. In Housing in America: Problems and perspectives,2ded., R. Montgomery and D. R. Mandelker, eds., 14-20. Indianapolis: The Bobbs-Merrill Co.
74.
Roberts, I., R. Norton, R. Jackson, R. Dunn, and I. Hassal. 1995. Effect of environmental factors on risk of injury of child pedestrians by motor vehicles: A case-control study. British Medical Journal310: 91-94.
75.
Rohe, W. M., and R. J. Burby. 1988. Fear of crime in public housing. Environment and Behavior20: 700-720.
76.
Ross, C. E.1993. Fear of victimization and health. Journal of Quantitative Criminology9(2): 159-175.
77.
Ross, C. E.2000. Walking, exercising, and smoking: Does neighborhood matter?Social Science and Medicine51(2): 265-274.
78.
Runge, J., and T. Cole. 2002. Crosswalk markings and motor vehicle collisions involving older pedestrians. Journal of the American Medical Association288(17): 2172-2174.
79.
Safe Kids Campaign. 2002. Report to the nation on child pedestrian safety. Retrieved June 13, 2003, from http://www.safekids.org.
80.
Sallis, J. F.1993. Epidemiology of physical activity and fitness in children and adolescents. Critical Reviews in Food Science and Nutrition33: 403-408.
81.
Sallis, J. F., A. Bauman, and M. Pratt. 1998. Environmental and policy interventions to promote physical activity. American Journal of Preventive Medicine15(4): 379-397.
82.
Sallis, J. F., B. G. Simons-Morton, E. J. Stone, C. B. Corbin, L. H. Epstein, N. L. Faucette, R. J. Iannotti, J. D. Kellen, R. C. Klesges, C. K. Petray, T. W. Rowland, and W. C. Taylor. 1992. Determinants of physical activity and interventions in youth. Medicine and Science in Sport and Exercise24 (6, supplement): S248-S257.
83.
Sallis, J. F., M. F. Johnson, K. J. Calfas, S. Caparosa, and J. F. Nichols. 1997. Assessing perceived physical environmental variables that may influence physical activity. Research Quarterly for Exercise and Sport68 (4): 345-351.
84.
Seefeldt, Vern, Robert M. Malina, and Michael A. Clark. 2002. Factors affecting levels of physical activity in adults (review). Sports Medicine32(3): 143-168.
85.
Sherman, L.1995. Hot spots of crime and criminal careers of places. In Crime and places, J. Eck and D. W. Weisburd, eds., 35-52. Monsey, NY: Willow Tree Press.
86.
Southworth, M.1997. Walkable suburbs? An evaluation of neotraditional communities at the urban edge. Journal of the American Planning Association61(1): 65-81.
87.
Southworth, M., and E. Ben Joseph. 2003. Streets and the shaping of towns and cities. New York: Island Press.
88.
Spelman, W.1993. Abandoned buildings: Magnets for crime?Journal of Criminal Justice21: 481-495.
89.
Surface Transportation Policy Project. 2002. Mean Streets. Retrieved June 14, 2003, from http://www.transact.org.
90.
Sustrans. 2003. Information on safe routes to school programs. Retrieved September 4, 2003, from http://www.saferoutestoschools.org.uk/html/what_srs.htm.
91.
Taylor, R., and A. Harrell. 1996. Physical environment and crime. Washington, D.C.: National Institute of Justice Research.
92.
Thompson, J. L., P. Allen, L. Cunningham-Sabo, D. Yazzie, M. Curtis, and S. M. Davis. 2002. Environmental, policy, and cultural factors related to physical activity in sedentary American Indian women. Women and Health36 (2): 59-74.
93.
Tien, J.1979. Street light project. Washington, D.C.: Department of Justice.
94.
Tolley, R.1989. Calming traffic in residential areas. Wales: Brefi Press.
95.
Tolley, R., ed. 1993. The greening of urban transport: Planning for walking and cycling in western cities. London: Belhaven Press.
96.
Transportation Research Board. 2002. Special report 269: The relative risks to school travel. Washington, D.C.: Transportation Research Board.
97.
Transportation Research Board/Institute of Medicine. 2005. Does the built environment influence physical activity? Examining the evidence. Special Report 282, Washington, D.C.
98.
Trench, S.1991. Reclaiming the right. Town & County Planning60 (8): 235-237.
99.
Trench, S., T. Oc, and S. Tiesdell. 1992. Safer cities for women: perceived risks and planning measures. Town Planning Review63(3): 279-296.
100.
Troped, P.J., R. P. Saunders, R. R. Pate, B. Reininger, J. R. Ureda, and S. J. Thompson. 2001. Associations between self-reported and objective physical environmental factors and use of a community rail-trail. Preventive Medicine32: 191-200.
101.
University of Southern California. 2003. Neighborhood Kids Watch. Fact Sheet. Retrieved September 16, 2003, from http://www.usc.edu/ext-relations/unipark/kid_watch.html.
102.
U.S. Census Bureau. 2000. American Fact Finder. DP-3. Profile of selected economic characteristics: 2000 data set: Census 2000 summary file (SF 3).
103.
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. 1996. Surgeon General’s report on physical activity and health. Report S/N 017-023-00196-5.
104.
U.S. Department of Transportation. 1994. Final report: The national bicycling and walking study: Transportation choices for a changing America. Washington D.C.: U.S. Department of Transportation Federal Highway Administration.
105.
Valentine, G.1990. Women’s fear and the design of public space. Built Environment16(4): 288-303.
106.
Valentine, G.1996. (Re)negotiating the ‘heterosexual street’: Lesbian production of space. In Body space: Destabilizing geographies of gender and sexuality, N. Duncan, ed., 146-155. London: Routledge.
107.
Valentine, G., and J. H. McKendrick. 1997. Children’s outdoor play: exploring parental concerns about children’s safety and the changing nature of childhood. Geoforum28: 219-235.
108.
Walgren, S.1998. Using Geographic Information System (GIS) to analyze pedestrian accidents. Seattle: City of Seattle Transportation Department. Retrieved April 20, 2003, from http://www.cityofseattle.net/td/ite.asp.
109.
Warr, M.1984. Fear of victimization: Why are women and the elderly more afraid?Social Science Quarterly65(3): 681-702.
110.
Warr, M.1990. Dangerous situations: Social context and fear of victimization. Social Forces68(3): 891-907.
111.
Weinstein, A., P. Felgley, P. Pullen, L. Mann, and L. Redman. 1999. Neighborhood safety and the prevalence of physical inactivity—selected states. JAMA281: 1373.
112.
Wekerle, G., and Whitzaman, C.1995. Safe cities: Guidelines for planning, design and management. New York: Van Nostrand Reinhold.
113.
Wethmore, J.2001. Reducing student pedestrian perils. Retrieved September 8, 2003, from http://www.pedestrian.org/articles/riskmanagement.html.
114.
Wilbur, J., P. Chandler, B. Dancy, J. Choi, and D. Plonczynski. 2002. Environmental, policy, and cultural factors related to physical activity in urban, African-American Women. Women and Health36(2): 17-28.
115.
Young, D. R., X. He, J. Harris, and I. Mabry. 2002. Environmental, policy, and cultural factors related to physical activity in well-educated urban African-American women. Women and Health36(2): 29-41.
116.
Zakarian, J. M., M. F. Hovell, R. Hofstetter, J. F. Sallis, and K. J. Keating. 1994. Correlates of vigorous exercise in a predominantly low SES and minority high school population. Preventive Medicine23: 314-321.
117.
Zelinka, A., and D. Brennan. 2001. Safescape: Creating safer, more livable communities through planning and design. Washington, D.C.: American Planning Association Planner’s Press.
