ArticleBMC public health2020
Health and the built environment in United States cities: measuring associations using Google Street View-derived indicators of the built environment.
Article in BMC public health, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 29 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
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Who cites it
29 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.
- Non-traditional data sources in obesity research: a systematic review of their use in the study of obesogenic environments.International journal of obesity (2005) · 2023Pooled it
- Increasing Urban Tree Canopy Associated With Reduced Mortality: A Longitudinal Analysis of Chicago Neighborhoods.GeoHealth · 2026Article
- Latent profile characteristics of nature connectedness and place attachment among urban older adults practicing Tai Chi: psychological heterogeneity of green space exposure.Frontiers in public health · 2026Article
- Built environment determinants of residents' running activity in Guangzhou, China: what are the nonlinear relationship and pathways?BMC public health · 2025Article
- Changes in the Neighborhood Built Environment and Chronic Health Conditions in Washington, DC, in 2014-2019: Longitudinal Analysis.JMIR formative research · 2025Article
- Validity and reliability of the virtual audit tool for estimating built-environment characteristics in Taiwan.International journal of health geographics · 2025Article
- Data driven assessment of built environment impacts on urban health across United States cities.Scientific reports · 2025Article
- Compliance to tobacco and alcohol zoning regulations around schools in Bangladesh, India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka using environmental mapping data.BMC medicine · 2025Article
- Invited commentary: deep learning-methods to amplify epidemiologic data collection and analyses.American journal of epidemiology · 2025Article
- Intersecting Paths to Health: A Factor Analysis Approach to Socioeconomic and Environmental Determinants in Indiana.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2025Article
- Utilizing big data without domain knowledge impacts public health decision-making.Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America · 2024Article
- Neighborhood built environment, obesity, and diabetes: A Utah siblings study.SSM - population health · 2024Article
- Deep Learning-Based Assessment of Built Environment From Satellite Images and Cardiometabolic Disease Prevalence.JAMA cardiology · 2024Article
- The indispensableScandinavian journal of work, environment & health · 2024Article
- Investigating the role of the built environment, socio-economic status, and lifestyle factors in the prevalence of chronic diseases in Mashhad: PLS-SEM model.Frontiers in public health · 2024Article
- The Exposome and Cardiovascular Health.The Canadian journal of cardiology · 2023Review
- Urban visual intelligence: Uncovering hidden city profiles with street view images.Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America · 2023Article
- Multi-Task Classification for Improved Health Outcome Prediction Based on Environmental Indicators.IEEE access : practical innovations, open solutions · 2023Article
- Using Convolutional Neural Networks to Derive Neighborhood Built Environments from Google Street View Images and Examine Their Associations with Health Outcomes.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2022Article
- Neighborhood deprivation and risk of mortality among men with prostate cancer: Findings from a long-term follow-up study.The Prostate · 2022Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
7 authors.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundThe built environment is a structural determinant of health and has been shown to influence health expenditures, behaviors, and outcomes. Traditional methods of assessing built environment characteristics are time-consuming and difficult to combine or compare. Google Street View (GSV) images represent a large, publicly available data source that can be used to create indicators of characteristics of the physical environment with machine learning techniques. The aim of this study is to use GSV images to measure the association of built environment features with health-related behaviors and outcomes at the census tract level.
methodsWe used computer vision techniques to derive built environment indicators from approximately 31 million GSV images at 7.8 million intersections. Associations between derived indicators and health-related behaviors and outcomes on the census-tract level were assessed using multivariate regression models, controlling for demographic factors and socioeconomic position. Statistical significance was assessed at the α = 0.05 level.
resultsSingle lane roads were associated with increased diabetes and obesity, while non-single-family home buildings were associated with decreased obesity, diabetes and inactivity. Street greenness was associated with decreased prevalence of physical and mental distress, as well as decreased binge drinking, but with increased obesity. Socioeconomic disadvantage was negatively associated with binge drinking prevalence and positively associated with all other health-related behaviors and outcomes.
conclusionsStructural determinants of health such as the built environment can influence population health. Our study suggests that higher levels of urban development have mixed effects on health and adds further evidence that socioeconomic distress has adverse impacts on multiple physical and mental health outcomes.
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