ArticleInternational journal of health geographics2020
How urban densification shapes walking behaviours in older community dwellers: a cross-sectional analysis of potential pathways of influence.
Article in International journal of health geographics, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 19 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
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Who cites it
19 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.
- Systematic review of nonlinear associations between the built environment and walking in older adults.BMC public health · 2025Pooled it
- Accelerometry and dual-scale neighborhood indicators for screening of MoCA-defined cognitive impairment: an interpretable machine-learning study.Frontiers in public health · 2026Article
- What neighbourhood factors support more transport walking as adults age? A five-wave longitudinal multilevel cohort study in Brisbane, Australia.BMJ public health · 2026Article
- Mobility, mental well-being and Neighborhood walkability among older adults in Nigeria: an urban perspective.Archives of public health = Archives belges de sante publique · 2025Article
- Evaluating the performance of spatial indicators of destination accessibility for physical activity research: a comparative international analysis.Cities (London, England) · 2025Article
- Residents' perceptions of urban densification and health - a systems dynamics approach.BMC public health · 2025Article
- Pedestrian behavior among Chinese seniors: Insights from factor analysis and structural equation modeling.Heliyon · 2024Article
- Nonlinear and threshold effects of built environment on older adults' walking duration: do age and retirement status matter?Frontiers in public health · 2024Article
- Perceived urban environment attributes and obesity indices in adults: an 8-Nation study from Latin America.Scientific reports · 2022Article
- The neighbourhood environment and profiles of the metabolic syndrome.Environmental health : a global access science source · 2022Article
- Machine Learning for Prediction of Cognitive Health in Adults Using Sociodemographic, Neighbourhood Environmental, and Lifestyle Factors.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2022Article
- Article
- Analysis of Urban Built Environment Impacts on Outdoor Physical Activities-A Case Study in China.Frontiers in public health · 2022Article
- From urban neighbourhood environments to cognitive health: a cross-sectional analysis of the role of physical activity and sedentary behaviours.BMC public health · 2021Article
- Nonlinear Associations of the Built Environment with Cycling Frequency among Older Adults in Zhongshan, China.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2021Article
- A Nonlinear Association between Neighborhood Walkability and Risks of Sarcopenia in Older Adults.The journal of nutrition, health & aging · 2021Article
- Non-linear Relationships Between the Built Environment and Walking Frequency Among Older Adults in Zhongshan, China.Frontiers in public health · 2021Article
- Is the perceived neighborhood built environment associated with domain-specific physical activity in Latin American adults? An eight-country observational study.The international journal of behavioral nutrition and physical activity · 2020Observational
- Urban environments and objectively-assessed physical activity and sedentary time in older Belgian and Chinese community dwellers: potential pathways of influence and the moderating role of physical function.The international journal of behavioral nutrition and physical activity · 2020Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
6 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundPopulation growth, population ageing, and urbanisation are major global demographic trends that call for an examination of the impact of urban densification on older adults' health-enhancing behaviours, such as walking. No studies have examined the pathways through which urban densification may affect older adults' walking. This information is key to evidence-based, health-oriented urban and transport planning. This study aimed to identify neighbourhood environment characteristics potentially responsible for the effects of neighbourhood densification on older adults' frequency and amount of transportation and recreation walking within and outside the neighbourhood.
methodsThe Active Lifestyle and the Environment in Chinese Seniors (ALECS) project collected self-reported data from 909 older adults (≥ 65 years) living in 128 physically and socially diverse neighbourhoods in Hong Kong (71% response rate). Walking was measured using the Neighbourhood Walking Questionnaire for Chinese Seniors. Objective residential density and other neighbourhood environmental attributes were assessed using Geographic Information Systems. Generalised additive mixed models examined the total effects of neighbourhood residential density on walking and the mediating role of other environmental attributes and car ownership.
resultsA complex network of potential pathways of positive and negative influences of neighbourhood residential density on different aspects of walking was revealed. While residential density was positively related to within-neighbourhood transportation and outside-neighbourhood recreation walking only, it exhibited positive and/or negative nonlinear indirect effects on all examined aspects of walking via recreation, public transport, food/retail and street intersection densities, and/or car ownership.
conclusionsHigh-density environments appear to support within-neighbourhood walking by providing access to food and retail outlets via well-connected street networks and discouraging car ownership. However, extreme density may lead to reductions in walking. Public transport density accompanying high-density areas may facilitate outside-neighbourhood walking but deter within-neighbourhood walking. The development of activity-friendly communities for ageing populations need to consider these opposing influences.
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