Evidence map›Paper›PMID 35255841›Full record

ArticleBMC public health2022

Rethinking walkability and developing a conceptual definition of active living environments to guide research and practice.

Melissa Tobin, Samantha Hajna, Kassia Orychock, Nancy Ross, Megan DeVries, Paul J Villeneuve, Lawrence D Frank, Gavin R McCormack, Rania Wasfi, Madeleine Steinmetz-Wood and 11 more

Open access · goldAbstract read
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Article in BMC public health, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 10 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
10citing papers in PubMed
17.8field-weighted citation impact, top 1% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

10 citing papers in PubMed, 75 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Trial
  2. Review
  3. Empowering Rural Communities to Measure Walkability: Co-Development of a Digital Tool.Health expectations : an international journal of public participation in health care and health policy · 2026
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  10. Observational
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

21 authors at 14 institutions in 3 countries.

Melissa TobinSchool of Human Kinetics and Recreation, Memorial University of Newfoundland, St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador, A1C 5S7, Canada.
Samantha HajnaMRC Epidemiology Unit, Institute of Metabolic Science, School of Clinical Medicine, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK.
Kassia OrychockSchool of Human Kinetics and Recreation, Memorial University of Newfoundland, St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador, A1C 5S7, Canada.
Nancy RossDepartment of Geography, McGill University, Montreal, QC, Canada.
Megan DeVriesSchool of Human Kinetics and Recreation, Memorial University of Newfoundland, St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador, A1C 5S7, Canada.
Paul J VilleneuveSchool of Mathematics and Statistics, Carleton University, Ottawa, ON, Canada.
Lawrence D FrankSchool of Population and Public Health, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada.
Gavin R McCormackCumming School of Medicine, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB, Canada.
Rania WasfiDepartment of Geography, McGill University, Montreal, QC, Canada.
Madeleine Steinmetz-WoodDepartment of Geography, McGill University, Montreal, QC, Canada.
Jason GillilandDepartment of Geography, Western University, London, ON, Canada.
Gillian L BoothDepartment of Medicine, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada.
Meghan WintersFaculty of Health Sciences, Simon Fraser University, Vancouver, BC, Canada.
Yan KestensÉcole de Santé Publique de L'Université de Montréal (ESPUM), Montréal, Québec, Canada.
Kevin ManaughDepartment of Geography, McGill University, Montreal, QC, Canada.
Daniel RainhamSchool of Health and Human Performance, Faculty of Health, Dalhousie University, Halifax, NS, Canada.
Lise GauvinÉcole de Santé Publique de L'Université de Montréal (ESPUM), Montréal, Québec, Canada.
Michael J WidenerDepartment of Geography and Planning, University of Toronto - St. George, Toronto, Canada.
Nazeem MuhajarineDepartment of Community Health and Epidemiology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, Canada.
Hui LuanDepartment of Geography, College of Arts and Science, University of Oregon, Eugene, OR, USA.
Daniel FullerSchool of Human Kinetics and Recreation, Memorial University of Newfoundland, St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador, A1C 5S7, Canada. dfuller@mun.ca.ORCID 0000-0002-2015-2955
McGill University · CAMemorial University of Newfoundland · CAUniversity of Toronto · CACarleton University · CACentre Hospitalier de l’Université de Montréal · CADalhousie University · CASimon Fraser University · CAUniversité de Montréal · CAUniversity of British Columbia · CAUniversity of Calgary · CAUniversity of Cambridge · GBUniversity of Oregon · USUniversity of Saskatchewan · CAWestern University · CA

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundWalkability is a popular term used to describe aspects of the built and social environment that have important population-level impacts on physical activity, energy balance, and health. Although the term is widely used by researchers, practitioners, and the general public, and multiple operational definitions and walkability measurement tools exist, there are is no agreed-upon conceptual definition of walkability.

methodTo address this gap, researchers from Memorial University of Newfoundland hosted "The Future of Walkability Measures Workshop" in association with researchers from the Canadian Urban Environmental Health Research Consortium (CANUE) in November 2017. During the workshop, trainees, researchers, and practitioners worked together in small groups to iteratively develop and reach consensus about a conceptual definition and name for walkability. The objective of this paper was to discuss and propose a conceptual definition of walkability and related concepts.

resultsIn discussions during the workshop, it became clear that the term walkability leads to a narrow conception of the environmental features associated with health as it inherently focuses on walking. As a result, we suggest that the term Active Living Environments, as has been previously proposed in the literature, are more appropriate. We define Active Living Environments (ALEs) as the emergent natural, built, and social properties of neighbourhoods that promote physical activity and health and allow for equitable access to health-enhancing resources.

conclusionsWe believe that this broader conceptualization allows for a more comprehensive understanding of how built, natural, and social environments can contribute to improved health for all members of the population.

Indexed as

Environment DesignResidence CharacteristicsCanadaExerciseHumansWalkingActive transportBuilt environmentHealthNatural environmentNeighbourhoodSocial environmentSustainableWalkability

Identifiers

PMID35255841
PMCPMC8900439
OpenAlexW4220783081

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.