Evidence map›Paper›PMID 39068394›Full record

ArticleBMC public health2024

Meteorological gaps in audits of pedestrian environments: a scoping review.

H F Drapeau, P Singh, F Benyaminov, K Wright, J C Spence, S Nuzhat, A Walsh, K Islam, Z Azarm, K K Lee

Abstract readScoping Review
In one paragraph

Article in BMC public health, 2024. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 2 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
2citing papers in PubMed, 1 pooled it
–field-weighted citation impact
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

2 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.

  1. Impacts of built environment changes on physical activity in Canada: a systematic review of natural experiments.Health promotion and chronic disease prevention in Canada : research, policy and practice · 2026
    Pooled it
  2. Is Walk Score a useful tool for measuring walkability in rural communities?The Journal of rural health : official journal of the American Rural Health Association and the National Rural Health Care Association · 2025
    Article
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

10 authors.

H F DrapeauHousing for Health, Division of Preventive Medicine, Department of Medicine, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB, Canada.
P SinghHousing for Health, Division of Preventive Medicine, Department of Medicine, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB, Canada.
F BenyaminovHousing for Health, Division of Preventive Medicine, Department of Medicine, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB, Canada.
K WrightHousing for Health, Division of Preventive Medicine, Department of Medicine, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB, Canada.
J C SpenceFaculty of Kinesiology, Sport, and Recreation, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB, Canada.
S NuzhatHousing for Health, Division of Preventive Medicine, Department of Medicine, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB, Canada.
A WalshHousing for Health, Division of Preventive Medicine, Department of Medicine, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB, Canada.
K IslamHousing for Health, Division of Preventive Medicine, Department of Medicine, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB, Canada.
Z AzarmHousing for Health, Division of Preventive Medicine, Department of Medicine, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB, Canada.
K K LeeHousing for Health, Division of Preventive Medicine, Department of Medicine, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB, Canada. kkl1@ualberta.ca.

Funding

Public Health Agency of Canada 1819-HQ-000051
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundWeather and season are determinants of physical activity. Therefore, it is important to ensure built environments are designed to mitigate negative impacts of weather and season on pedestrians to prevent these losses. This scoping review aims to identify built environment audits of pedestrian environments developed for use during a specific weather condition or season. Secondly, this review aims to investigate gaps in the inclusion of relevant weather mitigating built environment features in pedestrian environment audit tools.

methodsFollowing a standard protocol, a systematic search was executed in CINAHL, Medline and Web of Science to identify built environment audit tools of pedestrian spaces. These databases were chosen since they are well-known to comprehensively cover health as well as multi-disciplinary research publications relevant to health. Studies were screened, and data were extracted from selected documents by two independent reviewers (e.g., psychometric properties and audit items included). Audit items were screened for the inclusion of weather mitigating built environment features, and the tool's capacity to measure temperature, precipitation, seasonal and sustainability impacts on pedestrians was calculated.

resultsThe search returned 2823 documents. After screening and full text review, 27 articles were included. No tool was found that was developed specifically for use during a specific weather condition or season. Additionally, gaps in the inclusion of weather mitigating items were found for all review dimensions (thermal comfort, precipitation, seasonal, and sustainability items). Poorly covered items were: (1) thermal comfort related (arctic entry presence, materials, textures, and colours of buildings, roads, sidewalk and furniture, and green design features); (2) precipitation related (drain presence, ditch presence, hazards, and snow removal features); (3) seasonal features (amenities, pedestrian scale lighting, and winter destinations and aesthetics); and (4) sustainability features (electric vehicle charging stations, renewable energy, car share, and bike share facilities).

conclusionsCurrent built environment audit tools do not adequately include weather / season mitigating items. This is a limitation as it is important to investigate if the inclusion of these items in pedestrian spaces can promote physical activity during adverse weather conditions. Because climate change is causing increased extreme weather events, a need exists for the development of a new built environment audit tool that includes relevant weather mitigating features.

Indexed as

Built EnvironmentPedestriansWeatherEnvironment DesignHumansSeasonsWalkingActive transportationBuilt environmentClimate changePhysical activitySeasonWalkabilityWeatherWinter

Identifiers

PMID39068394
PMCPMC11282675

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.