School site and the potential to walk to school: the impact of street connectivity and traffic exposure in school neighborhoods.
The impact of neighborhood walkability (based on street connectivity and traffic exposure) within 2 km of public primary schools on children regularly walking to school was examined. The most (n=13) and least walkable (n=12) schools were selected using a school-specific 'walkability' index and a cross sectional study undertaken of Year 5, 6 and 7 children (n=1480) and consenting parents (n=1332). After adjustment, regularly walking to school was higher in children attending schools in high walkable neighborhoods (i.e, high street connectivity and low traffic volume) (Odds ratio (OR) 3.63; 95% Confidence Interval (CI) 2.01-6.56), and less likely in neighborhoods with high connectivity but high traffic volume (OR 0.32; 95% CI 0.22-0.47). Connected street networks provide direct routes to school but when designed for heavy traffic, the potential for children to walk to school is reduced. This highlights the importance of carefully considering school siting and, particularly, street design in school neighborhoods.
Centre for the Built Environment and Health, School of Population Health, The University of Western Australia, Perth, M707, 35 Stirling Highway, Crawley, Western Australia 6009, Australia. billie.giles-corti@uwa.edu.au
Billie
B
Giles-Corti
Gina
G
Wood
Terri
T
Pikora
Vincent
V
Learnihan
Max
M
Bulsara
Kimberly
K
Van Niel
Anna
A
Timperio
Gavin
G
McCormack
Karen
K
Villanueva
D000063:Accidents, Traffic / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D002648:Child; D003415:Crime / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D004779:Environment Design; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D012111:Residence Characteristics; D012449:Safety; D012574:Schools; D016138:Walking / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D014904:Western Australia