title: Neighborhood incivilities, perceived neighborhood safety, and walking to school among urban-dwelling children.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Walking to school is an important source of physical activity among children. There is a paucity of research exploring environmental determinants of walking to school among children in urban areas.
  
  
  METHODS
  A cross-sectional secondary analysis of baseline data (2007) from 365 children in the "Multiple Opportunities to Reach Excellence" (MORE) Study (8 to 13 years; Mean 9.60 years, SD 1.04). Children and caregivers were asked about walking to school and perceived safety. Objective measures of the environment were obtained using a validated environmental neighborhood assessment.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Over half (55.83%) of children reported walking to school most of the time. High levels of neighborhood incivilities were associated with lower levels of perceived safety (OR: 0.39, 95% CI: 0.21 to 0.72). Living on a block above the median in incivilities was associated with a 353% increase in odds of walking to school (OR: 3.53; 95% CI: 1.68 to 7.39).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Children residing in neighborhoods high in incivilities are more likely to walk to school, in spite of lower levels of perceived safety. As a high proportion of children residing in disadvantaged neighborhoods walk to school, efforts should be directed at minimizing exposure to neighborhood hazards by ensuring safe routes to and from school.
authors.affiliation: Department of Health Policy and Management, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD, USA.
authors.forename: Lauren M
authors.initials: LM
authors.lastname: Rossen
authors.forename: Keshia M
authors.initials: KM
authors.lastname: Pollack
authors.forename: Frank C
authors.initials: FC
authors.lastname: Curriero
authors.forename: Timothy M
authors.initials: TM
authors.lastname: Shields
authors.forename: Mieka J
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Smart
authors.forename: Debra M
authors.initials: DM
authors.lastname: Furr-Holden C
authors.forename: Michele
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Cooley-Strickland
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D002648:Child; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D012111:Residence Characteristics; D012449:Safety; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D014505:Urban Population; D016138:Walking / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*