title: Walking, obesity and urban design in Chinese neighborhoods.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  We examined the connections (1) between the design of the built environment and walking, (2) between the design of the built environment and obesity, and (3) between walking and obesity and income in urban settings in China.
  
  
  METHODS
  Six neighborhoods with different built environment characteristics, located in the Chinese cities of Shanghai and Hangzhou, were studied. Data on walking and other physical activity and obesity levels from 1070 residents were collected through a street intercept survey conducted in 2013. Built environment features of 527 street segments were documented using the Irvine-Minnesota Inventory-China (IMI-C) environmental audit. Data were analyzed using the State of Place™ Index.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Walking rates, household income and Body Mass Index (BMI) were related; neighborhoods with a higher State of Place™ Index were associated with higher rates of walking.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  This study began to establish an evidence base for the association of built environment features with walking in the context of Chinese urban design. Findings confirmed that the associations between "walkable" built environment features and walking established in existing research in other countries, also held true in the case of Chinese neighborhoods.
authors.affiliation: Department of Technology, Culture and Society, Polytechnic School of Engineering, New York University, LC 130, 6 MetroTech Center, Brooklyn, NY 11201, USA. Electronic address: malfonzo@nyu.edu.
authors.forename: Mariela
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Alfonzo
authors.affiliation: Robert F. Wagner Graduate School of Public Service, New York University, Rm 3010, 295 Lafayette Street, New York, NY 10012, USA. Electronic address: zg11@nyu.edu.
authors.forename: Zhan
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Guo
authors.affiliation: College of Ecological and Environmental Sciences, East China Normal University, Room 219, Life Science Building, 500 Dongchuan Road, Shanghai 200241, China. Electronic address: llin@re.ecnu.edu.cn.
authors.forename: Lin
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Lin
authors.affiliation: Department of Technology, Culture and Society, Polytechnic School of Engineering, New York University, LC 130C, 6 MetroTech Center, Brooklyn, NY 11201, USA. Electronic address: kday@nyu.edu.
authors.forename: Kristen
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Day
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D015992:Body Mass Index; D002681:China / Q000453:epidemiology; D004779:Environment Design; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007182:Income; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009043:Motor Activity; D009765:Obesity / Q000453:epidemiology; D050177:Overweight / Q000453:epidemiology*; D012044:Regression Analysis; D012111:Residence Characteristics; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D014505:Urban Population; D016138:Walking / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*
keywords: China; Income; Neighborhood; Obesity; Physical activity; Urban design; Walking