title: Influence of the built environment on pedestrian route choices of adolescent girls.
abstract: We examined the influence of the built environment on pedestrian route selection among adolescent girls. Portable global positioning system units, accelerometers, and travel diaries were used to identify the origin, destination, and walking routes of girls in San Diego, CA and Minneapolis, MN. We completed an inventory of the built environment on every street segment to measure the characteristics of routes taken and not taken. Route-level variables covering four key conceptual built environment domains (Aesthetics, Destinations, Functionality, and Safety) were used in the analysis of route choice. Shorter distance had the strongest positive association with route choice, while the presence of a greenway or trail, higher safety, presence of sidewalks, and availability of destinations along a route were also consistently positively associated with route choice at both sites. The results suggest that it may be possible to encourage pedestrians to walk farther by providing high quality and stimulating routes.
authors.affiliation: Department of City and Regional Planning, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, USA.
authors.forename: Daniel A
authors.initials: DA
authors.lastname: Rodríguez
authors.affiliation: Department of City and Regional Planning, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, USA.
authors.forename: Louis
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Merlin
authors.affiliation: Department of Transport, Technical University of Denmark, Denmark.
authors.forename: Carlo G
authors.initials: CG
authors.lastname: Prato
authors.affiliation: Family & Preventive Medicine, University of California, San Diego, San Diego, CA, USA.
authors.forename: Terry L
authors.initials: TL
authors.lastname: Conway
authors.affiliation: The RAND Corporation, Santa Monica, CA, USA.
authors.forename: Deborah
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Cohen
authors.affiliation: Institute for Behavioral and Community Health San Diego State University, San Diego CA, USA.
authors.forename: John P
authors.initials: JP
authors.lastname: Elder
authors.affiliation: Department of Epidemiology, Gillings School of Global Public Health, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, USA.
authors.forename: Kelly R
authors.initials: KR
authors.lastname: Evenson
authors.affiliation: School of Exercise and Nutritional Sciences, San Diego State University, San Diego, CA, USA.
authors.forename: Thomas L
authors.initials: TL
authors.lastname: McKenzie
authors.affiliation: School of Exercise and Nutritional Sciences, San Diego State University, San Diego, CA, USA.
authors.forename: Julie L
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: Pickrel
authors.affiliation: Division of Epidemiology & Community Health, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis., MN, USA.
authors.forename: Sara
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Veblen-Mortenson
keywords: built environment; discrete choice; pedestrian route selection; walking