title: The Physical Activity and Redesigned Community Spaces (PARCS) Study: Protocol of a natural experiment to investigate the impact of citywide park redesign and renovation.
abstract: The built environment plays a critical role in promoting physical activity and health. The association between parks, as a key attribute of the built environment, and physical activity, however, remains inconclusive. This project leverages a natural experiment opportunity to assess the impact of the Community Parks Initiative (CPI), a citywide park redesign and renovation effort in New York City, on physical activity, park usage, psychosocial and mental health, and community wellbeing.
  
  
  
  The project will use a longitudinal design with matched controls. Thirty intervention park neighborhoods are socio-demographically matched to 20 control park neighborhoods. The study will investigate whether improvements in physical activity, park usage, psychosocial and mental health, and community wellbeing are observed from baseline to 3 years post-renovation among residents in intervention vs. control neighborhoods.
  
  
  
  This study represents a rare opportunity to provide robust evidence to further our understanding of the complex relationship between parks and health. Findings will inform future investments in health-oriented urban design policies and offer evidence for addressing health disparities through built environment strategies.
authors.affiliation: Center for Systems and Community Design, Graduate School of Public Health and Health Policy, City University of New York, New York, NY, USA. terry.huang@sph.cuny.edu.|CUNY School of Public Health, 55 W. 125th Street, Room 803, New York, NY, 10027, USA. terry.huang@sph.cuny.edu.
authors.forename: Terry T K
authors.initials: TT
authors.lastname: Huang
authors.affiliation: Center for Systems and Community Design, Graduate School of Public Health and Health Policy, City University of New York, New York, NY, USA.
authors.forename: Katarzyna E
authors.initials: KE
authors.lastname: Wyka
authors.affiliation: Center for Systems and Community Design, Graduate School of Public Health and Health Policy, City University of New York, New York, NY, USA.
authors.forename: Emily B
authors.initials: EB
authors.lastname: Ferris
authors.affiliation: New York City Department of Parks and Recreation, New York, NY, USA.
authors.forename: Jennifer
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Gardner
authors.affiliation: Department of Epidemiology, Gillings School of Global Public Health, University of North Carolina - Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, USA.
authors.forename: Kelly R
authors.initials: KR
authors.lastname: Evenson
authors.affiliation: Center for Systems and Community Design, Graduate School of Public Health and Health Policy, City University of New York, New York, NY, USA.
authors.forename: Devanshi
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Tripathi
authors.affiliation: Center for Systems and Community Design, Graduate School of Public Health and Health Policy, City University of New York, New York, NY, USA.
authors.forename: Gabriel Martinez
authors.initials: GM
authors.lastname: Soto
authors.affiliation: Center for Systems and Community Design, Graduate School of Public Health and Health Policy, City University of New York, New York, NY, USA.
authors.forename: Matthew S
authors.initials: MS
authors.lastname: Cato
authors.affiliation: MEI Research, Inc., Edina, MN, USA.
authors.forename: Jon
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Moon
authors.affiliation: New York City Department of Parks and Recreation, New York, NY, USA.
authors.forename: Julia
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Wagner
authors.affiliation: City University of New York School of Medicine, Sophie Davis Biomedical Education Program, New York, NY, USA.
authors.forename: Joan M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Dorn
authors.affiliation: Research Triangle Institute, Research Triangle Park, Durham, NC, USA.
authors.forename: Diane J
authors.initials: DJ
authors.lastname: Catellier
authors.affiliation: Center for Systems and Community Design, Graduate School of Public Health and Health Policy, City University of New York, New York, NY, USA.|Department of Population Health, School of Medicine, New York University, New York, NY, USA.
authors.forename: Lorna E
authors.initials: LE
authors.lastname: Thorpe
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D004779:Environment Design; D015444:Exercise; D015438:Health Behavior; D006293:Health Promotion / Q000379:methods*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009043:Motor Activity; D009519:New York City; D011633:Public Facilities; D011998:Recreation; D012111:Residence Characteristics
keywords: Built environment; Mental health; Natural experiment; Parks; Physical activity; Planning; Recreation