Active Toronto

A physically active lifestyle is important in preventing and managing many chronic diseases, such as heart disease and type 2 diabetes. ¹  In Canada, physical inactivity is becoming increasingly common; a recent report found that Canadians employed in full-time work were sedentary for nearly 70% of their day. ²  Efforts to address low physical activity levels have often been focused on the individual while neglecting the significance of the environment as a crucial factor in shaping behaviour. ¹ 

There is a strong association between physical activity and the neighbourhood-built environment. ^1,3,4  The walkability of a neighbourhood, defined as the extent to which the neighbourhood-built environment is friendly for people to walk, ⁵  can promote physical activity such as higher levels of active transport and routine physical activity. Access to greenspace can also be associated with physical activity by reducing exposure to noise, pollution, and high temperatures. ⁶  These spaces promote the opportunity to engage in physical exercise, social interaction and provide psychological restoration. ⁶ 

We further explored the relationship between green space and walkability with recreational physical activity in Toronto neighbourhoods using Geographically Weighted Regression (GWR). GWR is a “spatial” version of the Ordinary Least Squares Regression (OLR) that can explore local relationships between predictors and outcomes of interest. We use neighbourhood green space coverage and pedestrian walkway coverage as independent variables and recreational leisure time as the dependent variable for the GWR model.

All steps for data tidying are implemented in ArcGIS Pro. Functions include: Add Join, Calculate Field, Add Field, Summary Statistics, Clip, Intersect, Calculate Geometry Attributes, and Spatial Join.

A previous study examining the relationship between neighbourhood walkability and greenspace found that the relationship between greenness and physical activity was strong in neighbourhoods with low walkability and weak in neighbourhoods with high walkability. ¹¹  In our study, the association between physical activity and greenspace was weakened when adjusting pedestrian walkways. This suggests that while greenspace may promote physical activity in neighbourhoods without a significant pedestrian walkway network, a neighbourhood's walkability is more critical in encouraging physical recreation among residents.

It is also important to note that the City of Toronto has a long, cold winter season. While individuals may be less likely to engage in physical activities in green spaces in the winter months, the season has little influence on activity in walkable neighbourhoods; residents will still utilize pedestrian walkway networks in the winter to conduct activities of routine daily life (e.g., commuting, shopping, social interactions). This also can help explain the strong association of physical activity with pedestrian walkways.

This analysis provides evidence that the built environment may play a more significant role than the natural environment in promoting daily physical activity. Further, physical activity rates are higher in pedestrian-friendly and well-connected-built environments. The results of this analysis can provide valuable insights into urban design and city planning strategies that can foster opportunities for physical activity and, ultimately, lead to a reduction in chronic disease and mortality risks among residents

1. Schipperijn, J., Bentsen, P., Troelsen, J., Toftager, M., & Stigsdotter, U. K. (2013). Associations between physical activity and characteristics of urban green space. Urban forestry & urban greening, 12(1), 109-116.
2. Prince, S. A., Roberts, K. C., Reed, J. L., Biswas, A., Colley, R. C., & Thompson, W. (2020). Daily physical activity and sedentary behaviour across occupational classifications in Canadian adults. Health Reports, 31(9), 11-26.
3. Richardson, E. A., Pearce, J., Mitchell, R., & Kingham, S. (2013). Role of physical activity in the relationship between urban green space and health. Public health, 127(4), 318-324.
4. Hunter, R. F., Christian, H., Veitch, J., Astell-Burt, T., Hipp, J. A., & Schipperijn, J. (2015). The impact of interventions to promote physical activity in urban green space: a systematic review and recommendations for future research. Social science & medicine, 124, 246-256.
5. Wang, H., & Yang, Y. (2019). Neighbourhood walkability: A review and bibliometric analysis. Cities, 93, 43-61.
6. Kabisch, N., Korn, H., Stadler, J., & Bonn, A. (2017). Nature-based solutions to climate change adaptation in urban areas: Linkages between science, policy and practice. Springer Nature.
7. McKeown, D. (2015). Green City: Why Nature Matters to Health. Toronto, Canada: City of Toronto.
8. Saelens, B. E., Sallis, J. F., & Frank, L. D. (2003). Environmental correlates of walking and cycling: findings from the transportation, urban design, and planning literatures. Annals of Behavioral Medicine, 25(2), 80–91.
9. Sallis, J. F., Bowles, H. R., Bauman, A., Ainsworth, B. E., Bull, F. C., Craig, C. L., Sjöström, M., De Bourdeaudhuij, I., Lefevre, J., & Matsudo, V. (2009). Neighborhood environments and physical activity among adults in 11 countries. American Journal of Preventive Medicine, 36(6), 484–490.
10. Rundle, A. G., Sheehan, D. M., Quinn, J. W., Bartley, K., Eisenhower, D., Bader, M. M., ... & Neckerman, K. M. (2016). Using GPS data to study neighborhood walkability and physical activity. American journal of preventive medicine, 50(3), e65-e72.
11. James, P., Hart, J. E., Hipp, J. A., Mitchell, J. A., Kerr, J., Hurvitz, P. M., ... & Laden, F. (2017). GPS-Based Exposure to Greenness and Walkability and Accelerometry-Based Physical ActivityGreenness, Walkability, and Physical Activity. Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention, 26(4), 525-532.