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Cited by 588Urban Transport and AccessibilityCrime Patterns and InterventionsPhysical Activity and Health

The built environment, neighborhood crime and constrained physical activity: An exploration of inconsistent findings

Foster, Sarah, Giles-Corti, Billie·2008·Preventive Medicine
DOI 10.1016/j.ypmed.2008.03.017
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Abstract

Objectives Personal safety is commonly cited in qualitative research as a barrier to local walking, yet the relationship between safety and constrained physical activity has received mixed support in quantitative studies. This paper reviews the quantitative evidence to date, seeking to explain the inconsistencies, and offers recommendations for future research.Methods A social-ecological framework was adopted to explore the evidence linking crime-related safety, and factors that influence real and perceived safety, with constrained physical activity.Results Perceived safety tends to affect the physical activity of groups already known to exhibit greater anxiety about crime; and some elements of the built environment that influence safety appear to constrain physical activity. However the evidence is somewhat inconsistent, and this may be partly attributed to measurement limitations. Many studies employ generic safety measures that make implicit references to crime or use composite variables that lack specificity. Physical activity outcomes also require consideration, as only activities occurring locally outdoors are likely to be affected by neighborhood crime.Conclusions Further research is required to tease out associations between real and perceived crime-related safety and physical activity, ideally employing behaviour and crime-specific measures, and addressing the moderating role of the social and built environments.

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  • The large majority of studies in reviews of neighborhood safety and adult physical activity found that perceived or objective measures of safety were positively associated with physical activity, including among women and men, and with use of parks and park activities.

    “The large majority of studies in these reviews found that perceived or objective measures of safety were positively associated with physical activity, including among women and men, and with use of parks and park activities.”

    From Population Approaches to Improve Diet, Physical Activity, and Smoking Habits: A Scientific Statement From the American Heart Association (2012) · cites this paper as [373]

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Authors
Foster, S., & Giles-Corti, B.
Affiliations
The University of Western Australia (AU)
Corresponding author
Foster, Sarah
ORCID
Foster, Sarah
Venue
Preventive Medicine
Publisher
Elsevier BV
Published
2008-09
Volume
47
Issue
3
Pages
241-251
ISSN
0091-7435 (ISSN-L)
DOI
10.1016/j.ypmed.2008.03.017
OpenAlex
W2005776681
Cited by
588
References
78
Citations by year
2026: 26 · 2025: 20 · 2024: 30 · 2023: 21 · 2022: 30 · 2021: 23 · 2020: 28 · 2019: 48 · 2018: 40 · 2017: 45 · 2016: 55 · 2015: 43 · 2014: 55 · 2013: 36 · 2012: 26
FWCI
3.40
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
closed
Licence
www.elsevier.com/tdm/userlicense/1.0/ (tdm)
Locations
  • Preventive Medicine (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • UWA Profiles and Research Repository (UWA) (submittedVersion)
Topics
  • Social Sciences › Transportation › Urban Transport and Accessibility
  • Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Crime Patterns and Interventions
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Physiology › Physical Activity and Health
Keywords
built environment, neighborhood crime, perceived safety, personal safety, walking, socio-ecological framework, outdoor physical activity, measurement limitations
MeSH terms
Crime, Environment Design, Environmental Health, Fear, Health Promotion, Health Status, Humans, Motor Activity, Preventive Medicine, Residence Characteristics, Safety, Social Environment, Social Perception, United States, Public Health Practice, Walking

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