University of Melbourne, Australia.
Soc Sci Med. 2012 Oct;75(8):1469-76. doi: 10.1016/j.socscimed.2012.05.029. Epub 2012 Jun 28.
Although the neighbourhoods and health field is well established, the relationships between neighbourhood selection, neighbourhood preference, work-related travel behaviours, and transport infrastructure have not been fully explored. It is likely that understanding these complex relationships more fully will inform urban policy development, and planning for neighbourhoods that support health behaviours. Accordingly, the objective of this study was to identify associations between these variables in a sample of employed adults. Self-reported demographic, work-related transport behaviours, and neighbourhood preference data were collected from 1616 employed adults recruited from 48 neighbourhoods located across four New Zealand cities. Data were collected between April 2008 and September 2010. Neighbourhood built environment measures were generated using geographical information systems. Findings demonstrated that more people preferred to live in urban (more walkable), rather than suburban (less walkable) settings. Those living in more suburban neighbourhoods had significantly longer work commute distances and lower density of public transport stops available within the neighbourhood when compared with those who lived in more urban neighbourhoods. Those preferring a suburban style neighbourhood commuted approximately 1.5 km further to work when compared with participants preferring urban settings. Respondents who preferred a suburban style neighbourhood were less likely to take public or active transport to/from work when compared with those who preferred an urban style setting, regardless of the neighbourhood type in which they resided. Although it is unlikely that constructing more walkable environments will result in work-related travel behaviour change for all, providing additional highly walkable environments will help satisfy the demand for these settings, reinforce positive health behaviours, and support those amenable to change to engage in higher levels of work-related public and active transport.
尽管邻里和健康领域已经得到了很好的发展，但邻里选择、邻里偏好、与工作相关的出行行为和交通基础设施之间的关系尚未得到充分探索。很可能，更全面地了解这些复杂的关系将为城市政策制定和支持健康行为的邻里规划提供信息。因此，本研究的目的是在一组就业成年人样本中确定这些变量之间的关联。从 2008 年 4 月至 2010 年 9 月在新西兰四个城市的 48 个街区招募的 1616 名就业成年人中收集了自我报告的人口统计学、与工作相关的交通行为和邻里偏好数据。使用地理信息系统生成邻里建成环境测量值。研究结果表明，更多人更喜欢居住在城市（步行更方便），而不是郊区（步行不便）。与居住在更城市化社区的人相比，居住在更郊区化社区的人工作通勤距离明显更长，社区内可用的公共交通站点密度也更低。与更喜欢城市风格社区的参与者相比，更喜欢郊区风格社区的人上班通勤距离大约多出 1.5 公里。与更喜欢城市风格环境的人相比，无论他们居住在何种类型的社区，更喜欢郊区风格社区的人乘坐公共交通工具或积极出行上下班的可能性更小。尽管不太可能通过构建更适合步行的环境来改变所有人的工作相关出行行为，但提供更多高度适合步行的环境将有助于满足对这些环境的需求，强化积极的健康行为，并支持那些愿意改变的人更多地参与与工作相关的公共和积极交通。
