Koohsari Mohammad Javad, Sugiyama Takemi, Hanibuchi Tomoya, Shibata Ai, Ishii Kaori, Liao Yung, Oka Koichiro
Faculty of Sport Sciences, Waseda University, Japan.
Behavioural Epidemiology Laboratory, Baker Heart and Diabetes Institute, Australia.
Prev Med Rep. 2018 Jan 28;9:114-117. doi: 10.1016/j.pmedr.2018.01.001. eCollection 2018 Mar.
Objective measures of environmental attributes have been used to understand how neighborhood environments relate to physical activity. However, this method relies on detailed spatial data, which are often not easily available. Walk Score® is a free, publicly available web-based tool that shows how walkable a given location is based on objectively-derived proximity to several types of local destinations and street connectivity. To date, several studies have tested the concurrent validity of Walk Score as a measure of neighborhood walkability in the USA and Canada. However, it is unknown whether Walk Score is a valid measure in other regions. The current study examined how Walk Score is correlated with objectively-derived attributes of neighborhood walkability, for residential addresses in Japan. Walk Scores were obtained for 1072 residential addresses in urban and rural areas in Japan. Five environmental attributes (residential density, intersection density, number of local destinations, sidewalk availability, and access to public transportation) were calculated using geographic information systems for each address. Pearson's correlation coefficients between Walk Score and these environmental attributes were calculated (conducted in May 2017). Significant positive correlations were observed between Walk Score and environmental attributes relevant to walking. Walk Score was most closely associated with intersection density ( = 0.82) and with the number of local destinations ( = 0.77). Walk Score appears to be a valid measure of neighborhood walkability in Japan. Walk Score will allow urban designers and public health practitioners to identify walkability of local areas without relying on detailed geographic data.
环境属性的客观测量方法已被用于了解邻里环境与身体活动之间的关系。然而，这种方法依赖于详细的空间数据，而这些数据往往不易获取。“步行评分”（Walk Score®）是一种免费的、可公开获取的基于网络的工具，它根据客观得出的与几种当地目的地的接近程度和街道连通性，显示给定位置的可步行程度。迄今为止，已有多项研究在美国和加拿大测试了“步行评分”作为邻里可步行性度量的同时效度。然而，在其他地区“步行评分”是否是一种有效的度量尚不清楚。本研究针对日本的住宅地址，考察了“步行评分”与邻里可步行性的客观得出属性之间的相关性。获取了日本城乡1072个住宅地址的“步行评分”。使用地理信息系统为每个地址计算了五个环境属性（居住密度、交叉路口密度、当地目的地数量、人行道可用性和公共交通可达性）。计算了“步行评分”与这些环境属性之间的皮尔逊相关系数（于2017年5月进行）。观察到“步行评分”与与步行相关的环境属性之间存在显著正相关。“步行评分”与交叉路口密度（r = 0.82）和当地目的地数量（r = 0.77）的关联最为紧密。在日本，“步行评分”似乎是邻里可步行性的有效度量。“步行评分”将使城市设计师和公共卫生从业者无需依赖详细的地理数据就能确定当地地区的可步行性。
