Senseable City Lab, Department of Urban Studies and Planning, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 9-250, 77 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA.
Department of Geography, University of Connecticut, Storrs, CT 06269, USA.
Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2018 Oct 6;15(10):2186. doi: 10.3390/ijerph15102186.
Public health researchers are increasingly interested in assessing the impact of neighborhood environment on physical activities and chronic health issues among humans. Walkable streets and proximity to green space have long been believed to promote active lifestyles in cities, which contribute to positive health outcomes among residents. Traditionally, urban environmental metrics were calculated at the area level to describe the physical environment of neighborhoods. However, considering the fact that streets are the basic unit for human activities in cities, it is important to understand how the streetscape environment can influence human health conditions. In this study, we investigated the influence of street greenery and walkability on body mass index in Cleveland, Ohio, USA. Different from the area level and overhead view greenery metrics, we used the green view index calculated from the Google Street View to represent the amount of street greenery. The Walk Score was used to indicate the walkability of neighborhoods also at the street level. Statistical analysis results show that the Walk Score has a more significant association with decreased BMI for males than females and the street greenery has a more significant association with decreased BMI for females than males in Cleveland, Ohio. The results of this study would provide a reference for designing gender-specific healthy cities.
公共卫生研究人员越来越关注评估邻里环境对人类身体活动和慢性健康问题的影响。长久以来，人们一直认为可步行的街道和临近绿地有助于促进城市的积极生活方式，从而对居民的健康状况产生积极影响。传统上，城市环境指标是在区域层面上计算的，以描述邻里的物理环境。然而，考虑到街道是城市中人类活动的基本单元，了解街道景观环境如何影响人类健康状况非常重要。在这项研究中，我们调查了俄亥俄州克利夫兰的街道绿化和可步行性对体重指数的影响。与区域水平和俯瞰绿化指标不同，我们使用从谷歌街景计算得出的绿色视野指数来表示街道绿化的数量。步行得分用于表示街道层面邻里的可步行性。统计分析结果表明，在克利夫兰，步行得分与男性 BMI 降低的相关性大于女性，而街道绿化与女性 BMI 降低的相关性大于男性。本研究结果将为设计针对特定性别的健康城市提供参考。
