Background: Creating activity-friendly communities (AFCs) is an important strategy to increase physical activity (PA). While cross-sectional links between community environments and PA are well documented, their causal relationships remain insufficiently explored. Methods: Using the accelerometer and survey data collected from adults who moved to an AFC (cases) and similar non-AFC-residing adults who did not move (comparisons), this pre–post, case-comparison study examines if moving to an AFC increases PA. Data came from 115 participants (cases = 37, comparisons = 78) from Austin, Texas, who completed 2 waves of 1-weeklong data collection. Difference-in-difference analyses and fixed-effect models were used to test the significance of the pre–post differences in moderate-to-vigorous PA (MVPA) between cases and comparisons, for the full sample and the subsample of 37 pairs matched in key covariates using the Propensity Score Matching method. Results: Average treatment effect generated based on Propensity Score Matching and difference-in-difference showed that moving to this AFC led to an average of 10.88 additional minutes of daily MVPA (76.16 weekly minutes, P = .015). Fixed-effect models echoed the result with an increase of 10.39 minutes of daily MVPA after moving to the AFC. We also found that case participants who were less active at baseline and had higher income increased their MVPA more than their counterparts. Conclusions: This study showed that, among our study sample, moving to an AFC increased residents’ PA significantly when compared to their premove level and the comparison group. This causal evidence suggests the potential of AFCs as sustainable interventions for PA promotion.

Bus rapid transit (BRT) has emerged as a promising solution to support sustainable urban development. Using smartphone mobility data, this quasi-experiment in El Paso, Texas explored the impacts of BRT on visits to non-work-related business destinations and socioeconomic disparities in these impacts. Fixed effect models were used to compare visit frequencies between treatment (within 0.5 mile of BRT stations) and control areas. Results showed that BRT increased business destination visits, especially among low-income and older populations. Further efforts are needed to investigate the full range of BRT benefits and strategies to promote transit-oriented development around BRT.

Aim: We aimed to identify how the COVID-19 lockdown affected changes, including the potential for longer term sustained changes, in physical activity, as compared to immediately prior to the pandemic. Background: Physical activity’s significant role in overall health is known to be influenced by the surrounding environment, such as one’s neighborhood, prompting this study of physical activity and its relationship with individual-level and neighborhood-level factors within the pandemic timeline. Methods: A statewide online survey assessed adults’ self-reported weekly minutes of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) comparing a typical week immediately prior to the pandemic and during the pandemic (prewidespread vaccination) using negative binomial models. Results: Overall, MVPA decreased during the pandemic, though the decrease was driven largely by the reduction in MVPA outside one’s neighborhood. In contrast, MVPA done within one’s neighborhood increased over time. This change in MVPA done within one’s neighborhood was not uniform across several characteristics including income level favoring those with the highest income ( p < .05) and race/ethnicity favoring those self-reporting as non-Hispanic White ( p < .05). While several factors, including higher Walk Scores, were associated with higher levels of MVPA without evidence of change over time, evidence of a differential effect over time was seen for other key indicators of social and structural determinants of health including income and race/ethnicity. Conclusions: This study can add to the existing literature surrounding not only COVID-19 but also neighborhood built environmental research seeking to identify factors associated with changes in MVPA, a known indicator of overall health and health-related outcomes.

Aim: This study examined significant knowledge gaps in understanding walkability-livability relationships. Background: The concept of livability focuses on perceptions of neighborhood environments in relation to quality of life. As walkable communities become increasingly promoted for their health and environmental benefits, questions remain about how walkability affects perceived livability across individuals with various backgrounds and preferences. Methods: We conducted a retrospective study with residents relocated to a community that is not only walkable but also mixed-income in Austin, Texas, U.S. Surveys were used to capture their satisfaction with perceived livability (i.e., “a good place to live” and “a good place to raise children”) and specific neighborhood features, and relevant personal, social, and environmental factors. We used (1) paired t-tests to examine pre-post move differences, (2) binary logistic regressions to predict perceived livability, and (3) multiple linear regressions to predict the pre-post differences in perceived livability. Results: Relocation to this community demonstrated improved satisfaction with two overall livability measures and specific neighborhood features related to convenient transportation, access to services, environmental quality, and social cohesion. Affordable housing residents had more consistent satisfaction and greater improvements, suggesting improved residential equality in this mixed-income community. Improvements in perceived crime safety, natural surroundings, walkable destinations, and air quality predicted improvement in both livability measures. Denser streets improved satisfaction with a good place to live but were insignificant for the change in satisfaction with a good place to raise children. Conclusions: More research is needed to address distinct population outcomes and livability specific to raising children.