walkability, connectivity, urban renewal
Walkability is important to multiple aspects of a community. It has an effect on the health of an individual, low income communities seem to be those who are most effected by the lack of walkability, as well as limited nutritional options, which is a factor of walkability. Obesity rates in low income communities are staggering, currently 65% of Americans are overweight, and a lot of these individuals live in low income communities. Walkability seems to affect low income communities, and many people who live in these areas are minorities, a majority being Black and Hispanic. Blacks and Hispanics have a higher rate of obesity than Whites, current research states that 22% of Whites are overweight, while 37% of Blacks and 35% of Hispanics are overweight.9 It is important to improve urban low income communities walkability to improve the lives of these people. Safety is a factor of walkability and many of these urban areas are crime stricken which limits the opportunities of people to go out and explore their neighborhoods by walking. If better food options were available then people would make better decision on what they chose to eat, sidewalk size and sidewalk safety are very important in promoting walkability. Additional trees will also promote a better environment and studies show that the placement of trees between the sidewalk and the road makes people feel safe. It is important to figure out which of these aspects of walkability have the greatest effect on a neighborhood and which can be improved with low cost. If a variety of factors of walkability can be improved, these neighborhoods will be more accessible and not only will it improve their lives, but it will bring better facilities to their communities, companies like to go to profitable areas and areas they feel they will be accessible. As a better of variety of facilities are placed into communities, housing in these neighborhoods will also improve and the housing market will appeal to a better variety of people, which in turn will make them mixed income communities, which is something that planners intend on doing. Walkability seems to lead a domino effect on a neighborhood and it is important to make improvements and find which factors most effect a neighborhood and see what can be done to make improvements.
Obesity and Overweight for Professionals: Data and Statistics: U.S. Obesity Trends | DNPAO | CDC.” http://www.cdc.gov/obesity/data/trends.html.
2. “San Diego Neighborhoods on Walk Score.” http://www.walkscore.com/CA/San_Diego.
3. Leslie, Eva, Brian Saelens, Lawrence Frank, Neville Owen, Adrian Bauman, Neil Coffee, and Graeme Hugo. “Residents’ perceptions of walkability attributes in objectively different neighbourhoods: a pilot study.” Health & Place 11, no. 3 (September 2005): 227-236.
4. “Sign In.” British Journal of Sports Medicine - BMJ Journals. Web. 19 Oct. 2010.
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5. Doyle, Scott, Alexia Kelly-Schwartz, Marc Schlossberg, and Jean Stockard. “Active Community Environments and Health: The Relationship of Walkable and Safe Communities to Individual Health.” Journal of the American Planning Association 72, no. 1 (2006): 19.
6. Sallis, James F., Brian E. Saelens, Lawrence D. Frank, Terry L. Conway, Donald J. Slymen, Kelli L. Cain, James E. Chapman, and Jacqueline Kerr. “Neighborhood built environment and income: Examining multiple health outcomes.” Social Science & Medicine 68, no. 7 (April 2009): 1285-1293.
7. Cohen, Deborah A., Brian K. Finch, Aimee Bower, and Narayan Sastry. “Collective efficacy and obesity: The potential influence of social factors on health.” Social Science & Medicine 62, no. 3 (February 2006): 769-778.
8. Sallis, J F, M F Hovell, C R Hofstetter, J P Elder, M Hackley, C J Caspersen, and K E Powell. “Distance between homes and exercise facilities related to frequency of exercise among San Diego residents..” Public Health Reports 105, no. 2 (1990): 179-185.
9. Fairburn, Christopher G., and Kelly D. Brownell. Eating disorders and obesity: a comprehensive handbook. Guilford Press, 2002.
10. Smith, Ken R., Barbara B. Brown, Ikuho Yamada, Lori Kowaleski-Jones, Cathleen D. Zick, and Jessie X. Fan. “Walkability and Body Mass Index: Density, Design, and New Diversity Measures.” American Journal of Preventive Medicine 35, no. 3 (September 2008): 237-244.
11. Schmid, Calvin F. “Urban Crime Areas: Part II.” American Sociological Review 25, no. 5 (October 1960): 655-678.
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http://www.cdc.gov/obesity/data/trends.html.
http://www.walkscore.com/CA/San_Diego.
This proposal outlines a research strategy to examine the effects of walkability in communities throughout San Diego, specifically low income urban communities, including Central Imperial and Southcrest, with a comparison to Gaslamp Quarters and Midtown, and find affordable ways to make improvements. Current research on the effects of walkability suggests that walkability effects the lively hood of an individual and also the business market, yet low income communities lack proper facilities to make them more walkable. This raises three fundamental problems: safety, land mix use, and street design. This proposal outlines a research strategy aimed at addressing these three problems. Specifically, the study will rely on interview data, archival research, and my observations as an intern for the Southeastern Economic Development Corporation. The research will contribute to the literature on community and economic development of urban space to make it more functional.
The purpose of this research is to identify and examine the effects that walkability has on communities throughout San Diego, specifically low income urban communities, including Central Imperial and Southcrest, with a comparison to Gaslamp Quarters and Midtown, and find which aspect of walkability affects the community the most. Walkability is the extent to which the built environment is friendly to the presence of people living and spending time in an area. The first phase of the research involves interviews with current community leaders who promote walkability, as well as gathering information from current research that has been conducted to examine their conclusions and methods. The final phase involves plotting out spots on maps of each neighborhood to have a visual of the built environment as well as creating graphs and charts that analyze the effects that income and built environment have on walkability. By doing so, this research shows that walkability has a positive association with health and the built environment, in particular the street design; of a community has the greatest effect on a walkability score.
Research has been conducted on what factors of a community are considered when thinking of walkability; these include residential density, land-use mix, street connectivity and safety. Not only have factors been created, but a walkability index has been created to determine the quality of life. Current researches has been conducted on this issue, several studies have identified aspects of the built environment as being related to adult physical activity. Among lifelong residents of an area, lesser walkability and more crime were also associated with respondents reporting weight-related chronic illness and lower ratings of their own health. Research results suggest that to promote activity and health, planners should consider community walkability, crime prevention, and safety. There have also been studies on walkability and income effects of a neighborhood. This study seems to show a gradual relation between income and walkability. Research has been conducted on how walkability effects youth and their upbringing, concluding that there is an association between BMI and physical and social environments. Although there lacks research in San Diego, distance between homes and facilities have been evaluated and come to the conclusion that neighborhoods with local exercise facilities exercise more frequently, and these neighborhoods are middle to high income communities.
Current tables and research will be used in order to examine the relationship between walkability factors, health, and income. Tables including those with relation between walkability and BMI, 10 walkability compared to income, and crime rates based on 20 crime variables .11 Additional research and observations will take place, traveling to each location and examining streets, how wide they are, if trees are present, and if they are in good condition. A map of each location will be used in order to see the actual distance between homes and factors used to determine walkability, such as how far grocery stores are, gyms, restaurants, parks, public transits, and shopping. Graphs for each neighborhood will be drawn out, comparing each of the factors of walkability to each neighborhood to determine if there is actually an income bridge between walkability, and also which factor of walkability has the greatest effect on a neighborhood. My involvement as an intern with the Southeastern Economic Development Corporation (SEDC) will allow me to meet with individuals to further question the effects of walkability and which factors the community feels need be improved first. SEDC will also allow me to see how much these community adjustments will cost and also experience the process for making request to make such improvements. I also plan on surveying members of each community and seeing what they feel is most needed to be improved and also if they feel their communities are walkable. I will be able to accomplish this through SEDC as well as by attending community planning meetings and asking volunteers to take part in surveys.
I plan to start my research by first discussing current community projects at SEDC with its employees. I will then make maps of all the areas I plan to examine, including housing locations, housing markets, stores, parks, transits, and density. An additional graph of average street size, speed limit, and street connectivity will be created. Graphs will then be drawn out comparing each main factor of walkability between each neighborhood and then compared to the walkability score each neighborhood has received. All of this information will be analyzed and upon coming to a conclusion on what is the leading factor to walkability, the next step will be to figure out what can be done to make efficient improvements to improve the neighborhoods in San Diego.
Central Imperial and Southcrest are 2 neighborhoods that have failing walkability scores. Southcrest has a score of 52 out of 100 and Central Imperial has a score of 65 out of 100, while the Gaslamp quarters and Midtown, both have high walkability scores, the Gaslamp scoring a 94 out of 100 and Midtown scoring a 85 out of 100. 2 Central Imperial is located south of highway 94, along Imperial Avenue and Euclid Avenue. Southcrest covers the area east Interstate 5 south of National Avenue and west of 43rd Street. The Gaslamp covers a portion of downtown while Midtown covers the area bordering Mission Hills to the North and Hillcrest to the East. These areas were chosen because of their variety of scoring and also their location
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