There is evidence that access to parks is associated with increased youth physical activity. However, less is known about how much activity children get at parks, what park elements children use to get activity or how the neighborhood environment influences children's choices to visit a park. Researchers at the University of Buffalo will collect information that will help answer these questions. Specifically, they will examine the duration, total activity, and intensity of children's activity at parks and other land parcel types. Investigators will also examine how the neighborhood environment - particularly those aspects that influence pedestrian access to parks - and sociodemographic characteristics predict the frequency that a child chooses to visit a park. The final aim of this study is to determine the park elements (e.g., play equipment) youth choose to utilize to be active when at a park. The sample will include equal numbers of African American, Hispanic, and Caucasian girls and boys from the neighborhood surrounding Delaware Park in Buffalo, NY. Results of this study will be used to prepare guidelines for park design and neighborhood land use plans that increase children's accessibility to a park and to optimize the active play choices of boys and girls when they do visit a park.
