Ongoing research is beginning to show that enhancing community environments to support walking and bicycling is a promising approach to increase physical activity. However, ways to measure and identify the specific community features that make a community activity friendly are limited. The Saint Louis University School of Public Health team will determine the most important features of the street-level environment that influence transportation and recreational activity among residents of lower and higher income communities within St. Louis, Missouri and Savannah, Georgia. Data will be collected and analyzed using a telephone survey of activity levels and perceived environmental characteristics. In addition, the physical and social environments of the community study areas will be evaluated through community audits. Results of this project will be spread widely to scientific researchers, public health practitioners, and community partners.
