Does physical activity rates change when people move from a primarily urban setting into either a “neo-traditional” neighborhood or a conventional, suburban neighborhood? This study is following about 100 low-income women and their children before and after they move into new homes in 4 communities in Georgia, Alabama, and Florida. The researchers from Cornell University asked the women and their children to wear accelerometers and/or pedometers, and had them fill out the International Physical Activity Questionnaire (IPAC) prior to their move. The woman and children will again fill out the IPAC one year after they move. The researchers will use the data to see if there is a relationship between type of neighborhood and changing levels of physical activity. The study will also attempt to identify which qualities of the new neighborhoods seem to make the most difference in increasing or decreasing physical activity, and whether factors such as a fear, crime, or a sense of community impacts levels of activity.
