Are People Living in Walkable Areas Healthier and More Satisfied with Life?

The psychology of residential mobility: a decade of progress

Residential mobility has become a common experience for people in most parts of the world. As the number of people moving to different cities, states, and countries increases, it is critical to understand how this residential mobility affects one's thoughts, emotions, and actions. Psychological research on residential mobility over a decade is such an endeavor. We briefly summarize the earlier research in psychology that demonstrated the importance of residential mobility in understanding important psychological constructs such as self-concepts, social relationships, and well-being. We then review recent evidence in psychology and relevant fields that replicated and extended the earlier research. We discuss what is missing in the current literature and what additional research is needed in the future.

Comparing the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index with the Google Street View Measure of Vegetation to Assess Associations between Greenness, Walkability, Recreational Physical Activity, and Health in Ottawa, Canada

The manner in which features of the built environment, such as walkability and greenness, impact participation in recreational activities and health are complex. We analyzed survey data provided by 282 Ottawa adults in 2016. The survey collected information on participation in recreational physical activities by season, and whether these activities were performed within participants' neighbourhoods. The SF-12 instrument was used to characterize their overall mental and physical health. Measures of active living environment, and the satellite derived Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) and Google Street View (GSV) greenness indices were assigned to participants' residential addresses. Logistic regression and least squares regression were used to characterize associations between these measures and recreational physical activity, and self-reported health. The NDVI was not associated with participation in recreational activities in either the winter or summer, or physical or mental health. In contrast, the GSV was positively associated with participation in recreational activities during the summer. Specifically, those in the highest quartile spent, on average, 5.4 more hours weekly on recreational physical activities relative to those in the lowest quartile (p = 0.01). Active living environments were associated with increased utilitarian walking, and reduced reliance on use of motor vehicles. Our findings provide support for the hypothesis that neighbourhood greenness may play an important role in promoting participation in recreational physical activity during the summer.