The study examined an hypothesized connection between proximity to green space and activity level in both a "smart growth" and conventionally designed community. In recent years increasing numbers of housing and community development projects have been including smart growth principles in an attempt to promote an active lifestyle. Common features of these communities included connected, walkable streets, mixed land use, extensive green space and public parks. Previous studies conducted in smart growth communities reported a high level of intense physical activity in relation to conventionally constructed living spaces. Much of this research, however, had relied on self-reported data.
For this study, Almanza and colleagues utilized both a GPS and accelerometer unit to continuously track the movements of participants within their surroundings while outside the home and outside the school settings. These units were provided to 208 study participants (143 conventional/65 smart growth; all 8-14 years old) and activity data was collected for a seven day interval.
Overall the study findings demonstrate that exposure to greener areas was associated with higher levels of physical activity and that this association was slightly stronger for children living in the smart growth community compared to the conventional community. Specifically, the study findings include:
The smart growth group recorded significantly greater number of daily minutes of activity (51.64) compared to the conventional group (31.86)
Green space exposure was directly linked to physical activity, potentially indicating that activity occurred in proximity to green space.
An exposure to green space was slightly more likely to increase the odds of physical activity in the smart growth group (39% increase) vs conventional group (34%)
Individual level analysis suggested that children with at least 20 minutes of exposure of greener areas were nearly 5 times more likely to engage in moderate to vigorous physical activity compared to children with little or no exposure to greener areas.
In both groups male participants were more likely than female participants to engage in physical activity.
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