AUTHOR=Zang Peng , Qiu Hualong , Xian Fei , Zhou Xiang , Ma Shifa , Zhao Yabo 

TITLE=Research on the Difference Between Recreational Walking and Transport Walking Among the Elderly in Mega Cities With Different Density Zones: The Case of Guangzhou City

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Public Health

VOLUME=Volume 9 - 2021

YEAR=2021

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/public-health/articles/10.3389/fpubh.2021.775103

DOI=10.3389/fpubh.2021.775103

ISSN=2296-2565

ABSTRACT=Walking is the easiest method of physical activity for older people, and current research has demonstrated that the built environment is differently associated with recreational and transport walking. This study modeled the environmental characteristics of three different building density zones in Guangzhou city, low, medium and high, and examined the differences in walking among older people in the three zones. The International Physical Activity Questionnaire (IPAQ) was used to investigate the past week's recreational and transport walking time of older people aged 65 years and above, for a total of three density zones (N=597), and was analyzed as a dependent variable. Geographic Information Systems (GIS) was used to identify 300m, 500m, 800m and 1000m buffers and to assess differences between recreational and transport walking in terms of built environment (i.e. land use mix, street connectivity, Normalized Difference Vegetation Index NDVI data). The data were processed and validated using the Statistical Products and Services Solution (SPSS) to calculate Pearson correlation models and stepwise regression models between recreation and transit walking and built environment. Results found that land use mix and NDVI were positively correlated with traffic walking in low density areas, and that traffic walking was negatively correlated with roadway mediated centrality (BtE) and Point-of-Interests (PoIs) density. Recreational walking in medium density areas was negatively correlated with self-rated health, road intersection density, and PoIs density, and positively correlated with educational attainment, population density, land use mix, street connectivity, PoIs density, and NDVI. Traffic walking is negatively correlated with land use mix, number of road crossings and positively correlated with commercial PoIs density. Street connectivity, road intersection density, DNVI and recreational walking in high density areas show negative correlations. Also the built environment of older people in Guangzhou differs between recreational and traffic walking at different densities. The richness of PoIs has different effects on different types of walking.