Neighborhood Built Environment Impacts Park Use of Diverse, Low-Income Mothers With Their Children

Lauren E Mullenbach; Lincoln R Larson; Myron F Floyd; Oriol Marquet; Jing-Huei Huang; Claudia Alberico; J Aaron Hipp

Neighborhood Built Environment Impacts Park Use of Diverse, Low-Income Mothers With Their Children

J Healthy Eat Act Living. 2021 Sep 1;1(3):108-120. eCollection 2021.

Authors

Lauren E Mullenbach¹, Lincoln R Larson², Myron F Floyd², Oriol Marquet³, Jing-Huei Huang^{2

4}, Claudia Alberico^{2

4}, J Aaron Hipp^{2

4}

Affiliations

¹ Department of Geography and Environmental Sustainability, University of Oklahoma, Norman, Oklahoma, U.S.A.
² Department of Parks, Recreation, and Tourism Management, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, North Carolina, U.S.A.
³ Geography Department, Autonomous University of Barcelona, Spain.
⁴ Center for Geospatial Analytics, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, North Carolina, U.S.A.

PMID: 37799194
PMCID: PMC10550036

Abstract

Built environment features, including parks, often exacerbate health disparities. We examined built environment perceptions and park use among a population at high risk for negative physical health outcomes: racially diverse, low-income mothers across the United States. Perceived safety from crime and living near a park were associated with more frequent park use for mothers with their children, and neighborhood walkability was linked to longer park visits. However, only 40% of mothers lived within a 10-minute walk of a park, and overall perceptions of walkability and safety from crime were low. To enhance physical activity and health of low-income mothers with their children, investments are needed to close disparities in park access and improve neighborhood safety.

Keywords: crime; parents; physical activity; race; walkability; youth.

Grants and funding

This work was supported by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation through the Physical Activity Research Center under grant #76627.