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
Name
ijerph-15-01719-v2.pdf
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1.59 MB
Format
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Checksum (MD5)
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Author(s)
Villeneuve, Paul J.
Ysseldyk, Renate L.
Root, Ariel
Ambrose, Sarah
DiMuzio, Jason
Kumar, Neerija
Shehata, Monica
Xi, Min
Seed, Evan
Shooshtari, Mahdi
Date Issued
August 2018
Journal
International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health
Publisher
MDPI AG
Citation
Villeneuve, Paul J. et al. "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." International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health 15, 8 (August 2018): 1719 © 2018 The Authors
Version
Final published version
Abstract
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.
MIT Department
Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Urban Studies and Planning
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Creative Commons Attribution
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DOI of Published Version
https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph15081719
