The walkability of Bristol: How this relates to physical activity, health and wellbeing

Project details

Full project title: The walkability of Bristol: How this relates to physical activity, health and wellbeing

Duration: September 2012-July 2013

Funder: 'SPUR' Early Career Researcher Grant from UWE Bristol

Project leader: Dr Danielle Sinnett

Other UWE Bristol researchers: Sarah Burgess (WHO Collaborating Centre for Healthy Urban Environments)

Research partner: Bristol City Council

Project summary

The importance of walking as a form of physical activity has been rising in prominence in recent years. Walking is accessible to the majority of the population; it is low cost, requires no specialist equipment or training and can be relatively easily incorporated into daily routines. This project examines the walkability of Bristol and how this relates to physical activity, utility walking, health and wellbeing.

The objectives of the study are to:

• Gain a greater understanding of the relationship between the walking environment in Bristol and levels of physical activity and walking (a), and indicators of health and wellbeing (b).
• Investigate whether perceptions of the walking environment have changed over time and how these relate to levels of physical activity, utility walking, health and wellbeing, concentrating on wards that have actively improved the walking environment.

The walking environment will be assessed using residents’ perceptions of their neighbourhoods from Bristol City Council’s Quality of Life Survey and data on the urban form (density, connectivity and land use mix) available in Geographical Information Systems. We will also use the Quality of Life Survey to provide data on residents’ self-reported walking, physical activity, overall health and wellbeing.

Project contact

For more information about the project, please contact Dr Danielle Sinnett (Danielle.Sinnett@uwe.ac.uk).