Table 6 Built environment and physical activity key findings and research needs in hot climate
Key findings and policy recommendations | Research needs |
|---|---|
• Amongst the built environment features researched, providing access to destinations, walking and cycling infrastructure, connected streets and locations (design), and providing a safe and aesthetically pleasing environment (desirability) are the most promising single characteristics and categories to increase physical activity also in tropical or subtropical arid locations. • Environments that contain attributes across multiple 11D categories– such as walkable neighborhoods or new-urbanist developments– seem to be most promising. • Evidence on the importance of disaster mitigation features, such as shade and tree canopy, is scarce but these features can likely facilitate physical activity in (sub) tropical arid locations. • Many associations are similar across Western- and non-Western locations. However, in contrast to Western countries, density and walkability were mostly negatively associated with physical activity, while aesthetics and safety seem to be more important in non-Western locations. • Introducing or adapting policies tailored to the 11D’s is a powerful tool to support the implementation of physical activity-enhancing built environment characteristics. Policies are most promising to support the creation and maintenance of physical activity-enhancing environments if they are integrated across relevant sectors and governance levels, provide specific and measurable targets for monitoring, and are informed by evidence. | • The importance of tree shade and greenery to facilitate physical activity in a tropical or subtropical arid climate needs to be studied, in particular in longitudinal or quasi-experimental studies. • The large majority of cities in tropical or subtropical arid regions are non-Western. Evaluating the association between physical activity and environmental characteristics, cultural values, and urban forms in this context is needed. • Future multi-national and multi-cultural studies would be valuable to investigate differences and underlying reasons regarding environment–physical activity associations |