The Physical Activity and Redesigned Community Spaces (PARCS) Study: Protocol of a natural experiment to investigate the impact of citywide park redesign and renovation

BMC Public Health

Study Protocol

Gabriel Martinez Soto¹  Matthew S. Cato¹  Devanshi Tripathi¹  Katarzyna E. Wyka¹  Emily B. Ferris¹  Terry T. K. Huang²  Lorna E. Thorpe³  Joan M. Dorn⁴  Kelly R. Evenson⁵  Jon Moon⁶  Julia Wagner⁷  Jennifer Gardner⁷  Diane J. Catellier⁸ 

[1] Center for Systems and Community Design, Graduate School of Public Health and Health Policy, City University of New York, New York, NY, USA;Center for Systems and Community Design, Graduate School of Public Health and Health Policy, City University of New York, New York, NY, USA;CUNY School of Public Health, 55 W. 125th Street, Room 803, 10027, New York, NY, USA;Center for Systems and Community Design, Graduate School of Public Health and Health Policy, City University of New York, New York, NY, USA;Department of Population Health, School of Medicine, New York University, New York, NY, USA;City University of New York School of Medicine, Sophie Davis Biomedical Education Program, New York, NY, USA;Department of Epidemiology, Gillings School of Global Public Health, University of North Carolina – Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, USA;MEI Research, Inc., Edina, MN, USA;New York City Department of Parks and Recreation, New York, NY, USA;Research Triangle Institute, Research Triangle Park, Durham, NC, USA;

关键词: Parks;    Recreation;    Physical activity;    Mental health;    Natural experiment;    Built environment;    Planning;   

DOI  :  10.1186/s12889-016-3822-2

 received in 2016-09-11, accepted in 2016-11-04,  发布年份 2016

来源: Springer

【 摘 要 】

BackgroundThe built environment plays a critical role in promoting physical activity and health. The association between parks, as a key attribute of the built environment, and physical activity, however, remains inconclusive. This project leverages a natural experiment opportunity to assess the impact of the Community Parks Initiative (CPI), a citywide park redesign and renovation effort in New York City, on physical activity, park usage, psychosocial and mental health, and community wellbeing.MethodsThe project will use a longitudinal design with matched controls. Thirty intervention park neighborhoods are socio-demographically matched to 20 control park neighborhoods. The study will investigate whether improvements in physical activity, park usage, psychosocial and mental health, and community wellbeing are observed from baseline to 3 years post-renovation among residents in intervention vs. control neighborhoods.DiscussionThis study represents a rare opportunity to provide robust evidence to further our understanding of the complex relationship between parks and health. Findings will inform future investments in health-oriented urban design policies and offer evidence for addressing health disparities through built environment strategies.

【 授权许可】

CC BY   
© The Author(s). 2016