A Geographical Analysis of Socioeconomic and Environmental Drivers of Physical Activity in Chicago, IL

Keywords: Social and Environmental Factors, Physical Inactivity Prevalence, Urban Health, Chicago city
Session Type: Virtual Paper Abstract
Day: Tuesday
Session Start / End Time: 3/1/2022 08:00 AM (Eastern Time (US & Canada)) - 3/1/2022 09:20 AM (Eastern Time (US & Canada))
Room: Virtual 41

Abstract

A relationship between the spatial and socio-environmental dynamics and people's physical activity behaviors gets significant attention. To date, the studies are limited to the built environment characteristics; however, physical activity behaviors should be investigated among the broad range of social and environmental factors. The study aims to describe spatial and socioeconomic factors associated with physical activity in Chicago City and identify physical activity behavior's significant hinders and contributors. This paper illustrates the utility of spatial regression in analyzing and presenting spatially distributed physical inactivity at the census tract level in Chicago City. In addition, we map the spatial variation of physical activity with variation in the trees' densities, percentage of people in poverty, people with disability and language barrier, vacant housing, and bike lane and mixed land use ratios. Our findings indicate that physical activity is associated with socioeconomic and environmental factors, including poverty, people with disabilities, trees' densities, ratios of bike lanes, and mixed land uses. Results may guide further decisions in planning for physical activity behavior research and intervention, especially for identifying vulnerable areas and people.