Translating Urban Walkability Initiatives for Older Adults in Rural and Under-Resourced Communities

Alexandra Klann, Linh Vu, Mollie Ewing, Mark Fenton and Rachele Pojednic
Additional contact information
Alexandra Klann: Department of Nutrition, Simmons University, Boston, MA 02115, USA
Linh Vu: Department of Nutrition, Simmons University, Boston, MA 02115, USA
Mollie Ewing: Children and Family Services Corporation, Vincennes, IN 47951, USA
Mark Fenton: Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy, Tufts University, Boston, MA 02111, USA
Rachele Pojednic: Department of Nutrition, Simmons University, Boston, MA 02115, USA

IJERPH, 2019, vol. 16, issue 17, 1-16

Abstract: The built environment can promote physical activity in older adults by increasing neighborhood walkability. While efforts to increase walkability are common in urban communities, there is limited data related to effective implementation in rural communities. This is problematic, as older adults make up a significant portion of rural inhabitants and exhibit lower levels of physical activity. Translating lessons from urban strategies may be necessary to address this disparity. This review examines best practices from urban initiatives that can be implemented in rural, resource-limited communities. The review of the literature revealed that simple, built environment approaches to increase walkability include microscale and pop-up infrastructure, municipal parks, and community gardens, which can also increase physical activity in neighborhoods for urban older adults. These simple and cost-effective strategies suggest great potential for rural communities.

Keywords: walkability; parks; recreation; physical activity; exercise; older adults; infrastructure; community gardens (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2019
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/16/17/3041/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/16/17/3041/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:16:y:2019:i:17:p:3041-:d:259803

Access Statistics for this article

IJERPH is currently edited by Ms. Jenna Liu

More articles in IJERPH from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().