Study on the Impact of the Objective Characteristics and Subjective Perception of the Built Environment on Residents’ Physical Activities in Fuzhou, China

Lizhen Zhao, Zhenjiang Shen, Yanji Zhang and Fubin Sheng
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Lizhen Zhao: School of Environmental Design, Kanazawa University, Kanazawa 920–1192, Japan
Zhenjiang Shen: School of Environmental Design, Kanazawa University, Kanazawa 920–1192, Japan
Yanji Zhang: School of Architecture and Urban-Rural Planning, Fuzhou University, Fuzhou 350116, China
Fubin Sheng: School of Urban Design, Wuhan University, Wuhan 430070, China

Sustainability, 2019, vol. 12, issue 1, 1-14

Abstract: Many researchers have confirmed a correlation between the built environment and physical activity. However, most studies are based on the objective characteristics of the built environment, and seldom involve the residents’ subjective perception. The purpose of this study is to explore the relationship between the subjective and objective characteristics of the built environment and physical activity at the community scale. Data consists of that collected from a social survey, Points of Interest (POI), the road network, and land use in Fuzhou, China. The duration of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) within a week is used to represent the general physical activity of residents. Security perception is introduced as an intermediary variable. SPSS software is used for factor analysis and Amos software for statistical analysis. Structural equations are set up to analyse the relationship between these variables. The final results show that: (1) The objective characteristics of the built environment have no direct impact on the development of leisure MVPA, but it can indirectly affect leisure MVPA through residents’ subjective perception of the built environment; (2) The subjective perception of residents has a significant impact on the duration of MVPA, the subjective perception of humanized space has a direct impact on the duration of MVPA, and destination accessibility and urban environment maintenance has an indirect impact through community public security perception; and (3) The individuals’ attributes such as gender and self-evaluated socioeconomic status have negative effects on the duration of leisure MVPA, and an individual’s love of sports has a positive effect on MVPA.

Keywords: moderate-to-vigorous physical activity; built environment; objective characteristics; subjective perception; structural equation modelling (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2019
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