Urban Design for Physical Activity

An exploration of the use of quantitative statistics to determine the role of urban design of public space in Westland, the Netherlands, in encouraging adolescents to be more physically active

Master thesis (2020)

Authors

S.E.M. van Rijn Architecture and the Built Environment

Contributors

A. Romein Architecture OTB (supervisor 1)
L.P.J. van den Burg Urban Design - Architecture and the Built Environment (supervisor 1)
R. Cavallo Theory, Territories & Transitions - Architecture and the Built Environment (supervisor 2)
Faculty
Architecture and the Built Environment
Copyright: © 2020 Susanne van Rijn
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Published Date

19-11-2020

Language

English

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Faculty

Architecture and the Built Environment

Abstract

In the entire
European Region over 80% of the adolescents are not active enough (WHO, 2019b).
Physical activity can be seen as an essential component of human health as it
can contribute to reducing the risk at several diseases, such as diabetes,
depression, and several types of cancer (World Health Organization, 2010,
p.10). Physical activity behaviour is influenced by a high variety of
variables, ranging from personal variables to the physical environment. The
composition of public spaces can facilitate or hinder adolescent physical
activity behaviour. Although a lot of research has been done already and
studies increasingly included the physical environment, research shows
inconsistencies regarding similar variables (e.g. Ding, Sallis, Kerr, Lee,
& Rosenberg, 2011). This makes it difficult to apply the knowledge in urban
design practice. The objective of this thesis is to explore the role of urban
design in contributing to increase activity levels of adolescents using
quantitative statistics. Literature review is used to identify attributes of
(adolescent) physical activity behaviour. From this review spatial attributes
are selected to research the preferences of adolescents to visit public spaces
for physical activity. A choice based conjoint analysis (CBCA) is used to
estimate the relative importance of ten spatial attributes for adolescent
physical activity in outdoor public space. To illustrate how such statistical
method can be used to inform urban design a square in Westland, the Netherlands
is selected as a test case to transform. Westland showed to be the least green
municipality, and adolescents in Westlands appeared less active than the Dutch
average. The attributes that showed significantly important from the survey
were used to analyse and transform an existing public space. Choice based
conjoint analysis can be a valuable method to use in urban research and design,
as one can identify user preferences before actually transforming the physical
environment. However it is important to carefully define and use the attributes
for the analysis, and to avoid misinterpretation as much as possible. Choice
based conjoint analysis can identify what spatial attributes are
important and with that an urban designer can show how these can be
implemented in urban design.