Built Environment and Physical Activity in Suburban Guangzhou Residences: A People–Environment Transaction Perspective

Abstract

The connection between the built environment and the physical activity of people is increasingly emphasized in China, given its unique suburbanization and dramatic changes in lifestyle. This paper aims to provide more evidence on equivocal findings on specific built environments and physical activities by examining the roles of the built environment on people’s physical activity within suburban residences in Guangzhou (China). Multinomial logistic and ordinal regression analyses were used to identify the factors associated with physical activity that indicated the unique features of urban-type suburban residences: residential density, street connectivity, pedestrian infrastructure, design features, safety, destination accessibility, and pedestrian infrastructure. The confounding effects of individual sociodemographic characteristics are ascertained in interpretive, evaluative, and responsive transactions between the built environment and physical activity, highlighting the determinative nature of perceived environmental opportunities and barriers to physical activity. With the absence of operative transactions, key stakeholders of commodity housing developments should be motivated, and residents need to be educated and empowered to help realize a better, physically active living environment.

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