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Enhancing Food Security and Physical Activity for Māori, Pacific and Low-income PeoplesChapter 5: Improving urban design5.1 Enhancing open space and connectivityJamie Pearce and Sharron BowersSummaryThere are growing concerns about low levels of physical activity and the associatedimplications for health outcomes. Increasingly, it is appreciated that public healthstrategies focused on encouraging changes to individual behaviour have beeninsufficient. Long term and sustained improvements to physical activity levels are likelyto require making a number of changes to residential settings, including to the urbanbuilt environment. This chapter evaluates the potential for implementing urban designinitiatives (particularly open space and street connectivity) to address physical activitylevels among Māori, Pacific and low-income communities in New Zealand.The international evidence suggests that local access to open space and neighbourhoodstreet connectivity exert a significant but modest effect on population-level physicalactivity. However, adjustments of these factors alone are unlikely to increase physicalactivity levels to recommended levels. There is a paucity of research evaluating theimplication of these two area-level factors among disadvantaged groups. What evidenceis available tentatively suggests that enhancing open space and street connectivity inmore disadvantaged areas is particularly advantageous to these groups.The evidence base in New Zealand for examining the effects of access to open spaceand street connectivity on physical activity is extremely limited. Most of the research thathas been completed in this area was undertaken in the United States, and while thefindings are compelling, the urban form of US cities (such as residential segregation,inequality, density etc) is distinct from the New Zealand situation. Therefore, theevidence from the US is unlikely to be transferable to the New Zealand context. Furtherinvestigation to develop the New Zealand evidence base is recommended.New research should be targeted at exploring the influence of the built environment onphysical activity and related health outcomes, with a particular emphasis on the threetarget communities. While new cross-sectional studies will make useful additions to theevidence base, it will be difficult to determine causality, which will limit the strength ofevidence available in New Zealand. Perhaps the most fruitful line of research may comefrom collecting detailed longitudinal data that tracks individuals as they move betweendifferent settings in conjunction with sophisticated measures of the built environment.Current studies such as the ‘Longitudinal Study of New Zealand Children and Families’as well as ‘Survey of Family, Income and Employment, Statistics New Zealand’ offersome opportunities. In addition, researchers should take advantage of various ‘naturalexperiments’ within the built environment that take place (eg. the opening of orimprovement to urban parkland or adjustments to the road/cycle network).131
Enhancing Food Security and Physical Activity for Māori, Pacific and Low-income PeoplesWhile it is imperative to develop the New Zealand evidence base linking the pertinentcomponents of the urban built environment and physical activity, it is also important toconsider in parallel the policy levers that can be used to enhance these environments.The development of a National Policy Statement (NPS) in New Zealand offersconsiderable potential to enhance many characteristics of the built environment thatpotentially influence physical activity. It is important that the ongoing process ofdeveloping a NPS in New Zealand, underpinned by the research that is progressing inthis area, explicitly incorporates an evaluation of the health implications of itsrecommendations. A significant strategic priority of a new NPS should be to specificallytarget the improvement of physical activity in Māori, Pacific and low income communitiesacross the country.Finally, while the Royal Commission on Auckland Governance recommends thatgovernance structures should promote recreation 72 , relevant stakeholders need to keepa watching brief to ensure that any local government reforms maintain a focus on wellbeingthat includes actions to enhance physical activity.Recommendations are that:• New research should be targeted at exploring the influence of the builtenvironment on physical activity and related health outcomes, with a particularemphasis on the three target communities.• Ensure that the ongoing process of developing a National Policy Statement onUrban Design incorporates an evaluation of the health implications of itsrecommendations, and specifically targets the improvement of physical activity inMāori, Pacific and low income communities.• Keep a watching brief to ensure that any local government reforms maintain afocus on wellbeing that includes actions to enhance physical activity.Problem definitionThe emergence of the ‘obesity epidemic’ in recent years and the associated concernsabout how levels of physical activity among populations are currently the focus of muchresearch. Recent international evidence suggests that public health strategies focusedon encouraging changes to individual behaviour, such as initiatives to increaseparticipation in physical activity, have been insufficient. While explanations for theobesity epidemic are clearly multifaceted, it is increasingly appreciated that the role ofthe environment is pivotal in understanding the population-level decrease in energyexpenditure. A strong case can be made for substantial and long-lasting environmentalinitiatives that provide easier opportunities for physical activity. Of course, advocating asuccessful public health agenda requires a robust evidence base, including a confidentassessment of whether environmental interventions do influence physical activity.There is growing international evidence that various physical features of the builtenvironment are pertinent in understanding individual-level physical activity levels.Neighbourhood characteristics that potentially influence physical activity levels include:access to recreational facilities and open/green space; neighbourhood aesthetics; socialcapital; crime and incivilities; and transportation options. The focus of this document isto evaluate the potential for implementing urban design initiatives to address physicalactivity levels among Māori, Pacific and low income communities in New Zealand. Inparticular, and based on the prioritisation process that the research team has132
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