Neighbourhood Environmental Correlates of Perceived Park Proximity in Montreal (Quantitative Research) (Report‪)‬

Recent commentaries on neighbourhood environments and health have highlighted the importance of the built environment as a policy target for public health interventions seeking to improve population health. (1-3) Among built environmental resources, park and recreation settings have been recognized as key neighbourhood features that provide residents with opportunities for physical health, (4) psychological health (5) and social benefits. (6,7) Perceived proximity to parks and recreational settings has been found to be associated with greater recreational and walking activity in urban adults. (8,9) All things being equal, adults who view parks and recreation settings as more accessible and proximate may be more likely to walk or use those settings for physical activity or recreational purposes. People's perceptions of the neighbourhood environment, however, can differ significantly. (10) Older adults, those with lower levels of education, or those who have lived in an area longer may perceive their neighbourhood boundaries as smaller in scale. (11,12) Spatial characteristics of the environment may also play a role in people's perceived accessibility to local neighbourhood features. For example, as might be expected, actual distance to a park has been shown to be associated with people's perceptions of park proximity. (10) Less is known about the role of socio-environmental factors in shaping perceived park proximity. Yet, if public health interventions targeting urban design and the built environment are to succeed in promoting population health, greater knowledge is needed with regard to how socio-demographic and socioeconomic factors are associated with people's perceptions of park proximity and other neighbourhood resources. This study seeks to contribute to the development of an empirical evidence base around possible socio-environmental and socio-demographic targets for ecological interventions to improve physical activity levels. Three main questions guide the study: 1) What is the association between socio-demographic characteristics and perceived park proximity? 2) After adjusting for socio-demographic characteristics, is actual distance and/or park density associated with perceived proximity? and 3) Is neighbourhood-level income associated with the likelihood of residents perceiving a park as within walking distance, after adjustment for individual socio-demographic factors?