ArticlePDF Available

Abstract

Background: Temporary parks such as the monthly event, Sunday Streets SF, support public health goals by using existing infrastructure and street closures to provide physical activity in neighborhoods underserved for recreational resources. Sunday Streets creates routes to enhance community connection. Methods: Six hundred and thirty-nine participants at 3 Sunday Streets events were surveyed using a 36-item instrument of open- and closed-ended questions about overall physical activity behavior, physical activity while at Sunday Streets, experience of the events, and demographic data. Results: Overall, Sunday Streets participants are physically active (79% engage in activity 3-7 days/week) and approximately represent the ethnic minority distribution of the city. There were significant differences between first-time attendees and multiple-event attendees by duration of physical activity at the event (55.83 minutes vs. 75.13 minutes) and by frequency of physical activity bouts per week (3.69 vs. 4.22). Both groups emphasized the positive experience and safe environment as reasons to return to the event; for first-time attendees, the social environment was another reason to return. Conclusions: Temporary parks like Sunday Streets have the potential to provide healthful, population-wide physical activity using existing streets. The trend toward increased activity by multiple-event attendees suggests the importance of a regular schedule of events.
249
Official Journal of ISPAH
www.JPAH-Journal.com
ORIGINAL RESEARCH
Journal of Physical Activity and Health, 2014, 11, 249-255
http://dx.doi.org/10.1123/jpah.2011-0290
© 2014 Human Kinetics, Inc.
Zieff and Kim are with the Dept of Kinesiology, San Francisco
State University, San Francisco, CA. Wilson and Tierney are
with the Dept of Recreation, Parks, and Tourism, San Francisco
State University, San Francisco, CA.
A “Ciclovia” in San Francisco: Characteristics and
Physical Activity Behavior of Sunday Streets Participants
Susan G. Zieff, Mi-Sook Kim, Jackson Wilson, and Patrick Tierney
Background: Temporary parks such as the monthly event, Sunday Streets SF, support public health goals by
using existing infrastructure and street closures to provide physical activity in neighborhoods underserved
for recreational resources. Sunday Streets creates routes to enhance community connection. Methods: Six
hundred and thirty-nine participants at 3 Sunday Streets events were surveyed using a 36-item instrument of
open- and closed-ended questions about overall physical activity behavior, physical activity while at Sunday
Streets, experience of the events, and demographic data. Results: Overall, Sunday Streets participants are
physically active (79% engage in activity 3–7 days/week) and approximately represent the ethnic minority
distribution of the city. There were signicant differences between rst-time attendees and multiple-event
attendees by duration of physical activity at the event (55.83 minutes vs. 75.13 minutes) and by frequency
of physical activity bouts per week (3.69 vs. 4.22). Both groups emphasized the positive experience and safe
environment as reasons to return to the event; for rst-time attendees, the social environment was another
reason to return. Conclusions: Temporary parks like Sunday Streets have the potential to provide healthful,
population-wide physical activity using existing streets. The trend toward increased activity by multiple-event
attendees suggests the importance of a regular schedule of events.
Keywords: open streets, temporary parks, community development, population health
Persistent upward trends in overweight and obesity
among children and adults have been observed by health
professionals, urban planners and policy-makers.1 Data
from national surveys indicate that ethnic minority popu-
lations and inner-city residents are more overweight, less
physically active and experience higher rates of diseases
such as diabetes and cardiovascular disease than the
general population.2
The barriers to physical activity among urban
residents are multifactorial (eg, involve the built and
social environments) and differ by unique inuences of
poverty, racial and ethnic segregation and urban density
by context.3 Among adults, common barriers to physical
activity engagement include lack of convenient access,
safety concerns, limited time, lack of nancial resources,
unavailable or limited access to transportation and an
absence of personal motivation.4 Built environment fea-
tures positively associated with neighborhood residents
meeting physical activity guidelines include sidewalks,
bicycling facilities, and access to low-cost recreational
facilities.5,6 Leisure-time physical activity in a develop-
ing country has been associated with park design and
types of use.7 There is growing evidence that safe urban
public parks, particularly in neighborhoods under-served
for recreation, support public health goals by providing
physical activity opportunities.8
Scholars suggest that parks more effectively promote
physical activity when they include built features (eg,
basketball, tennis courts, and playgrounds) and include
opportunities for a range of users.9,10 Parks are also used
more frequently when they are conveniently located in
proximity to targeted users11 and when negative features
of parks such as litter, vandalism, and derelict physical
amenities are minimized.12 In addition, there is substantial
evidence that social environment attributes inuence the
positive perception of parks among users.13
Regular park users are more likely to achieve rec-
ommended levels of physical activity than nonusers,11
suggesting that expanding available park space is an
important strategy for public health. However, increas-
ing physical activity through additional open space or
improvements to parks is enhanced when programming
is also provided.14 Attention should be given to cultural
values and behavior when developing programs or poli-
cies to enhance physical activity opportunities. Among
Hispanic adults, “supportive destinations” such as side-
walks, large group sites, and nearby public recreation
areas enhance physical activity rates.15
Expanding available parks and open space in densely
populated urban environments can be difcult, yet there
are strategies for increasing recreational space within the
available infrastructure of an environment. Street-closure
250 Zieff et al
events, such as the South American-style Ciclovias, and
the community-based events growing in number in North
America, provide supportive environments for large-scale
recreational and community-building activities by creat-
ing temporary, park-like space for recreation in urban
areas.16 Community-based events also provide poten-
tially effective locations for population-wide policies
and programming to increase health-beneting physical
activity18 and quality of life.17 The Brazilian community-
based intervention, Agita Sao Paulo, successfully uses
“mega-events” to reach involve large populations by
incorporating aspects of local culture to disseminate its
educational messages about engaging in and adhering to
physical activity behavior.18,19 Participants in Agita Sao
Paulo report an increase in physical activity behavior
through its programs, events, and messaging.20,21 The
Bogota, Colombia Ciclovia reduces open space dispari-
ties among low-income elderly residents who report some
association with meeting physical activity guidelines
through walking at the event.22
The creation of temporary parks may provide an
effective and efcient strategy for increasing physical
activity and supporting broad public health goals.23 The
Sunday Streets events in San Francisco, California are
an example of a temporary “park” with physical activity
programming. These free community-celebration events
combine street closures with planned and spontaneous
physical activity and entertainment components that
encourage walking, bicycling, and exploring new neigh-
borhoods. Sunday Streets routes make use of existing
infrastructure and typically align with city-wide bicycle
lanes. Limited data available suggest that the cost of
investment in bicycle infrastructure (eg, bike lanes) may
result in substantial savings on healthcare costs,24 an
outcome of importance for policy-makers. Combined
with the low cost per user and the high number of par-
ticipants, Ciclovias’ use of existing roadways also offers
a cost-effective public health intervention.25
To date there has been limited epidemiological
evaluation of any community-based Ciclovia event to
determine its effectiveness for increasing health-related
physical activity among large populations.16 Recent
reviews of community-based interventions suggest
their potential for increasing physical activity though
evaluation methodologies and outcomes have been
inconsistent.26
Statement of Purpose
The current study of a Ciclovia event, “Sunday Streets
SF,” examined 1) who were the participants (eg, demo-
graphics, knowledge of the event, participants’ point of
origin) and 2) how rst-timers and multiple attendees
differ in physical activity behavior and experience of
Sunday Streets (eg, PA behaviors and changes, types of
activities, emotional experience, reasons to attend/return
to the event, intended future involvement). The ndings
from this exploratory research would determine if Sunday
Streets SF supports public health outcomes by providing
recreational opportunities to residents of neighborhoods
underserved for physical activity resources; and creates
a physical and social environment that encourages par-
ticipation in the event. Implications for policy-makers
are also discussed in the context of public health efforts
to increase physical activity.
Background:
Creation of Sunday Streets
In 2008, the San Francisco Mayor’s ofce created the
initiative Sunday Streets SF, to be modeled on the Ciclo-
via (bicycling) event from Bogota, Colombia in which
more than 70 miles of city streets are transformed each
Sunday into open space for cycling, walking, and other
recreational activities.16 The goals of the event were to
create safe, car-free recreational activity using city streets
and to provide a new venue for community interaction.27
Two events were held in 2008, increasing to 6 events in
2009 and 9 events on 6 different routes in 2010. Unof-
cial estimates of the participants (provided by event
organizers and police statistics) vary by location and
range from 5000–25,000.
Four factors are considered by Sunday Streets orga-
nizers (http://livablecity.org) in the selection of neighbor-
hoods for routes: current status of neighborhood open
space, health markers of the resident populations (eg,
ischemic heart disease rates), level of community interest,
and local merchant interest. The 2010 routes intersect 4
neighborhoods (Bayview, Tenderloin, Mission, Western
Addition) most under-served for safe, accessible open
space and with a greater than 15% poverty rate among
the residents.28 A focus group study of residents of these
neighborhoods showed an association between physical
activity and convenient access to recreational resources.29
Methods
Participants and Procedures
A random sample of 639 Sunday Streets participants
was recruited to complete the survey. We collected data
at 3 different events in 2010 that represent the popula-
tions targeted by Sunday Streets. Approval to conduct
this research was received from the Institutional Review
Board at San Francisco State University. A diverse team
of undergraduate and graduate research assistants were
trained to collect data and were strategically placed at
different locations along the entire route to enhance
recruitment of individuals, groups, and families with
children, more and less vigorous activities, and near to
activities with specic cultural value.
Research assistants approached every fth partici-
pant and invited that individual to share their experiences
of Sunday Streets by completing the survey. If the fth
person was part of a group, the group was asked to par-
ticipate. To minimize repeat recruitment of a participant,
respondents were given a sticker to wear.
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Temporary Parks and PA 251
Instrumentation
The Sunday Streets instrument was developed specically
to survey Sunday Streets participants. The original items
were developed based on existing instruments and were
reviewed by experts at the Centers for Disease Control
and Prevention. The initial instrument was pilot-tested
using cognitive interview procedures30 leading to minor
changes in the instrument. The nal survey was profes-
sionally translated into Spanish and Chinese to increase
participation by the city’s predominant ethnic minority
populations. The survey was pilot tested with bilingual
students for cultural appropriateness. Surveys took an
average of 20–30 minutes to complete and included the
following domains of interest: demographics, physical
activity behaviors, and experience of Sunday Streets
including reasons to attend and return to the event.
Demographics. Participants reported their age, gender,
ethnic background, education level, and their residential
zip code or street intersection point of origin from which
they traveled to Sunday Streets. This was used to calculate
their travel distance. The participants were asked to
provide an e-mail address for follow-up.
Physical Activity Behaviors. A series of questions
measured the participants’ regular physical activity
behaviors including types, level, frequency and
duration.31 Level of physical activity was measured by
asking participants if they do moderate physical activity
(dened as at least 10 minutes of physical activity at
a time, such as brisk walking, bicycling, vacuuming,
gardening, or anything else that causes some increase in
breathing).31 The participants also indicated how often
they engage in moderate physical activity per week and
specied which activities they performed in a typical
week and total time per day. Lastly, the participants
reported their physical activity behaviors during Sunday
Streets events by indicating in which physical activities
they participated, and for how long, that made them
breathe hard.
Reasons for Attending and Returning to Sunday
Streets.
Based on the pilot study of Sunday Streets
events,32 the researchers developed a 16-item section
asking about reasons that participants attend and expect
to return to Sunday Streets. The participants rated each
item on 7-point scale ranging from 1 (not important) to
7 (very important). Exploratory factor analysis using a
varimax rotation with Maximum Likelihood extraction
method successfully identied 5 factor solutions.I The
rst factor, Positive Experience and Safe Environment
(PESE, α = .69) contained the following 5 items: closed
streets, having fun, spending time with family/friends,
and safe environment. The second factor, Purposeful
Physical Activity Opportunities, (PA, α =.70) consisted
of 4 items including: being part of a community event,
the event gets me outside, supporting good causes, and
PA opportunities in general. The third factor, Social
and Environmental reasons (SE, α = .67) contained
4 items that addressed issues of: desire to see another
part of city, meet new people/socialize, accessible
by public transit, and free activities and programs at
the event. The fourth factor, Location (LO, α = .74)
reected proximity, attractiveness or access to the event
locations. The fth factor was a single item regarding
Children’s Activity Program (CAP) that was regarded
as an important reason to attend and/or return to Sunday
Streets events.
Subjective Vitality. The validated 7-item Subjective
Vitality Scale33 was used to measure participants’ feelings
of aliveness and energy (eg, ‘‘I feel alive and vital’’) on
7-point Likert-type scales (1 = not at all to 7 = very true)
while attending Sunday Streets events. Internal reliability
was .84 in the current study.
Intention to Return to Sunday Streets. A 2-item
measure of the extent to which participants intended to
return to SS events was developed for this study. The
items included: “I expect to attend future SS events”
and “I am looking forward to attending the next Sunday
Streets event.” A 5-point response scale ranging from 1
(strongly disagree) to 5 (strongly agree) was used.
Results
Who Were the Participants?
A total of 639 Sunday Streets participants completed the
questionnaires. After removing 39 incomplete surveys,
the nal sample size was 600 participants (male n = 241;
female n = 295; declined to state n = 64) with mean age
of 39.52 years (SD = 11.93). The distribution of age
ranges indicates that Sunday Streets appeals to all age
groups with signicant numbers of older (aged 50– 80
years, 20%). Participants reported their educational
attainment: high school (4.8%), some college (12.8%),
Bachelor’s degrees (38%), and professional degrees or
graduate school (35%).
The race of participants from the 3 locations sampled
was 55% White (n = 331), 20% Asian (n = 122), 8%
Hispanic, (n = 53), and African American/Black 5%
(n = 20). Twenty-nine identied as multiracial and 45
participants did not indicate their ethnicity or race. Of
the 91.5% of respondents that gave the zip code from
which they originated their trip to Sunday Streets, 73%
reported living in a San Francisco zip code. Participants
reported traveling an average of 3.25 (SD = 2.46) miles
round-trip to attend the event. The majority of participants
learned about the event through word-of-mouth, from
friends, and family (39%) and through printed advertis-
ing (eg, San Francisco Examiner, 13.8%). Fewer than
5% of participants learned about Sunday Streets through
public advertising (eg, newspaper and Radio). Among
survey participants, 46% (n = 277) were attending for
the rst time and 54% (n = 323) reported attending 2 or
more times. Biking (24%) and walking (21%) were the
most commonly reported activities participants engaged
in while at Sunday Streets, in addition to multiple other
individual and group activities.
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252 Zieff et al
Overall, the majority of SS event participants were
found to be physically active, with 79% of participants
indicating engaging in regular, moderate physical activ-
ity (34% 6–7 days/week; 45% 3–4 days/week). Average
duration of physical activity was 54 minutes (SD = 47.54
minutes) per day. In general, 53.3% of rst-time attendees
and 61.5% of multievent attendees reported meeting the
CDC recommendation of 150 minutes of moderate PA
per week.
How Do First-Time Attendees
and Multiple-Event Attendees Differ
in Physical Activity Behaviors
and Experience of Sunday Streets?
Multiple 1-way (rst timers vs. multiple attendees)
MANOVA’s were conducted to examine differences in
attendees’ regular physical activity behaviors as well as
their experience in relation to attending Sunday Streets
events. There were signicant differences between the
2 groups in their regular physical activity behavior,
Wilk’s Λ = .974, F2, 532 = 6.98, P = .001 with multiple
attendees reporting signicantly greater physical activity
frequency per week compared with rst time attendees,
F1, 534 = 13.3, P = .024. However, physical activity dura-
tion was found to be insignicant between the 2 groups
(Table 1).
Physical activity behaviors while attending Sunday
Streets were also signicantly different between rst
and multiple attendees, Wilk’s Λ = .965, F3, 453 = 5.55
P = .001. Multiple attendees reported staying longer at
events and engaging in longer bouts of physical activ-
ity during Sunday Streets, F1, 457 = 13.42, and 8.47,
respectively at P = .01. On average, those attending
multiple Sunday Streets stayed about 20 minutes longer
in duration of physical activity than rst timers. Among
multiple attendees, 25% reported a positive change
in their physical activity behaviors since their first
involvement in Sunday Streets when compared with
rst timers. Although a marginal outcome, 29% of those
who reported a change in physical activity indicated
an increase in their bicycling behavior since attending
Sunday Streets.
When examining differences in reasons to attend
SS events between rst timers and multiple attendees
(Table 1), 1-way MANOVA demonstrated signicant
Table 1 Descriptive Statistics of Observed Variables
First-time
attendees
Multiple-event
attendees
ScaleMean S.E. Mean S.E.
Physical activity behaviors
PA frequency* 3.69 .101 4.22 .107 1–6 days
PA duration per day 51.66 2.82 57.52 3.01 Minutes
Physical activity while attending SS
Duration at SS* 70.33 3.56 89.85 3.79 Minutes
Intention to stay at SS 93.91 4.00 91.66 4.46 Minutes
Total duration of physical activity at SS* 55.83 4.43 75.13 4.94 Minutes
Reasons to attend SS
Positive Experience & Safe Environ. (PESE) * 5.99 .056 6.35 .062 1–7
Physical Activity/Gets me Out (PA) * 5.55 .072 5.83 .080 1–7
Social-Environmental (SE) 4.47 .096 4.27 .106 1–7
Location of Event (LO) 4.98 .116 4.69 .128 1–7
Children’s Activity Programs (CAP) 3.43 .151 3.65 .167 1–7
Reasons to return to SS
rPESE* 6.16 .061 6.33 .063 1–7
rPA 5.89 .071 6.05 .013 1–7
rSE* 4.91 .099 4.64 .103 1–7
rLO 4.87 .109 4.98 .113 1–7
rCAP 3.73 .061 3.74 .169 1–7
Subjective vitality* 5.34 .061 5.54 .067 1–7
Intention to return to SS* 4.32 .038 4.78 .043 1–5
* P < .05 in group difference analysis.
Abbreviations: SS, Sunday Streets.
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Temporary Parks and PA 253
group differences, Wilk’s Λ = .934, F5, 438 = 6.14, P =
.000. Univariate analysis indicated that multiple attend-
ees placed greater importance on PESE and PA than
rst timers, F1, 444 = 14.35 and 8.19, P < .01. Another
1-way MANOVA revealed signicant group differences
in reasons to return to SS events, Wilk’s Λ = .966, F5, 422
= 2.99, P = .012. While multiple attendees reported that
rPESE was a more important motive for returning (F1,
428 = 3.76, P < .05), the rst timers indicated that social
environmental factors (rSE) were of greater importance
in coming back to another Sunday Streets, F1, 428 = 3.61,
P = .05.
Intention to return to Sunday Streets and participants’
subjective vitality during the event were signicantly
different between rst timers and multiple attendees,
Wilk’s Λ = .890, F2, 521 = 32, P = .000. Compared with
rst timers, multiple attendees reported greater levels of
positive experience and vitality while attending SS events
(F1, 524 = 5.58, P = 019) and greater intention to return to
SS events, F1, 524 = 64.12, P < .001.
Discussion
The current study explored how temporary parks
such as Sunday Streets support the goal of increasing
health-beneting physical activity. This study examined
event participants and analyzed reported differences
between rst-time attendees and multiple attendees in
terms of their physical activity behaviors and experi-
ences while attending the events. The ndings from
this study highlight the potential for a population-wide
community-based intervention to offer participants a
convenient, free, weekly event to meet CDC physical
activity guidelines.
In the current, global context of declines in physical
activity across populations leading to increased rates of
chronic diseases and obesity, the temporary parks pro-
vided by Sunday Streets were found to offer a unique
strategy for increasing opportunities for physical activity
within existing urban infrastructures.
Participant Characteristics
Participants in Sunday Streets are approximately equal
male and female, highly educated (78% hold a bachelor’s
degree compared with 81% of San Francisco residents
and 77% of California residents34), cover a wide age
range, and represent ethnic minorities in similar propor-
tions to the overall city population. According to a 2008
San Francisco park user survey, whites are 2.1 times as
likely as any other ethnic group to use parks and respon-
dents with higher household incomes and higher levels
of education more frequently use parks.35 The greater
distribution of ethnic minority participants at Sunday
Streets indicates the event’s potential for attracting tradi-
tionally less physically active populations. Sunday Streets
routes traverse neighborhoods with limited open space
and physical activity resources, potentially equalizing the
distribution of recreational infrastructure.
Experience of First-time Attendees vs.
Multiple Attendees at SS
The majority of current Sunday Streets participants engage
in regular physical activity. When comparing rst-time
attendees to multiple attendees of Sunday Streets events,
rst timers reported an average of 3 days/week of health-
beneting physical activity while those who attended more
than 1 event reported participating in physical activity
4 times per week; both groups are relatively physically
active when compared with the general city population
(47% of San Francisco adults report engaging in regular
moderate or vigorous physical activity36).
All participants reported engaging in roughly 1 hour
of physical activity during the event, although multiple
event attendees tended to stay longer (75 minutes versus
55 minutes for rst-timers). In 1 bout per week, partici-
pants at Sunday Streets obtain approximately a third or
a half of the 150 minutes per week of moderate activ-
ity recommended by the CDC. When considering the
trend of participants toward increased physical activity
after attending Sunday Streets, regular participation and
regular scheduling of monthly events has the potential
to support participants’ attaining recommended levels of
health-beneting activity. However, given the relatively
high physical activity levels of the participants, Sunday
Streets would more signicantly serve public health goals
by attracting participants who are currently inactive or
minimally active. The relatively more active people may
provide a reference group for the rst-time attendees that
offers motivation for increasing PA levels.
Sunday Streets provides a safe environment for
residents to build community bonds through positive
experiences while providing a physical activity interven-
tion. While multiple event attendees reported having fun
spending time with family and friends on closed and safe
streets as important reasons to both attend and return to
the events, rst-time attendees emphasized social and
environmental reasons as important reasons to return to
Sunday Streets. When compared with rst-time attendees,
multiple-event attendees also emphasized the importance
of engaging in physical activity while at the events. These
ndings suggest that Sunday Streets should continue pro-
viding PESE and PA opportunities, but continue to provide
opportunities for new participants who are attracted for SE
reasons including: desire to see another part of city, meet
new people/socialize, access the event by public transit,
and enjoy free activities and programs at the events.
Those who had already attended at least 1 prior
Sunday Streets reported more positive emotions and vital-
ity while attending events and reported greater intention
to return when compared with rst timers. The feeling
of being alive and energized and intention have shown a
strong relationship with exercise behavior.33,37
Limitations
Sunday Streets was initiated by policy-makers to create
open space for recreation and community connection.
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254 Zieff et al
Therefore, it is a natural experiment not an intervention.
The participants in our study are self-selected by attend-
ing the event and do not meet any specic criteria except
for age. Our research dened multiple-event attendees as
individuals who participated in 2 or more Sunday Streets
events limiting our ability to discriminate between par-
ticipants who have attended different numbers of events.
Future research should focus on participants under age
18 and families to determine the potential for Sunday
Streets to increase physical activity behavior among less
active children and youth. Limitations include the use of
a recall instrument and participant refusal to complete the
survey while being physically active.38
Conclusions and Policy Implications
The study offers ways for communities to use built envi-
ronments in new and creative ways to expand existing
open space for physical recreation. Findings suggest that
event planners must rely on SE factors to attract less-
active, potential rst-time visitors who may be converted
to regular participation. Since traditional forms of public
media have been minimally effective, new strategies are
needed. For example, merchants along the routes could
post iers and event information that highlights their
involvement. Routes that incorporate school facilities
could also encourage participation by families, children
and youth.
Route selection should continue to prioritize neigh-
borhoods with lowest physical activity rates and least
physical activity resources. The average round-trip
travel distance of participants to each event (3.25 miles
in a 7-square mile city area) suggests that newcomers
would take part in the event at different locations. The
indication by participants that children’s activities were
the least important reason for attending the event may
be associated with lack of knowledge about available
children’s programming and routes that are less attractive
to parents with children.
Policy-makers considering similar events should
overlay potential objectives of the program with the needs
and interests of specic communities being served. The
value of Sunday Streets-type events can be evaluated by
assessing and analyzing participants’ physical activity
behavior and other characteristics to strengthen the pro-
gram further for long-term health outcomes.39
Notes
I Details of EFA analysis available upon request.
Acknowledgments
This research was supported by a grant from the Ofce of
Research and Sponsored Programs, San Francisco State Uni-
versity, San Francisco, California. The project was developed
by the Active Living Across the Lifespan Research Group, San
Francisco State University, San Francisco, California.
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... 5,[8][9][10][11] In fact, many past Open Streets event attendees return to the next event because they have such a positive experience in a safe and active environment. 12 Approximately 497 Open Streets events occur in 27 countries with most occurring in Latin America. 8,13 The first Open Streets, "Ciclovia," emerged from a protest in Bogotá, Colombia on December 15, 1974. ...
... 9 However, Kuhlberg and colleagues 10 used a broader definition for Open Streets in the United States: any free event held in a city where streets were closed to motorized traffic for a period of time and opened to residents to encourage physical activity. Previous studies in the United States have evaluated Open Streets events in major urban cities including: Los Angeles, 17 San Francisco, 12,18,19 San Diego, 20 Atlanta, 21 and St. Louis, 22 to rural cities such as Brownsville, Texas. 23 Each study reported positive public health impacts such as improved air quality, 17 increased physical activity among event attendees, 12,20-23 perceptions of safety during the event, 12,21 and benefits among businesses. ...
... Previous studies in the United States have evaluated Open Streets events in major urban cities including: Los Angeles, 17 San Francisco, 12,18,19 San Diego, 20 Atlanta, 21 and St. Louis, 22 to rural cities such as Brownsville, Texas. 23 Each study reported positive public health impacts such as improved air quality, 17 increased physical activity among event attendees, 12,20-23 perceptions of safety during the event, 12,21 and benefits among businesses. [18][19][20][21][22] Open Streets events often promote the services and products from businesses along the local route. ...
Article
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Introduction: Open Streets is an event that promotes physical activity among populations by encouraging city residents to walk and bicycle in streets blocked from motor vehicles. Engagement of businesses is a critical component of Open Streets. This study sought to evaluate the Open Streets ICT 2019 event's impact on adjacent businesses. Methods: A 12-item novel survey was developed for this study. Businesses eligible for study participation included retail and non-retail (e.g., non-profits, churches) sites along the Open Streets ICT route in Wichita, Kansas. To understand how Open Streets ICT impacted businesses, the survey used Likert scale questions to prompt respondents to report sales and visitors experiences during the event. Additionally, respondents reported a percent difference in sales compared to a typical Sunday. A phenomenological approach was used to convey the experiences among study participants during Open Streets ICT. Results: A total of 102 surveys were completed, a 42% response rate. Most businesses (56%, n = 56) reported being open during Open Streets ICT. Many businesses (72%) reported having "more" visitors compared to a typical Sunday. More than half reported they experienced new and regular visitors (54%, n = 30) from the event. Most businesses (64%, n = 36) reported a positive financial impact, and (52%, n = 29) having more sales than a typical Sunday. Conclusions: Open Streets ICT increased sales and the number of visitors among businesses. Respondents reported they plan to participate in the 2020 Open Streets ICT, and if Open Streets ICT was offered twice a year. Finally, most participating businesses reported they recommend that other businesses participate in Open Streets ICT.
... Challenge driven: Is the experiment a step toward a potentially long-term change pathway to address a societal challenge? Walking -In Bogota and Temuco, respondents stated event increased ease of walking; in San Francisco and Bogota, respondents stated it had an overall positive impact on the likelihood of walking after event (Zieff et al., 2018) -In Los Angeles, 14% of respondents planned to walk to event (Cohen et al., 2016) -In Brownsville, Texas, walking was second most common activity (23%) at event (Salazar-Collier et al., 2018) -In rural Washington State, respondents spent on average 84 min walking at event (Perry et al., 2017) Cycling -In Los Angeles, 81% of respondents planned to bike to event (Cohen et al., 2016) -In Brownsville, Texas, cycling was most common activity (74%) at event (Salazar-Collier et al., 2018) Car traffic -In Bogota, San Francisco and Temuco, respondents stated that event reduced overall number of cars on city streets (Zieff et al., 2018) -In Los Angeles, 38% came to the area by car, 68% would have driven there on a regular day (Cohen et al., 2016) Safety -In Bogota and San Francisco, respondents stated event increased overall perception of safety (Zieff et al., 2018) -In San Francisco, respondents appreciated positive experience and safe environment (Zieff, Kim, Wilson, & Tierney, 2014) -In Bogota, 51.2% of respondents stated feeling safe at event with respect to traffic and accidents and 42.4% with respect to crime (compared to 38% in city as a whole) (Torres et al., 2013) -In Bogota, frequent children Ciclovıa users were more likely to perceive neighbourhood as safe than sporadic and non-Ciclovıa users (40.6% vs 28.8% of respondents) (Triana et al., 2019) Social interaction -In Chicago, 15% of respondents viewed exposure to other communities as primary benefit (Mason et al., 2011) -In San Francisco, main reason to participate was having fun with family and friends (Zieff et al., 2014) -In Chicago, 15% of respondents stated networking with neighbours was what they liked best about event (Mason et al., 2011) Social capital/sense of place/ well-being -In Chicago, event planning process provided platform for development of collaborative relationships, both between local organisations and with residents (Mason et al., 2011) -In Bogota, 62.4% of respondents agreed Ciclovia participants are willing to help each other, 61.4% agreed Ciclovia participants get along with each other (Torres et al., 2013) (Continued ) . Feasible: Is it possible to realise the experiment in the short term and with readily available resources? . ...
... Challenge driven: Is the experiment a step toward a potentially long-term change pathway to address a societal challenge? Walking -In Bogota and Temuco, respondents stated event increased ease of walking; in San Francisco and Bogota, respondents stated it had an overall positive impact on the likelihood of walking after event (Zieff et al., 2018) -In Los Angeles, 14% of respondents planned to walk to event (Cohen et al., 2016) -In Brownsville, Texas, walking was second most common activity (23%) at event (Salazar-Collier et al., 2018) -In rural Washington State, respondents spent on average 84 min walking at event (Perry et al., 2017) Cycling -In Los Angeles, 81% of respondents planned to bike to event (Cohen et al., 2016) -In Brownsville, Texas, cycling was most common activity (74%) at event (Salazar-Collier et al., 2018) Car traffic -In Bogota, San Francisco and Temuco, respondents stated that event reduced overall number of cars on city streets (Zieff et al., 2018) -In Los Angeles, 38% came to the area by car, 68% would have driven there on a regular day (Cohen et al., 2016) Safety -In Bogota and San Francisco, respondents stated event increased overall perception of safety (Zieff et al., 2018) -In San Francisco, respondents appreciated positive experience and safe environment (Zieff, Kim, Wilson, & Tierney, 2014) -In Bogota, 51.2% of respondents stated feeling safe at event with respect to traffic and accidents and 42.4% with respect to crime (compared to 38% in city as a whole) (Torres et al., 2013) -In Bogota, frequent children Ciclovıa users were more likely to perceive neighbourhood as safe than sporadic and non-Ciclovıa users (40.6% vs 28.8% of respondents) (Triana et al., 2019) Social interaction -In Chicago, 15% of respondents viewed exposure to other communities as primary benefit (Mason et al., 2011) -In San Francisco, main reason to participate was having fun with family and friends (Zieff et al., 2014) -In Chicago, 15% of respondents stated networking with neighbours was what they liked best about event (Mason et al., 2011) Social capital/sense of place/ well-being -In Chicago, event planning process provided platform for development of collaborative relationships, both between local organisations and with residents (Mason et al., 2011) -In Bogota, 62.4% of respondents agreed Ciclovia participants are willing to help each other, 61.4% agreed Ciclovia participants get along with each other (Torres et al., 2013) (Continued ) . Feasible: Is it possible to realise the experiment in the short term and with readily available resources? . ...
Article
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Despite their growing application and worldwide diffusion, the transformative potential of experiments aimed at achieving “streets for people” rather than “streets for traffic” remains largely under researched. There is little to no comparative assessment of already existing experiments, and no critical reflection on their specific added value for systemic change. Building from a literature review and discussion, this paper aims to fill this gap by addressing the following questions: Which types of city street experiments have been undertaken in the pursuit of the vision of “streets for people” instead of “streets for traffic”? What are their backgrounds, main characteristics, and reported impacts? And perhaps most importantly: How can these city street experiments trigger systemic change in urban mobility? These elements are detailed per experiment type, in order of ascending functional complexity: the re-marking of streets, the re-purposing of car parking, the re-purposing of sections of streets, and the re-purposing of entire streets. Illustrative examples from practice include intersection repairs, parklets, the pavement to plazas programme, play streets, ciclovias and open streets. The reviewed literature documents positive impacts on physical activity, active transportation, safety and social interaction and capital, and more mixed impacts on business activity. While street experiments aim to create fundamentally different arrangements of urban mobility, their potential as triggers of a greater systemic change is unclear. This paper uses the defining characteristics of “transition experiments” – a concept derived from the field of transition studies – to develop and illustrate a framework to assess this transformative potential. In the conclusions, the review and assessment framework are used to sketch a research and policy agenda for this increasingly topical phenomenon.
... The implementation of pedestrianisation has also contributed to the revival of street games, which have shown a recent increase in popularity. One additional advantage of pedestrianisation is its emphasis on quality of the public space, amenities and economic activities [19][20][21][22][23]. Indeed, it ensures a more substantial flow of people, positively impacting on amenities and economic activities [24]. ...
... En Estados Unidos, el programa Sunday Streets San Francisco, una iniciativa de calles abiertas que nació en 2008, aumentó la actividad física de los residentes de áreas de bajos ingresos47 . Apoyándose en este éxito, San Francisco y otras ocho ciudades de Estados Unidos implementaron en 2013 varios programas de calles para el juego con el fin de promover la actividad física de los jóvenes durante los fines de semana. ...
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Resumen Aunque se han hecho avances en el desarrollo y aplicación a gran escala de intervenciones eficaces contra la obesidad infantil, los retos siguen siendo importantes. Nuestro objetivo era comprender las causas del éxito de Estados Unidos y los países latinoamericanos en la implementación de políticas y programas (PYP) contra la obesidad e identificar oportunidades de mejora aplicando los principios de la ciencia de la implementación. Seleccionamos tres estudios de comparación de casos: (1) el etiquetado frontal en los envases de alimentos (México y Chile), (2) los programas de calles abiertas y calles para el juego (Colombia y Estados Unidos) y (3) la Iniciativa Hospital Amigo de los Niños (IHAN) (Brasil y Estados Unidos). Resumimos la información obtenida a través de diversas fuentes (publicaciones científicas, bibliografía gris y entrevistas a informadores clave) para describir las barreras, facilitadores y avances de las PYP en todas las dimensiones del marco RE-AIM. Una campaña de promoción basada en evidencias, junto con la voluntad de los poderes políticos y las evidencias sobre su impacto y sobre la posibilidad de implementarlas a mayor escala, fueron las claves del éxito del lanzamiento y aplicación de las PYP. Su diseño e implementación debían adaptarse a los distintos contextos. Se necesitan herramientas más potentes que permitan monitorear y evaluar los procesos y sus resultados, y también hacer un seguimiento de los indicadores de equidad para maximizar los beneficios de las PYP en la población. La ciencia de la implementación ofrece una importante contribución para cubrir lagunas de conocimiento y abrir un diálogo que mejore las políticas contra la obesidad. También ayudará a trasladar las lecciones aprendidas al resto del continente para que puedan utilizarse con fines de investigación y evaluación tanto durante la fase de desarrollo de las PYP como durante su aplicación y mantenimiento.
... In the United States, the Sunday Streets San Francisco program, an Open Streets initiative that started in 2008, showed increased physical activity levels for residents in low-income areas. 47 48 Each of the San Francisco Play Street program segments is developed by an organizing team of community members and nonprofit representatives who plan and host at least three healthfocused block parties on a designated street, which is usually flat and straight and already has low car traffic. 49 Play streets community organizers must provide equipment or programming support for at least three physical activity programs, including an activity that is accessible to people with limited mobility and a community building activity. ...
Article
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Progress has been made in the development and widespread implementation of effective interventions to address childhood obesity, yet important challenges remain. To understand how the United States and Latin American countries achieved success in implementing obesity policies and programs (PAPs) and identify improvement opportunities using implementation science principles. We identified three comparative case studies: (1) front-of-food package labeling (Mexico and Chile); (2) Open Streets/play streets (Colombia and the United States); and (3) the Baby-Friendly Hospital Initiative (Brazil and the United States). Information from multiple sources (e.g., scientific and gray literature and key informant interviews) was synthesized to describe barriers, facilitators, and progress of PAPs across RE-AIM framework dimensions. Evidence-based advocacy along with political will and evidence of scalability and impact were key for successful launch and implementation of all PAPs. Diverse adaptations of PAP design and implementation had to be done across contexts. Stronger process and impact monitoring and evaluation systems that track equity indicators are needed to maximize the population benefits of these PAPs. Implementation science offers an important contribution toward addressing knowledge gaps, enhancing obesity policy dialogue, and producing transferable lessons across the Americas and, therefore, should be used for research and evaluation during PAP development and throughout the implementation and maintenance phases.
Chapter
Dieser Beitrag geht anhand des Fallbeispiels der Hamburger Lindenallee der Frage nach potentiellen Anpassungsmöglichkeiten von Straßen an sich ändernde Anforderungen und Rahmenbedingungen nach. Dazu wurde ein Literaturreview zu Straßenkonzepten durchgeführt, um einen Überblick der ökologischen, sozialen und technisch-verkehrlichen Zielsetzungen und Maßnahmen zu bekommen. Die Berücksichtigung unterschiedlicher Disziplinen eröffnet dabei eine Vielzahl an Perspektiven auf Straßenräume und deren Funktionen, die letztlich zu einer Ausdifferenzierung der Anpassungsmöglichkeiten an sich ändernde Rahenbedingungen beitragen können.
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Background: During the COVID-19 pandemic, several cities allocated more public spaces for physical activity and recreation instead of road transport through Open Streets. This policy locally reduces traffic and provides experimental testbeds for healthier cities. However, it may also generate unintended impacts. For instance, Open Streets may impact the levels of exposure to environmental noise but there are no studies assessing these unintended impacts. Objectives: Using noise complaints from New York City (NYC) as a proxy of annoyance caused by environmental noise, we estimated associations at the census tract level between same-day proportion of Open Streets in a census tract and noise complaints in NYC. Methods: Using data from summer 2019 (pre-implementation) and summer 2021 (post-implementation), we fit regressions to estimate the association between census tract-level proportion of Open Streets and daily noise complaints, with random effects to account for within-tract correlation and natural splines to allow non-linearity in the estimated association. We accounted for temporal trends and other potential confounders, such as population density and poverty rate. Results: In adjusted analyses, daily street/sidewalk noise complaints were nonlinearly associated with an increasing proportion of Open Streets. Specifically, compared to the mean proportion of Open Streets in a census tract (0.11%), 5% of Open Streets had a 1.09 (95% CI: 0.98, 1.20) and 10% had a 1.21 (95% CI: 1.04, 1.42) times higher rate of street/sidewalk noise complaints. Our results were robust to the choice of data source for identifying Open Streets. Conclusion: Our findings suggest that Open Streets in NYC may be linked to an increase in street/sidewalk noise complaints. These results highlight the necessity to reinforce urban policies with a careful analysis for potential unintended impacts to optimize and maximize the benefits of these policies.
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Background: Open Streets initiatives have allowed for physical activity (PA) in cities worldwide. However, few studies have evaluated the use of small Open Streets in low- and middle-income countries, such as those in Latin America. Thus, this study aimed to describe participation and PA level of users in the Recreovia program in Bucaramanga, Colombia. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted during 5 Sundays from September to November 2017. Recreovia use was evaluated at 4 strategic points according to street accessibility (2 points) and aerobics class areas (2 points), using the System for Observing Play and Recreation in Communities. Results: A total of 38,577 observations were made (34,969 on streets and 3608 in aerobics class areas). Men (63%) and adults (62%), with moderate to vigorous PA (MVPA) (98%) were observed on streets. The most common PAs were biking (50%), walking/dog walking (36%), and jogging (9%). In aerobics class areas, the most common groups were female (65%) and adults (89%). Participants were engaged in moderate to vigorous PA (91%). Conclusion: Measurement of number of participants at moderate to vigorous levels of PA was high. A difference between sexes and age in these street and aerobic class area groups was also observed.
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A major planning effort for Chicago's largest park provided an opportunity to examine outdoor recreation use patterns and preferences among a racially and ethnically diverse clientele. Results from on-site surveys of 898 park users (217 Black, 210 Latino, 182 Asian, and 289 White) showed that park users shared a core set of interests, preferences, and concerns about the park and its management. But there were also some important differences among and within racial and ethnic groups with respect to park use patterns, participation, and reports of racial discrimination. Implications for management and future research are discussed.
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Interest in the problem of method biases has a long history in the behavioral sciences. Despite this, a comprehensive summary of the potential sources of method biases and how to control for them does not exist. Therefore, the purpose of this article is to examine the extent to which method biases influence behavioral research results, identify potential sources of method biases, discuss the cognitive processes through which method biases influence responses to measures, evaluate the many different procedural and statistical techniques that can be used to control method biases, and provide recommendations for how to select appropriate procedural and statistical remedies for different types of research settings.
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Background: Neighborhood environment and resources affect physical activity. This study examined the relationships between San Francisco residents' perceived barriers to physical activity and policy-maker perspectives of conditions in neighborhoods that are under-served for physical activity. Methods: Nine focus groups comprised of primarily African American, Chinese American, and Latino populations were constructed from 6 low-income neighborhoods to respond to questions based on the social-ecological model about neighborhood recreational opportunities and to offer policy and intervention strategies to increase physical activity. A tenth focus group was conducted with staff members from 7 city departments to respond to neighborhood focus groups outcomes. The transcribed videotaped discussions were analyzed using qualitative content analysis. Results: Both residents and policy-makers highlighted neighborhood disparities that reduce physical activity including unsafe and unhealthy environments and difficulty accessing available resources. Residents reported fewer available free or low-cost resources than those identified by policy-makers. Conclusions: Findings suggest that policy-makers would benefit from consideration of neighborhood-level affects of policies on physical activity and local residents' recommendations for policies affecting physical activity. Concordance between residents' perceptions and policy-maker perceptions of neighborhood conditions for physical activity was greater than reported in previous literature.
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Promoting bicycling has great potential to increase overall physical activity; however, significant uncertainty exists with regard to the amount and effectiveness of investment needed for infrastructure. The objective of this study is to assess how costs of Portland's past and planned investments in bicycling relate to health and other benefits. Costs of investment plans are compared with 2 types of monetized health benefits, health care cost savings and value of statistical life savings. Levels of bicycling are estimated using past trends, future mode share goals, and a traffic demand model. By 2040, investments in the range of 138to138 to 605 million will result in health care cost savings of 388to388 to 594 million, fuel savings of 143to143 to 218 million, and savings in value of statistical lives of 7to7 to 12 billion. The benefit-cost ratios for health care and fuel savings are between 3.8 and 1.2 to 1, and an order of magnitude larger when value of statistical lives is used. This first of its kind cost-benefit analysis of investments in bicycling in a US city shows that such efforts are cost-effective, even when only a limited selection of benefits is considered.
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To examine the relationship between objective measures of the built environment (BE) and recreational physical activity (PA) in adults from Curitiba, Brazil. A phone survey was carried among a random sample of 1206 people. Walking during leisure time (WLT) and moderate and vigorous recreational PA (MVPA) was measured using IPAQ. Characteristics of the BE were determined in an area of 500 m surrounding respondent's homes. Multivariate logistic regression analysis was used to estimate the associations between recreational PA and BE. After adjusting for confounders, WLT was associated with area income level US971.453341.64vs.US971.45-3341.64 vs. US167.05-461.06 (25.7% vs. 11.1% POR=2.5; 95% CI=1.5-4.4), having ≥ 2 gyms vs. none (26.1% vs. 12.7%, POR=1.9; 95% CI=1.2-3.0) and distance to recreation centers, 1769.1-2835.5 km vs. 2835.6-10,212.3 km (22.1% vs. 11.0%, POR=2.3; 95% CI=(1.0-2.5). MVPA was associated with neighborhood income US971.453341.64vs.US971.45-3341.64 vs. US167.05-461.06 (47.6% vs. 22.0% POR=3.0; 95% CI=1.5-5.9) and having ≥ 2 gyms vs. none (41.7% vs. 26.0%, POR=1.5; 95% CI=1.11-2.1). The presence of some recreational facilities for PA was associated with recommended levels of PA during leisure time in Curitiba, Brazil.