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What Is the Relationship between the Neighbourhood Built Environment and Time Spent in Outdoor Play? A Systematic Review Lambert, Amalie; Vlaar, Janae; Herrington, Susan; Brussoni, Mariana

Abstract

Outdoor play has been associated with children’s and adolescents’ healthy development and physical activity. Attributes of the neighbourhood built environment can influence play behaviours. This systematic review examined the relationship between attributes of the neighbourhood built environment and the time children and adolescents (0–18 years) spend in self-directed outdoor play. We identified and evaluated 18 relevant papers using the Mixed Methods Appraisal Tool and developed a narrative synthesis of study results. We found moderate evidence that lower traffic volumes (ages 6–11), yard access (ages 3–10), and increased neighbourhood greenness (ages 2–15) were positively associated with time spent in outdoor play, as well as limited evidence that specific traffic-calming street features such as fewer intersections, low traffic speeds, neighbourhood disorder, and low residential density were positively associated with time spent in outdoor play. To our knowledge, this is the first systematic review on this topic. The limited number of “good quality” studies identified highlights the need for additional research on the topic.

Item Metadata

Title
What Is the Relationship between the Neighbourhood Built Environment and Time Spent in Outdoor Play? A Systematic Review
Creator
Lambert, Amalie; Vlaar, Janae; Herrington, Susan; Brussoni, Mariana
Contributor
Human Early Learning Partnership (Vancouver, B.C.); Children's Hospital (Vancouver, B.C.). Research Institute; B.C. Injury Research and Prevention Unit
Publisher
Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute
Date Issued
2019-10-11
Description
Outdoor play has been associated with children’s and adolescents’ healthy development and physical activity. Attributes of the neighbourhood built environment can influence play behaviours. This systematic review examined the relationship between attributes of the neighbourhood built environment and the time children and adolescents (0–18 years) spend in self-directed outdoor play. We identified and evaluated 18 relevant papers using the Mixed Methods Appraisal Tool and developed a narrative synthesis of study results. We found moderate evidence that lower traffic volumes (ages 6–11), yard access (ages 3–10), and increased neighbourhood greenness (ages 2–15) were positively associated with time spent in outdoor play, as well as limited evidence that specific traffic-calming street features such as fewer intersections, low traffic speeds, neighbourhood disorder, and low residential density were positively associated with time spent in outdoor play. To our knowledge, this is the first systematic review on this topic. The limited number of “good quality” studies identified highlights the need for additional research on the topic.
Subject
unstructured play; playability; child; adolescent; neighbourhood design; Children and youth (0-19); Outdoor/risky play
Genre
Article
Type
Text
Language
eng
Date Available
2019-10-25
Provider
Vancouver : University of British Columbia Library
Rights
CC BY 4.0
DOI
10.14288/1.0384853
URI
http://hdl.handle.net/2429/72061
Affiliation
Arts, Faculty of; Medicine, Faculty of; Other UBC; Non UBC; Architecture and Landscape Architecture (SALA), School of; Pediatrics, Department of; Population and Public Health (SPPH), School of
Citation
International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health 16 (20): 3840 (2019)
Publisher DOI
10.3390/ijerph16203840
Peer Review Status
Reviewed
Scholarly Level
Faculty; Researcher; Graduate
Rights URI
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
Aggregated Source Repository
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CC BY 4.0