Shaping Built Environments for Health-Oriented Physical Activity: Evidence from Outdoor Exercise in Dongguan, China

Physical activity plays a vital role in promoting public health. Among its various forms, outdoor exercise offers combined physical and mental health benefits. However, the spatial patterns and underlying drivers of outdoor exercise remain underexplored in rapidly urbanizing areas. Based on 15,880 app-tracked trajectories from 723 individuals, this study investigates running, walking, and cycling patterns across 130 communities in Southern Dongguan. Results reveal three key findings. First, different types of outdoor exercise show distinct spatial patterns: running is common in urban centers, walking is concentrated around natural landscapes, and cycling follows cross-regional networks. Second, natural and built environmental features shape outdoor exercise behavior. Waterfront continuity promotes participation, while residential areas support walking. In contrast, manufacturing zones inhibit participation due to environmental degradation. Socioeconomic factors also influence participation by enhancing the grassroots governance capacity. Third, spatial spillover effects significantly shape cycling patterns, and traditional models that ignore spatial dependence underestimate environmental impacts. These findings provide new insights into how the combined influence of artificial and natural environments shapes outdoor exercise in rapidly urbanizing cities. They also reveal the distinctive role of grassroots governance with state support in China, offering valuable lessons for other fast-growing urban regions worldwide.