Urban Form and Older Residents' Service Use, Walking, Driving, Quality of Life, and Neighborhood Satisfaction

PURPOSE: This study explored the relationship between pedestrian-friendly urban form as reflected in new urbanism design guidelines, and neighborhood service use, walking, driving, quality of life, and neighborhood satisfaction among older women. DESIGN: A cross-sectional survey compared residents of census tracts similar indemographic characteristics but differing in urban form. SETTING: The setting was urban and suburban areas of Portland, Oregon. SUBJECTS: The sample consisted of 372 females living alone over age 70 in six census tracts; 133 (36%) completed surveys. MEASURES: The New Urbanism Index rated the physical features of respondents' neighborhoods. The Neighborhood Resident Survey assessed travel modes and neighborhood satisfaction. The Quality of Life Index measured resident well-being. The Dartmouth COOP Functional Health Charts measured health status. Group comparisons were made with t-tests and regression analysis. RESULTS: Although limited by the cross-sectional design, the study showed that new urbanism partially explained several differences in service use and activity: distance to a grocery store (r2 change = .11, p = .001), number of services used within 1 mile from home (r2 change = .06, p = .007), number of walking activities (r2 change = .08, p = .001), number of services accessed by walking (r2 change = .14, p = .000), and number of services accessed by driving (r2 change = .05, p = .001). CONCLUSIONS: Traditional urban neighborhoods with mixed services and good pedestrian access were associated with increased walking among older residents.