Category Archives: Urban Design

Tree Canopy Cover Linked to Lower Risk of Pedestrian Falls

Posted on October 15, 2025 by Built Environment and Health

Our latest research, just published online in the American Journal of Epidemiology, suggests that higher levels of tree canopy cover helps prevent injurious pedestrian falls. The research found that during summer months, locations on streets and sidewalks where pedestrians fell … Continue reading →

Posted in Active Transport, Adults, Injury, Pedestrian Injury, Physical Activity, Safety, Urban Design, Urban Forestry | Leave a comment

The Links Between Vibrant Retail Business Environments and Resident’s Health

Posted on February 8, 2025 by Built Environment and Health

We have completed a series of studies showing that neighborhood access to small and medium size retail businesses that provide for community member’s living needs – the goods and services we need to function, live and thrive, such as banks, … Continue reading →

Posted in Active Transport, Body Mass Index, Cancer Incidence, Diabetes, Economic Development, Food Environment, Obesity, Physical Activity, Socioeconomic status, Urban Design, Walkability | Leave a comment

Pedestrian Injury Research

Posted on December 16, 2024 by Built Environment and Health

Our work on pedestrian safety is an extension of our work on how urban design can be used to support engagement in pedestrian activity and physical activity. As we have built our portfolio of pedestrian injury research, we have come … Continue reading →

Posted in Active Transport, Alcohol, Bike Share, CANVAS, Injury, Pedestrian Injury, Physical Activity, Safety, Street View, Transportation, Urban Design, Walkability | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Neighborhood Walkability and Lower Risk of Incident Diabetes

Posted on December 6, 2024 by Built Environment and Health

Continuing our collaboration with the NYU Women’s Health Study team (see here) to understand how neighborhood walkability affects chronic disease risk, we recently published a paper showing that higher walkability is associated with lower diabetes risk.  Among 11,037 women free … Continue reading →

Posted in Active Transport, Adults, Diabetes, Urban Design, Walkability | Leave a comment

Increases in Micromobility Injuries in the US: Implications for Public Health

Posted on September 20, 2024 by Built Environment and Health

Micromobility – bicycles, E-bikes, E-scooters, and hoverboards – has experienced immense growth in recent years, and we just published a paper in the first look section of AJPH exploring how this growth parallels the rise in electric micromobility injuries and … Continue reading →

Posted in Bike Share, Bikeshare, Safety, Transportation, Urban Design | Leave a comment

The Burden of Pedestrian Falls on Streets and Sidewalks in the U.S.

Posted on January 30, 2024 by Built Environment and Health

After doing substantial work documenting the links between greater neighborhood walkability and higher engagement in pedestrian activity and reduced weight gain, in recent years we have launched research projects on pedestrian safety.  In new work just published in the Journal … Continue reading →

Posted in Active Transport, Adults, Pedestrian Injury, Physical Activity, Safety, Transportation, Urban Design, Walkability | Leave a comment

Higher Neighborhood Walkability is Associated with Lower Risk of Obesity Related Cancers

Posted on December 23, 2023 by Built Environment and Health

In collaboration with colleagues at the NYU Women’s Health Study we recently published analyses showing that higher neighborhood walkability is associated with lower risk of obesity related cancers.  Fourteen thousand women were recruited into the study between 1985 and 1991 … Continue reading →

Posted in Active Transport, Body Mass Index, Cancer Incidence, Obesity, Physical Activity, Urban Design, Walkability | Leave a comment

Cumulative experience of neighborhood walkability over a decade and body mass index and waist circumference.

Posted on July 14, 2023 by Built Environment and Health

We just published new work in the American Journal of Epidemiology on the beneficial, cumulative effect of living in neighborhoods with higher walkability on body mass index (BMI) and waist circumference.  In collaboration with the REGARDS team and Drexel’s Urban … Continue reading →

Posted in Active Transport, Adults, Physical Activity, Urban Design, Walkability | Leave a comment

Neighborhood Food Environment and Birth Weight Outcomes in New York City

Posted on June 13, 2023 by Built Environment and Health

Completing our trilogy of papers on neighborhood built environments and pregnancy and birth outcomes, we published a paper in the June issue of JAMA Network Open showing links between neighborhood food environments and birth weight in NYC. Babies born either … Continue reading →

Posted in Childhood, Food Environment, Healthy Pregnancies, Urban Design | Leave a comment

Higher Neighborhood Walkability is Associated with a Lower Risk of Gestational Diabetes

Posted on January 26, 2023 by Built Environment and Health

Continuing our partnership with the NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene to study how urban built environments influence health during pregnancy we recently published research showing that higher neighborhood walkability is associated with lower risk of gestational diabetes.  Gestational … Continue reading →

Posted in Active Transport, Adults, Childhood, Diabetes, Urban Design, Walkability | Leave a comment