Associating the Visual Built Environment with Active Transport: An Analytical Approach Using Integrated Individual Behavior Data and Street Imagery

Active transport (AT) is a crucial source of health-enhancing physical activity (PA), and the visual built environment (VBE) can significantly influence people’s AT decisions. Street view imagery (SVI) has become widely used for large-scale measurement of the VBE. Previous SVI research, however, has often either focused on residential neighborhoods instead of actual travel routes or has focused on travel modes while neglecting the PA intensity in travel for further health promotion exploration. To address this gap, our study integrates route-specific SVI-derived VBE exposures with objectively measured moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) in AT. We collected one week of Global Positioning System trajectories and accelerometer data from more than 100 participants in Mississauga, Canada, to quantify the duration of MVPA during AT. Negative binomial models are used to analyze the association between MVPA duration and VBE features. Results show that higher proportions of road and vertical greenness (e.g., trees) along AT routes are significantly and positively associated with MVPA duration, whereas horizontal greenness (e.g., grass) is not. Results also underscore the importance of uninterrupted movement, as roads are positively associated with MVPA, whereas traffic lights are negatively associated. These findings provide specific guidance for urban planners, suggesting that prioritizing street trees over other green spaces and designing infrastructure that facilitates continuous movement can effectively promote health-enhancing PA in car-dependent cities. Additionally, the integrated analytical framework of this study is a generalizable contribution to geospatial health science.