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Environment and Behavior
2016, Vol. 48(5) 711 –736
© 2014 SAGE Publications
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DOI: 10.1177/0013916514554694
eab.sagepub.com
Article
Child-Friendly, Active,
Healthy Neighborhoods:
Physical Characteristics
and Children’s Time
Outdoors
Mohammed Zakiul Islam1, Robin Moore2,
and Nilda Cosco2
Abstract
Relationships between neighborhood built environment characteristics and
children’s average time outdoors on weekdays were investigated in Dhaka,
Bangladesh. A total of 22 built environment variables, 8 socio-demographic
variables, and 1 perceptual variable were tested for their relationship to
children’s (N = 109) self-reported average time outdoors on weekdays, measured
in minutes. Built environment variables were measured using Geographic
Information Systems (GIS)-based urban form variables and systematic, direct
observation. Analysis was conducted using multiple linear regression. Results
(p < .01) suggest that additional minutes of children’s average time outdoors
on weekdays are associated with availability of adjacent space (23 min), male
child (23 min), dead-end instead of through street in front of residence (15
min), perception of neighborhood safety by parents (10 min), one story
lower in level of residence floor (3 min), and 1,000 m2 less of total building
footprint area within the neighborhood (1 min).
1Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology, Dhaka, Bangladesh
2North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC, USA
Corresponding Author:
Mohammed Zakiul Islam, Department of Architecture, Bangladesh University of Engineering
and Technology, Dhaka-1000, Bangladesh.
Email: zakiislam.mail@gmail.com
554694EABXXX10.1177/0013916514554694Environment and BehaviorIslam et al.
research-article2014
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712 Environment and Behavior 48(5)
Keywords
children, outdoor activity, built environment, neighborhood design, physical
characteristics, developing nation
To ensure healthy development, middle childhood should be a time for inde-
pendent exploration of the neighborhood built environment, so that children
can acquire proficiencies necessary to navigate physical challenges and dis-
cover social opportunities. Beyond home, playmates can stimulate activity
and collectively enjoy a more active lifestyle beyond cramped, indoor living
quarters. Evidence is needed to establish built environment policies that can
be used to shape contemporary cities in the developing world (where the
majority of children now grow up), as child-friendly, pro-health habitats.
“I don’t go out anymore,” said 9-year-old Numa, a study participant, when
asked about the time she spent outdoors. The comment reflects the popular
notion that children are rarely seen outdoors in contemporary cities (Kyttä,
2004). Decades ago, Ward (1978) expressed his concern about urban children
spending less time outdoors. According to Louv (2005), the situation has
worsened under the influence of recent cultural forces. A common under-
standing is that children today are spending far less time outdoors than did
previous generations. This trend has contributed to childhood physical and
emotional problems such as obesity (Sallis & Glanz, 2006), reduced fitness
(Marchione, 2013), type 2 diabetes (Daniels, 2006), and a sense of loneliness
(Prezza & Pacilli, 2007). The aim of the present study was to investigate the
relationship between physical characteristics of neighborhood built environ-
ment and children’s average time outdoors on weekdays in the dense urban
context of Dhaka, capital of Bangladesh.
Background
Immediate neighborhood surroundings can provide opportunities for chil-
dren’s unstructured outdoor activities (Berg & Medrich, 1980; Hart, 1979;
Moore, 1986). Past research has further underscored the importance of neigh-
borhood physical characteristics related to outdoor play in middle childhood
(Chawla, 2002; Moore & Young, 1978). The World Health Organization
(WHO; 2010) has recommended at least 60 min of daily physical activity for
children 5 to 17 years old. However, few studies have linked built environ-
ment variables and children’s outdoor activity (Handy, Cao, & Mokhtarian,
2008). Little is understood about the relationship, particularly in developing
nations where reduction in children’s time outdoors is also a public health
issue (Khan & Talukder, 2011; Luo & Hu, 2002; Shafique et al., 2007).
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Islam et al. 713
Higher rates of urbanization in developing nations than in developed nations
(United Nations, Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population
Division, 2012) further underscore the need to investigate the built environ-
ment and children’s outdoor behavior. In the present study, the dependent
variable is time spent outdoors, which prior review (Sallis, Prochaska, &
Taylor, 2000) and empirical work (Sallis et al., 1993) have shown to be
strongly correlated with physical activity (up to r =.74). The popular multi-
level, bio-ecological model (Bronfenbrenner, 1979; Schneider & Stokols,
2008), which construes environment as having multiple dimensions influenc-
ing human behavior, is applied as a construct linking built environment,
socio-demographic, and perceptual variables to children’s time outdoors—
with the potential for affecting policy.
Children’s Residential Characteristics
Residential form is important because it is regulated by policy and influenced
by design professionals. Research spanning decades in developed countries
has identified modifiable, neighborhood-level built environment features
related to children and has suggested implications for housing policy
(Björklid, 1982; Cooper Marcus & Sarkissian, 1986; Moore, 1986; Moore &
Cooper Marcus, 2008; Moore & Young, 1978). Findings show that for chil-
dren under 12 years, extent of territorial range and diversity of outdoor
behavior are influenced by varied built environment attributes and social fac-
tors. Recent studies have added further associations: urban neighborhood dis-
order and lack of safety, and reduced physical activity among children and
adolescents (Molnar et al., 2004); outdoor play facilities and children’s phys-
ical activity (Norman et al., 2006; Sallis et al., 2000); high-rise housing and
an adverse relationship with health of low-income mothers of young children
(Evans, Wells, & Moch, 2003); and the number of stories in public housing
and child behavior (Saegert, 1982).
The current study includes measures of children’s residence characteristics
and the overall pattern of the residential neighborhood in terms of outdoor
space. In total, four variables are related to children’s residential characteris-
tics: building type with outdoor space, availability of adjacent space, number
of stories, and level of residence floor. The variable building with outdoor
space relates to the overall residential pattern of the neighborhood.
Street Characteristics
Several studies have demonstrated the influence of street characteristics on
children’s outdoor behavior (Appleyard, 1981; Cloutier, 2010; Hillman &
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714 Environment and Behavior 48(5)
Adams, 1992; Karsten & Van Vliet, 2006; Moore, 1987). All suggest that
streets can be either a source of outdoor play or a reason for children to spend
less time outdoors, depending upon the street characteristics. Heavy traffic is
usually associated with less time outdoors (Timperio, Crawford, Telford, &
Salmon, 2004). Studies also have demonstrated a positive role for cul-de-sacs
or dead-end streets, which generally are associated with less traffic and with
protected opportunities for children’s outdoor activity (Brown, 1985; Carver,
Timperio, & Crawford, 2008; Handy et al., 2008; Hochschild, 2013). The
closest street in front of the child’s home is important when considering chil-
dren’s outdoor activity because, depending on the type of street, it might
support social interaction as well as ease parental restriction (Moore, 1986).
Parents might allow their children to play on low-traffic streets because they
are perceived to be safer. Activities might be seen as more easily monitored
compared with moderate- to high-traffic streets.
Studies focusing on street characteristics in relation to adult outdoor activ-
ity have measured the overall street pattern of the neighborhood, using street
intersections per unit area (Frank, Schmid, Sallis, Chapman, & Saelens,
2005; Norman et al., 2006). However, in relation to children’s outdoor activ-
ity, the closest street in front of the child’s home might play a more important
role than does the overall street pattern of the neighborhood. The current
study includes measures of both the characteristics of the immediate street in
front of the child’s home and the overall street pattern of the neighborhood.
Density Characteristics
Several studies have focused on relationships between population density,
crowding, and children’s behavior (Braza, Shoemaker, & Seeley, 2004;
Evans, 2001; Evans et al., 2010; Ewing, Schroeer, & Greene, 2004; Li, 2011;
Maxwell, 2003). Density has been measured primarily in terms of dwelling
units per unit area (Cervero & Kockelman, 1997; Frank, Andresen, & Schmid,
2004). However, potential problems may arise with this unit of measure
(Churchman, 1999), in particular, that it does not account for the pattern of
public open space, which can be distributed uniformly or concentrated in one
location. Measures in previous studies do not account for such differences
even though implications for children’s outdoor play opportunities may be
substantial (Moore, 1986; van Andel, 1998). Maxwell (2003) demonstrated
that spatial density, which is the actual space available per student in an ele-
mentary classroom, is as important as the typical density measure of students
per class. In the present study, a measure of density was devised by calculat-
ing the total building footprint area within the buffer area. The assumption
was that the amount of ground-level outdoor space is a more important factor
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Islam et al. 715
than overall building density in providing children with opportunities for out-
door activity. The current study includes the variable total building footprint
area, as it offers a clear picture of available outdoor space in a dense urban
context such as Dhaka, where the proportion of building footprint area is
among the highest of any city (Figure 1).
Land-Use Characteristics
In studies of adults’ non-motorized travel, mixed land use has been identified
as a correlate of higher outdoor activity (Cervero, 1996; Cervero & Duncan,
2003; Frank & Pivo, 1994; Kockelman, 1997). These studies objectively
measured retail floor area within a fixed buffer around each respondent’s
house and found that a greater mix of commercial and retail land was posi-
tively associated with accelerometer-measured physical activity.
However, non-residential activity in the neighborhood, such as trips to
shops and restaurants, might increase adults’ outdoor leisure activity without
having a similar effect for children. Two of the more established threats to
children’s outdoor activity—fear of traffic and fear of strangers—are likely to
increase with non-residential land use in the neighborhood. Increased paren-
tal apprehension might discourage children’s outdoor activity. Although one
study found non-residential land use to be positively associated with chil-
dren’s time outdoors (Kemperman & Timmermans, 2011), the land use was
agricultural and not the commercial or retail land uses more common in urban
areas. The current study included land-use measures to investigate relation-
ships between neighborhood land-use patterns and children’s outdoor
activity.
Figure 1. Percentage of building footprint within the same size buffer area in
Raleigh, USA, and Dhaka are 18.04% and 50.38%, respectively.
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716 Environment and Behavior 48(5)
Socio-Demographic and Perceptual Characteristics
Earlier studies found a relationship between socio-demographic variables and
children’s outdoor activities (Taylor & Lou, 2011; Whitt-Glover, Taylor, Floyd,
Yore, & Yan, 2009). Many studies on children’s physical activity have suggested
that boys are more active than girls, that outdoor activity tends to decrease with
age during childhood, and that children from lower income families have less
opportunity for outdoor physical activities than do higher income families
(Brodersen, Steptoe, & Wardle, 2005; Ferreira et al., 2006; Sallis et al., 2000;
Trost et al., 2002). However, Voss, Hosking, Metcalf, Jeffery, and Wilkin (2008)
found no relation between total outdoor physical activity and family income
level. Several studies have found an association between higher perception of
safety and time outdoors by children (Molnar et al., 2004; Wilson, Kirtland,
Ainsworth, & Addy, 2004). Although the current study focused on environmental
variables, it included socio-demographic and perceptual variables as covariates.
In total, four classes of environmental variables involving 22 built envi-
ronment variables and 9 socio-demographic and perceptual variables were
hypothesized to relate to more reported outdoor time for children.
Method
Research Design
A cross-sectional, correlational approach was employed to examine relation-
ships between neighborhood physical characteristics and children’s average
time outdoors on weekdays.
Site
The research site was Dhaka, the capital of Bangladesh. With a known his-
tory of more than 400 years, the Dhaka Metropolitan Area is home to 9.1
million people living in 306 km2 within the city’s legal boundary. Dhaka is
one of the densest places on earth (N. Islam, Mahbub, Nazem, Angeles, &
Lance, 2005) and was ranked the ninth most populated urban area in the
world in 2005 (United Nations, Department of Economic and Social Affairs,
Population Division, 2012). The Dhaka City Corporation area consists of 90
wards, which are administrative units similar to boroughs.
Participants
The study sample unit was one Dhaka child and one parent. The child needed
to have lived in the neighborhood at least 1 year and to have been capable of
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Islam et al. 717
engaging in outdoor activities. Age range included 9 to 14 years old, a devel-
opmental stage when children are more likely to roam outdoors (Hart, 1979;
Moore, 1986; O’Brien, Jones, Sloan, & Rustin, 2000) than other age groups.
Sampling Process
Children were selected by adopting a two-stage, cluster sampling process.
Ten schools were randomly selected from a list obtained from the Bangladesh
Bureau of Educational Information and Statistics (BEIS), of which 70%
agreed to participate (N = 7).
Letters were sent to the parents of targeted-age-group students in these
seven schools, seeking their permission to participate in the study. Although
a large proportion of students returned the signed letter and the completed
form, some were excluded because they lived in wards for which no
Geographic Information Systems (GIS) data were available (necessary for
urban form analysis). Parents who agreed to participate and who lived in a
ward where GIS data were available were contacted by telephone to set an
interview date and time. The statistical analysis used data for 109 respon-
dents, of whom 67 (61.5%) were boys and 42 (38.5%) were girls. The mean
age of the participating children was 11.61 years, with a standard deviation of
1.22.
Study Constructs and Measures
Four types of measure were included: built environment, socio-demographic,
perceptual, and children’s average time outdoors on weekdays (dependent
variable).
A structured interview was used to collect data related to socio-demo-
graphic profile (eight variables), parent’s perception of safety, and children’s
average time outdoors on weekdays. Data were gathered from September to
December 2007, during which temperature and rainfall in Bangladesh are
suitable for outdoor activities. Built environment data (urban form analysis
and systematic direct field observations) were gathered from September 2007
to March 2008.
Built environment. Built environment is usually conceptualized using urban
design characteristics, transportation systems, and land-use patterns (Frank,
Engelke, & Schmid, 2003). The current investigation was conducted at
neighborhood level, and its participants were children. As the closest street in
front of residence and neighborhood street characteristics were assumed to
have a more immediate relationship to children’s outdoor activities than do
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718 Environment and Behavior 48(5)
broader transportation systems, the latter were excluded. In total, 22 built
environment variables were collected, described below.
Building characteristics. Building characteristics included four measures:
building type with outdoor space, availability of adjacent space, number of
stories, and level of residence floor. All were measured using systematic,
direct observation either before or after completion of the structured inter-
view. The first author (a practicing architect with more than 10 years of active
professional experience in Dhaka) gathered building-related data.
Building type with outdoor space was examined for relationships to the
overall residential characteristics of the neighborhood in terms of outdoor
open space available for children, coded as either “neighborhood of old and
new apartments without open space” or “neighborhood of housing with open
space” (see Online Appendix A). The housing type “with open space”
included single detached units, semi-permanent houses, and government
housing, generally known as colony (2- to 4-story units with verandahs and
limited automobile traffic).
Availability of adjacent space replaced the “availability of facilities” often
used in previous studies of children’s outdoor behavior (Sallis et al., 2000).
The conventional definition of “facilities” is inappropriate when studying
developing nations, because it includes items such as swimming pools, gym-
nasia, and sports grounds. Facilities such as these are uncommon in develop-
ing nations, and where they do exist, they are not affordable for most children.
An open playground or similar small open space is a more typical facility for
outdoor activity. This study considered car parking areas, driveways, vacant
plots, playgrounds, front yards, backyards, and courtyards as available adja-
cent open-space types. The size of these spaces varied from 10 m2 to several
hectares. Accessibility was checked with the child during the structured
interview.
Number of stories is the total number of levels of the building where the
respondent lived.
Level of residence floor is the floor level where the child respondent lived.
Parents living on higher floors may be more reluctant to let their children play
outdoors because of monitoring difficulties (Kim, 1997).
Street characteristics. Street characteristics included six measures: street
type, street width, street level, street capacity, street intersection density, and
street pattern. The first four variables relate to the street in front of the child’s
residence, and the last two variables relate to the overall street characteristics
of the neighborhood. Data were gathered using systematic direct observation,
except street intersection density and street pattern, which were measured
using urban form analysis.
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Street type is the type of street in front of the child respondent’s residence.
Two types were included: dead-end street (providing no outlet beyond the
respondent’s house) and through street.
Street width is the width of the street in front of the child respondent’s resi-
dence, measured before or after the structured interview. Street width included
footpath and open space between the boundary line of the residence and the
opposite lot of the street. Street width was considered an indicator of traffic
volume.
Street level is the hierarchical level of the closest street in front of the child
respondent’s residence, coded as primary, secondary, tertiary, fourth level,
and fifth level. In the absence of data related to traffic volume, street level
was also considered as an indicator of traffic volume. If a public transporta-
tion route existed on a street, the street was coded as primary. A secondary
street was any street that branched off a primary street, and subsequent levels
of street were coded by extending this reasoning, as tertiary, fourth level, and
fifth level. A primary street was assumed to have more traffic than a second-
ary or subsequent level street. A GIS road shape file and the aerial view were
used in addition to direct observation to cross-check the level of street.
Street capacity is the type of use (type of vehicle, including pedestrians) of
the closest street in front of the child respondent’s residence. In Dhaka, there
are broadly four types of vehicles: trucks and buses (both public and privately
owned), cars (sedan, SUV, etc.), three-wheeled motorized vehicles, and two-
and three-wheeled non-motorized vehicles (bicycle and rickshaw). Based on
use of the street by pedestrians only and different types of vehicle, four street
capacities were identified: Type 1 (pedestrian use only), Type 2 (pedestrian
and two- and three-wheeled non-motorized vehicles), Type 3 (all, except
buses and trucks), and Type 4 (all types of use).
Street intersection density is the number of street intersections within the
buffer area around a child respondent’s residence. A straight-line distance
buffer of 150 m (discussed below) was created around each child respon-
dent’s residence. All street intersections consisting of at least three legs within
the buffer area were identified manually from the existing GIS layers.
Identified intersections were drawn as a separate layer for each buffer area.
Street intersections were counted from the attribute table of these newly cre-
ated layers.
Street pattern is the overall street pattern in the buffer area around the
respondent’s house. Three types were identified: colony internal street, spon-
taneous, and gridiron. Colony (government housing) internal street pattern
means the street network within a restricted zone of a colony. Usually, colony
internal streets have lighter traffic than do other street patterns. Spontaneous
street pattern means a street network that has grown spontaneously without
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720 Environment and Behavior 48(5)
any plan. Gridiron street pattern means a street network resulting from a mas-
ter plan, which mainly consists of through streets that run orthogonally to
each other.
Density characteristics. Density characteristics included two measures:
total building footprint area and gross building floor area. Total building foot-
print area is the summation of footprint areas of all buildings within a buffer
area. Gross building floor area is the total of footprint areas of all buildings
within the buffer area, multiplied by the respective number of floor levels.
Urban form analysis methods were used to measure these variables using
GIS data obtained from Dhaka City Corporation. The analysis involved four
stages: data preparation, identification of respondent’s house, creation of buf-
fer area, and calculation of desired variable. GIS data included the following:
(a) building-based property data, such as area, address, number of floors, land
use, and ward number; (b) street data; and (c) parcel-based property data.
GIS data were prepared. Missing data were replaced by data from field
observation, coding was made more systematic, new fields were created, and
GIS layers were merged where necessary. Prior studies have not achieved
consensus on the appropriate buffer size to calculate density, which include
0.4, 0.8, 1, and 1.6 km (Frank et al., 2005; Kligerman, Sallis, Ryan, Frank, &
Nader, 2007). Here, a smaller buffer size of 150 m (straight line) was used
based on the argument that children of the targeted age roam in close proxim-
ity to home.
Land-use characteristics. Five land-use categories were identified: residen-
tial, commercial, institutional, mixed-use, and under-construction. For each
type of identified land use, two variables were included: total building foot-
print area and gross building floor area. These resulted in a total of 10 land-
use characteristic variables, measured in square meters.
Total building footprint area is the summation of all building footprint
areas of the particular land use within the buffer area.
Gross building floor area is the summation of all building footprint areas
of the particular land use within the buffer area multiplied by the respective
number of floor levels.
Children’s outdoor activity. This dependent variable was measured as average
time outdoors on weekdays.
The structured interview was used to gather information regarding each
respondent’s outdoor activities. Google Earth was used as an accessory of the
structured interview (see Online Appendix B) to collect information regard-
ing outdoor use of the neighborhood (M. Z. Islam, 2012). Because the subject
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Islam et al. 721
matter and objective of this study were similar to those of the UNESCO
Growing Up in Cities (GUIC) project (Chawla, 2002), the GUIC interview
instrument (Driskel, 2002) was adapted to the needs of this study by selecting
relevant questions and then tailoring them to local culture and values. The
interview was translated into Bangla, the native language of all respondents,
and subdivided into two parts: questions for the child and questions for the
parent. Interviews were conducted at the child respondent’s residence, with
parent present. The consent form was signed by both child and parent. The
parent was informed that he or she may either stay during the interview pro-
cess or leave the room.
Although average time outdoors on weekdays was not objectively mea-
sured, similar self-reported measures of physical activity by children 10 to 12
years old have been considered reliable when measurements are simple and
employ a short recall period (Brodersen et al., 2005). For this study, the recall
period for reporting outdoor activity was 1 week. During the interview, the
children were asked about the time when they usually went outdoors and
returned home during weekdays, within the neighborhood. Instead of being
asked how many minutes they spent outdoors, the children were asked about
the start and end times of their outdoor activities, which were easier to
remember because the children usually maintained a fixed schedule. In most
cases, the daily average time outdoors was reported. However, in cases where
the start and end times of outdoor activities during the 5 weekdays were not
similar or there was a break, the different schedules were recorded and the
total time outdoors was divided by 5 to derive the average time outdoors on
weekdays.
Socio-demographic variables. Socio-demographic variables included eight
measures: Male child, age, father’s education level, mother’s education level,
parents in the workforce, household monthly income, presence of sibling,
and duration of residency. Data were gathered from the parent after the child
respondent completed the structured interview. Father’s and mother’s educa-
tion levels were measured according to six types of qualification: junior cer-
tificate, secondary certificate, higher secondary certificate, diploma,
bachelor’s degree, and postgraduate degree. Parent in the workforce was
measured as the number of working parents. Household monthly income was
measured in nine income levels, from monthly income of below Taka 15,000
(US$200) to above Taka 50,000 (US$667), with the intermediate levels in
increments of Taka 5,000 (US$67). Sibling was measured as the availability
as a playmate of sibling(s) within 5 years of age of the respondent. Our
assumption was that having a sibling of similar age might encourage going
outdoors because parents felt more comfortable knowing that the child was
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722 Environment and Behavior 48(5)
not alone. Residency was measured as the duration of stay in years in the
neighborhood.
Perceptual variable. Parental perception of neighborhood safety can be a
major influence on children’s outdoor activities (Molnar et al., 2004; Timpe-
rio et al., 2004). We assumed that the safer a parent perceives the neighbor-
hood outdoors, the more latitude toward outdoor activity would be granted to
the child respondent. Parental perception of the neighborhood was measured
using a 5-point Likert-type scale, with 1 as very unsafe, 2 as unsafe, 3 as
neutral, 4 as safe, and 5 as very safe.
Results
The aim of the study was to investigate the relationship between physical
characteristics of neighborhood built environment and children’s average
time outdoors on weekdays. Data on the outdoor activity of 109 children and
their respective neighborhood built environments were collected and
analyzed.
Sample Characteristics
Children were selected that represented a particular sector of Dhaka society
to serve the purpose of this study (Table 1). Parents’ education level and
household monthly income were higher than average for Dhaka, and the tar-
geted children were of higher socio-economic status than children whose
daily priority includes basic survival needs, such as food, clothing, and shel-
ter. For these children, outdoor activity would not be a priority.
Analysis
The relationship between built environment and children’s average time out-
doors was analyzed in two consecutive stages: bivariate and multivariate
analysis.
Bivariate analysis. Individually, 16 measurements were significantly related to
children’s average time outdoors on weekdays (Table 2). Of these, 14 were
built environment variables from all four categories: building, street, density,
and land use. They included availability of adjacent space, level of residence
floor, dead-end street, street intersection density, street pattern, total building
footprint area, gross building floor area, total residential footprint area, total
mixed-use footprint area, total under-construction footprint area, gross resi-
dential floor area, gross mixed-use floor area, and gross under-construction
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Islam et al. 723
floor area. Of these, 12 were at the p < .001 significance level. Two non-built
environment variables, male child and parents’ perception of safety, were
also significantly related to children’s average time outdoors on weekdays.
The bivariate analysis suggests that individual built environment variables
are significantly related to children’s average time outdoors on weekdays.
However, a multivariate model is required to confirm that the built environ-
ment variables are also significantly related to children’s average time out-
doors on weekdays when acting together.
Multivariate analysis. A multivariate model was created to investigate predic-
tive power of variables when acting together on children’s average time out-
doors on weekdays. The preliminary bivariate correlations (Table 2) were
Table 1. Characteristics of Participants.
Variable Description
Children’s outdoor activities
Average time outdoors on
weekdays
33.94% children spent 0 min outdoors on
weekdays
Socio-demographic characteristics
Male child 61.5% boys and 38.5% girls. Out of 10 selected
schools, 4 were co-educational, 2 were boys-
only, and 1 was girls-only
Age 93.6% children were 10 to 13 years old
Father’s education level 58.9% of respondents’ fathers held a bachelor’s
degree. The male literacy rate in urban areas of
Bangladesh was 64.5%
Mother’s education level 49.5% of respondents’ mothers held a bachelor’s
degree. The female literacy rate in urban areas of
Bangladesh was 55.3%
Parents in the workforce 77.1% of the sample had one working parent
Household monthly income 41.2% of the respondents’ household incomes
were within the range of Taka 25,001 to Taka
40,000. The urban average household monthly
income was Taka 9,878 for Bangladesh
Sibling 33% of the sample had a sibling within 5 years of
age of the subject
Residency The average residency was 6.5 years
Perceptual
Parents’ perception of
safety
9.2% of parents felt very safe, 22.9% safe, 37.6%
neutral, 13.8% unsafe, and 16.5% very unsafe
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724 Environment and Behavior 48(5)
Table 2. Results of Bivariate Analysis With Average Time Outdoors.
Variable
Correlation
(Pearson/Spearman)
Building characteristics
1. Building type with outdoor space .40**
2. Availability of adjacent space .56**
3. Number of stories −.14
4. Level of residence floor −.25**
Street characteristics
5. Street type: Dead end .54**
6. Street width −.17
7. Street level .11
8. Street capacity
Type 2 (pedestrian and non-motorized vehicle) .03
Type 3 (all types of vehicle except buses and trucks) .09
Type 4 (all types of vehicle) −.11
9. Street intersection density −.42**
10. Street pattern
Spontaneous street pattern −.15
Gridiron street pattern −.23*
Density characteristics
11. Total building footprint area −.46**
12. Gross building floor area −.42**
Land-use characteristics
13. Total residential footprint area −.41**
14. Gross residential floor area −.41**
15. Total commercial footprint area −.09
16. Gross commercial floor area −.11
17. Total institutional footprint area −.54
18. Gross institutional floor area −.03
19. Total mixed-use footprint area −.34**
20. Gross mixed-use floor area −.23*
21. Total under-construction footprint area −.28**
22. Gross under-construction floor area −.31**
Socio-demographic characteristics
23. Male child .21*
24. Age −.07
25. Father’s education level
Secondary school certificate .02
Higher secondary certificate .00
Diploma degree −.07
(continued)
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Islam et al. 725
used to assess each variable’s appropriateness for the model. Six measure-
ments were retained: Male child, parent’s perception of safety, level of resi-
dence floor, availability of adjacent space, dead-end street, and total building
footprint area. Building with outdoor space and street intersection density
were dropped due to multicollinearity (Table 3). When strong correlations
were found between independent variables, such as the relationship between
street intersection density and total building footprint (r = .61), the variable
most representative of our interest in possible novel correlations between
building density and children’s average time outdoors on weekdays was
retained. However, it is important to be aware that when entered in separate
models, both “building types that provided outdoor space” (see Online
Appendix C) and “fewer street intersections near home” related to more time
outdoors (see Online Appendix D). In total, 23 variables out of 31 were not
significant (see Online Appendix E).
Results of the multiple regression analysis demonstrate the importance of
built environment variables along with socio-demographic and perceptual
variables to children’s average time outdoors on weekdays (Table 4). All
were positively related to children’s average time outdoors on weekdays,
except residence floor level and total building footprint. The model explained
Variable
Correlation
(Pearson/Spearman)
Bachelor’s degree −.06
Post-graduate degree .02
26. Mother’s education level
Secondary school certificate .05
Higher secondary certificate −.02
Diploma degree .16
Bachelor’s degree
Post-graduate degree
27. Parent in the workforce .03
28. Household monthly income −.12
29. Sibling .03
30. Residency .03
Perceptual Characteristic
31. Parent’s perception of safety .48**
Note. Pearson correlation was used for continuous variables, and Spearman for categorical
variables. Significant correlation values are bolded. ** p < .001 and * p < .05.
Table 2. (continued)
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726 Environment and Behavior 48(5)
59% of variation in children’s average time outdoors on weekdays, F(6, 101)
= 24.29, p < .001. This result shows that by keeping other variables in the
model fixed, the estimated mean of children’s average time outdoors on
Table 3. Significant Variables of the Multivariate Model for the Average Time
Outdoors.
Variable and
description Code
Unit/type of
measurement M/frequency SD
Availability of adjacent
space
1 = Yes, 0 = No Nominal 55 = Yes, 54 = No 0.50
Parent’s perception of
safety
1 = Very unsafe, 2 =
Unsafe, 3 = Neutral, 4 =
Safe, 5 = Very safe
Interval 2.94 1.19
Male child 1 = Boy, 0 = Girl Nominal Boy = 67, Girl = 42 0.49
Total building
footprint area
Square meter/
ratio
25,421 9,781
Street type: Dead end 1 = Dead-end street, 0 =
Through street
Nominal Through street =
49, Dead end = 60
0.5
Level of residence
floor
Higher No. = Higher floor Ratio 2.74 1.87
Building type with
outdoor spacea
1 = With open space, 0 =
Without open space
Nominal With open space =
46, Without open
space = 63
0.50
Street intersection
densitya
Number of street
intersections
Ratio 19.08 9.58
aBuilding type with outdoor space and street intersection density were dropped from the model because of
multicollinearity and to retain variables that best represent the study focus.
Table 4. Results of Multivariate Model for the Average Time Outdoors.
Variable Coefficient (B)SE
Standardized
coefficient () Significance
Availability of adjacent space 23.16 6.216 .29 .000
Parent’s perception of safety 10.10 2.40 .30 .000
Male child 22.56 5.60 .27 .000
Total building footprint area −0.001 0.000 −.21 .007
Street type: Dead end 14.97 6.16 .18 .017
Level of residence floor −3.01 1.46 −.14 .042
Note. Dependent variable is the average time outdoors on weekdays. All 16 individually
significant variables were included except building type with outdoor space and street
intersection density. Forward selection method was followed. R2 of the model is .59 and p <
.001.
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Islam et al. 727
weekdays increases by 23.15 min when the respondent has an adjacent space
to the residence, and by 14.97 min when the closest in-front street is a dead-
end street instead of a through street. Results also show a decrease of 3.01
min when the respondent lives at one residence floor higher and a 1-min
decrease for each additional 1,000 m2 building footprint within the
neighborhood.
Discussion
Several significant findings identify relationships between built environment
variables and children’s average time outdoors on weekdays, both at concep-
tual and practical levels. The four research sub-questions were answered.
Several findings are strikingly different from prior studies. Results clearly
establish and, in some cases, confirm the role of the built environment as a
substantial influence on children’s outdoor activity. Major findings are sum-
marized in Table 5 and discussed below.
A Place to Play Near Home
A place to play adjacent to the child’s residence was found to be significant
with respect to children’s outdoor activity. The coefficient of availability of
adjacent space was 23.16 for children’s average time outdoors on weekdays.
This means that having an adjacent open space may increase the respondent’s
time outdoors by more than 23 min on an average weekday. The study also
found that parent’s perception of neighborhood safety for children’s outdoor
activity was related to the availability of an adjacent space (r = .25), which
enables parental monitoring. However, the presence of adjacent space was
related to more child activity even after controlling for parental perceptions,
suggesting a distinct role for adjacent space in supporting children’s outdoor
activities.
This result confirms prior studies, which have identified availability of
recreation facilities for outdoor activity in proximity to home as consistently
associated with children’s higher physical activity (Norman et al., 2006;
Sallis et al., 2000). In dense, developing-nation cities such as Dhaka, adjacent
space is the valued substitute for facilities such as the recreation centers and
swimming pools of more affluent societies. The findings of this study dem-
onstrate the importance of open space adjacent to the child’s residence.
Currently, house design in Dhaka is guided by Dhaka Mahanagar Building
Construction Rule 2008, which is mainly concerned with indoor space. As a
result, minimum attention is given to outdoor space adjacent to buildings,
which for young residents could be considered in some respects equally
important to indoor space.
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728 Environment and Behavior 48(5)
Dead-End Streets for Children and Through Streets for Cars
The role of streets in front of the child respondent’s residence was demon-
strated by a significant relationship between in-front, dead-end streets (in
contrast to through streets) and higher children’s average time outdoors on
weekdays. The coefficient of availability for in-front, dead-end street was
14.97 for children’s average time outdoors on weekdays. This means that for
a child with a dead-end street in front of his or her residence, time outdoors
may increase by almost 15 min compared with a child living on a through
street. Moreover, parents felt safer when their house was on a dead-end street
(r = .37), which in turn may foster more time outdoors by children. Again,
dead-end streets were associated with child activity even after controlling for
parental perception, reinforcing the unique role that street form plays in chil-
dren’s activities.
Table 5. Answers to the Research Questions.
Research question (Overall
research question: Is there
a relationship between
neighborhood physical
characteristics and children’s
outdoor activitiesa in Dhaka,
Bangladesh?)
Variables included in the
analysis
Significant
variables Answer
Is there a relationship between
building characteristics and
children’s outdoor activities in
Dhaka, Bangladesh?
Building with outdoor space,
availability of adjacent space,
number of stories, level of
residence floor
Availability
of adjacent
space
Yes
Is there a relationship between
street characteristics of
neighborhood and children’s
outdoor activities in Dhaka,
Bangladesh?
Street type: Dead end, street
width, street level, street
capacity, street intersection
density, street pattern
Street type Yes
Is there a relationship between
density characteristics of
neighborhood and children’s
outdoor activities in Dhaka,
Bangladesh?
Total building footprint area,
gross building floor area
Total building
footprint
area
Yes
Is there a relationship between
land-use characteristics of
neighborhood and children’s
outdoor activities in Dhaka,
Bangladesh?
Total building footprint area and
gross building floor area of
Residential
Commercial
Institutional
Mixed-use
Under-construction
No
aChildren’s outdoor activity was operationalized by children’s average time outdoors on weekdays.
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Islam et al. 729
Earlier studies examined streets as settings suitable for children’s outdoor
activity (Abu-Ghazzeh, 1998; Moore, 1987). Sallis and Kerr (2006) sug-
gested that young people may use cul-de-sacs and suburban streets as play
areas. Timperio et al. (2006) found a correlation between lower street con-
nectivity and higher children’s outdoor activity, which could be a result of
lower levels of through traffic. Other studies found the opposite (Braza et al.,
2004; Norman et al., 2006). However, these studies were of “safe routes to
school” and adolescents, respectively, for which higher connectivity may be
more relevant. More through streets and higher street connectivity might
encourage walking for transportation, particularly for older children, while
discouraging younger children’s play (Sallis & Kerr, 2006).
The significance of dead-end streets in relation to children’s average time
outdoors on weekdays has major policy implications for Dhaka, where the
traffic system is an ongoing focus of government debate and the subject of
intense media attention. However, recommendations of the Dhaka Urban
Transport Project (DUTP) concerning street network planning focus mainly
on motor vehicles. The findings of this study underscore dead-end streets as
an important policy topic within street network planning to support children’s
outdoor play and therefore healthy lifestyles (see Online Appendix F). More
broadly, the findings reported here reinforce the need to address pedestrian
issues (non-motorized transportation) together with the needs of motorized
vehicles when planning urban transportation systems and road network
improvements.
Built Form Density and Children’s Outdoor Activity
Built form density was measured as the total building footprint area within
the buffer area. The relationship was negative for children’s average time
outdoors on weekdays. The coefficient of total building footprint was −0.001.
The result suggests that for every 1,000 m2 increase of total building foot-
print, a decrease in time outdoors by 1 min may occur. This finding supports
the significance of density in relation to children’s average time outdoors on
weekdays but contrasts with other studies of building density and children’s
outdoor activity, which are few and contradict the findings reported here
(Braza et al., 2004). Results may also reflect a research focus on the trip to
and from school, rather than independent, free play outdoors. Studies of
adults have also found positive associations between higher density and
higher outdoor leisure-related physical activity (Cervero & Kockelman,
1997; Frank et al., 2004; Frank et al., 2005), which may reflect the different
purposes that adults may have, compared with children, for being outdoors.
Contrasting research findings may also reflect the effect of the different urban
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730 Environment and Behavior 48(5)
built form of developed nations. Dhaka has one of the highest densities in the
world, and land uses are not as rigidly controlled as in developed nations.
Results of the present study suggest a possibility that the relationship between
children’s outdoor activity and built form density might not be linear, which
has usually been assumed by prior studies. For children, there may be a den-
sity saturation point, after which the relationship between density (measured
as building footprint) and children’s outdoor activity becomes negative when
outdoor play is no longer possible.
The results of this study suggest building density as a primary metric if
children’s outdoor activity is to be encouraged in the design of residential
areas in Dhaka and potentially other cities in the developing world. By using
footprint density, which represents the actual space available within the
neighborhood, instead of residential units per unit area, research on alterna-
tive housing forms and their density characteristics will be more relevant to
children’s needs. Housing forms that distribute open space adjacent to chil-
dren’s homes evenly through the neighborhood, rather than concentrating it
in a single or few locations, might encourage more time outdoors for chil-
dren. Given the rising urban population, density/housing form measures as a
basis for development regulations could be a key to making cities more
child-friendly.
Conclusion
This study was prompted by the deteriorating situation of children living in
cities in the developing world. The main aim is to identify significant built
environment variables related to children’s outdoor activity, with the poten-
tial for influencing policy. Design and urban planning professionals need
research evidence to help them guide development of urban outdoor space in
the interest of children in cities similar to Dhaka. However, application of
study findings depends on “bridging the gap” between research and practice.
In this regard, independent variables were selected to maximize impact on
practice as urged by Kuo (2002). A policy-sensitive dependent variable,
healthy child development, was targeted because it relates to the opportunity
for children to play outdoors, which in Dhaka continues to be a newsworthy
issue (Ali, 2008, 2013; Laskar, 2006).
Findings presented here suggest that built environment policy that is
focused on building footprint density, provision of open space, distribution
close to residences, and inclusion of dead-end streets could have a positive
effect on children’s time outdoors and reduce parental anxiety as a secondary
positive effect. Gender inequality related to outdoor activity remains an
important social issue to be addressed.
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Islam et al. 731
Acknowledgements
The authors wish to thank the children and parents who participated in the study and
reviewers for their valuable comments.
Declaration of Conflicting Interests
The author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research,
authorship, and/or publication of this article.
Funding
The author(s) received no financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publi-
cation of this article.
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Author Biographies
Mohammed Zakiul Islam, PhD, associate professor, Department of Architecture,
Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (BUET), Dhaka, and full
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736 Environment and Behavior 48(5)
member, Institute of Architects Bangladesh. Research interests include the relation-
ship between human behavior and physical environment.
Robin Moore, Dipl.Arch, MCP, Hon. ASLA, professor of Landscape Architecture,
director, Natural Learning Initiative (NLI), College of Design, NC State University.
Research interests include relationships between the built environment and child and
family behavior—or intergenerational design, with a particular focus on the role of
natural settings, including food gardens.
Nilda Cosco, PhD, ASLA, research associate professor, director of Programs, Natural
Learning Initiative, College of Design, NC State University. Research interests
include the impact of outdoor environments on child and family health outcomes such
as healthy nutrition, active lifestyles, attention functioning, and overall well-being,
particularly as they relate to natural components of the built environment.
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