Neighborhood Amenities - Children in Massachusetts

Massachusetts

The health of individuals and communities is closely tied to the environment around them. Neighborhood amenities such as recreational facilities, libraries, playgrounds and sidewalks offer opportunities to socialize, play, exercise and enjoy one’s home. There is evidence that safe neighborhoods with opportunities for and access to community engagement and healthy lifestyle habits contribute positively to physical and mental health. For example, people who live close to parks or beaches in communities they would describe as safe and beautiful spend more time walking outside on average. Access to green spaces has been shown to improve memory, stress and cognitive development in children as well. Further evidence indicates that improving neighborhood walkways and roads for pedestrians and cyclists and installing play equipment in parks may increase physical activity levels in adults and children.

According to data from the National Survey of Children’s Health, access to parks, recreation centers, sidewalks and libraries is more common among: 

• Children living in households with annual incomes 400% or more of the federal poverty level compared with children from lower-income households.
• Children whose parents have a college degree compared with children whose parents have less education.

Efforts to improve public spaces in low-resource neighborhoods are most successful when community-driven. Community planners, community members and governmental agencies can work together to design safer, more walkable neighborhoods through community planning and zoning that locates schools, parks, recreational centers and other amenities within walkable distances from each other. 

Adding green features like plants and trees, more open and walkable spaces and other features that improve safety or recreation can have physical and mental health benefits for residents.

In 2015, the Office of the Surgeon General published a report promoting walkable communities. One key strategy outlined is to design communities with safe and accessible walkways to support and encourage walking. 

Additionally, Healthy People 2030 has an objective to increase the proportion of adolescents who walk or bike to get around.

Christian, Hayley, Matthew Knuiman, Mark Divitini, Sarah Foster, Paula Hooper, Bryan Boruff, Fiona Bull, and Billie Giles-Corti. “A Longitudinal Analysis of the Influence of the Neighborhood Environment on Recreational Walking within the Neighborhood: Results from RESIDE.” Environmental Health Perspectives 125, no. 7 (July 24, 2017): 077009. https://doi.org/10.1289/EHP823.

Cox, Daniel A., and Ryan Streeter. “The Importance of Place: Neighborhood Amenities as a Source of Social Connection and Trust.” American Enterprise Institute, May 2019. https://www.aei.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/The-Importance-of-Place.pdf.

Gelormino, Elena, Giulia Melis, Cristina Marietta, and Giuseppe Costa. “From Built Environment to Health Inequalities: An Explanatory Framework Based on Evidence.” Preventive Medicine Reports 2 (2015): 737–45. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pmedr.2015.08.019.

Heroux, Janet, Tyler Norris, Kate Rube, and Virginie Nadimi. “The Case for Healthy Places: Improving Outcomes through Placemaking.” Project for Public Spaces, Inc., 2016. https://www.pps.org/product/the-case-for-healthy-places.

Koehler, Kirsten, Megan Latshaw, Thomas Matte, Daniel Kass, Howard Frumkin, Mary Fox, Benjamin F. Hobbs, Marsha Wills-Karp, and Thomas A. Burke. “Building Healthy Community Environments: A Public Health Approach.” Public Health Reports, November 14, 2018. https://doi.org/10.1177/0033354918798809.

McCormick, Rachel. “Does Access to Green Space Impact the Mental Well-Being of Children: A Systematic Review.” Journal of Pediatric Nursing 37 (November 2017): 3–7. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pedn.2017.08.027.

Smith, Melody, Jamie Hosking, Alistair Woodward, Karen Witten, Alexandra MacMillan, Adrian Field, Peter Baas, and Hamish Mackie. “Systematic Literature Review of Built Environment Effects on Physical Activity and Active Transport – an Update and New Findings on Health Equity.” International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity 14, no. 1 (November 16, 2017): 158. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12966-017-0613-9.

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. “Step It Up! The Surgeon General’s Call to Action to Promote Walking and Walkable Communities.” Washington, D.C.: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of the Surgeon General, 2015. https://www.hhs.gov/sites/default/files/call-to-action-walking-and-walkable-communites.pdf.

Zuniga-Teran, Adriana A., Barron J. Orr, Randy H. Gimblett, Nader V. Chalfoun, David P. Guertin, and Stuart E. Marsh. “Neighborhood Design, Physical Activity, and Wellbeing: Applying the Walkability Model.” International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health 14, no. 1 (January 2017): 76. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph14010076.