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To date, nearly all research on physical activity and the built environment is based on self-reported physical activity and perceived assessment of the built environment.

To assess how objectively measured levels of physical activity are related with objectively measured aspects of the physical environment around each participant’s home while controlling for sociodemographic covariates.

Objective measures of the built environment unique to each household’s physical location were developed within a geographic information system to assess land-use mix, residential density, and street connectivity. These measures were then combined into a walkability index. Accelerometers were deployed over a 2-day period to capture objective levels of physical activity in 357 adults.

Measures of land-use mix, residential density, and intersection density were positively related …