Use and Activity Levels of a Green Space Area: An Intersectoral Public Health Intervention in Malvik, Norway

Kirsti Sarheim Anthun (The Norwegian University of Science and Technology)
Ruca Maass (The Norwegian University of Science and Technology)
Matluba Khan (University College London)
Ruth Bell (University College London)
Monica Lillefjell (The Norwegian University of Science and Technology)

Increasing the use of urban open spaces as well as encouraging more active behavior (walking, running and cycling) could potentially help promote healthier lifestyles and lead to improved health and well-being among urban populations. Environmental and policy approaches to promote physical activity, such as walking paths, are being recommended, yet, sparse data exist on their effectiveness. Therefore, well-designed evaluation studies of such interventions are needed. Malvik Path is a 3 km walking trail designed through a participatory process with strong user involvement and focus on universal design. A mixed methods study was designed as part of the INHERIT consortium to evaluate the use and activity levels on the path. Objectives include determining 1) the extent of use, 2) the level of activity among users, and 3) attitudes toward the design of the path, and 4) implications for policy making in urban green space design. The impact evaluation included systematic observation of the path using the System for Observing Play and Recreation in Communities (SOPARC), short on site interviews with regular users, short survey among users (pre, post and follow up) and data from a digital counter installed along the path. Counter data register passings and shows which days of the week/hours during the day are busier. The SOPARC observation reveals that people of different ages and gender use the path and that the level of activity varies, while the interviews and survey data indicate that the users highly appreciate the idea of the path and inform about features that are key in motivating the population to use the path. Implementation of such interventions in wider scale can create sustainable lifestyles and behavior and have profound impact on health and well-being.