Exploring Associations Between the Social and Built Environment and Physical Activity Through Communication Infrastructure Theory

The built environment (e.g. presence/quality of sidewalks and green spaces versus large factories and freeways) contributes to health and social outcomes. Communication infrastructure theory offers a framework to explore the role of the built environment as part of the communication action context, which may be associated with individuals' ability to connect to the neighborhood storytelling network and physical activity. This study examines the relationships between perceived built environment features (a part of the communication action context), individual's connections to neighborhood storytellers, and physical activity. A survey of 398 randomly selected households in historically African American, lower income neighborhoods was conducted. Findings show the importance of funding and promoting local health and wellness programs; awareness of this built environment feature was associated with greater connections to the neighborhood storytelling network and higher levels of physical activity. The relative impacts of other built environment features on connections to the storytelling network and physical activity are discussed.