Built environment and recreational physical activity: a comparative study pre and post COVID-19

The COVID-19 pandemic profoundly disrupted everyday mobility and physical activity, raising an important question for urban health: which built environment characteristics continue to support active lifestyles when everyday routines are disrupted? This longitudinal study examines changes in physical activity across pre-, during-, and post-COVID-19 periods and investigates how built environment characteristics shaped recreational walking and moderate physical activity across these phases. Data from 620 adults in Tehran were analyzed using Pearson correlation and linear regression analyses. Physical activity declined markedly during the pandemic and recovered unevenly afterward: recreational walking remained 10.5% below its pre-pandemic level, while moderate physical activity remained 23.8% lower. More importantly, the built-environment determinants of physical activity were not static across the three periods. Access to shopping centers emerged as the only consistent predictor of recreational walking across all three periods, while street vegetation remained significantly associated with walking. In the post-pandemic period, suitable sidewalks, aesthetic qualities, sidewalk comfort, and access to walkable streets became particularly influential, while park access was most strongly associated with moderate physical activity. These findings suggest that urban resilience involves not only maintaining physical infrastructure during disruption but also sustaining environmental conditions that enable everyday active behavior. By providing longitudinal evidence from Tehran, an underrepresented Middle Eastern megacity, this study demonstrates the importance of accessible everyday destinations, greenery, pedestrian infrastructure, and environmental quality in supporting active lifestyles across both ordinary and disruptive urban conditions.