Table 3 Descriptive statistics and test-retest reliability of the NEWS-CS (reliability subsample; N = 92)

A. Residential density

678 (110)

672 (100)

NA

0.72^a

   1) Detached single-family houses

1.0 (0.3)

1.0 (0.3)

99

0.92

   2) Multi-family houses (1-3 stories)

1.3 (0.8)

1.2 (0.5)

85

0.61

   3) Apartments with 4-6 stories

1.4 (0.8)

1.3 (0.8)

76

0.63

   4) Apartments with 7-12 stories

1.8 (1.1)

1.7 (1.1)

69

0.75

   5) Apartments with 13-20 stories

2.1 (1.3)

1.9 (1.2)

63

0.54

   6) Apartments with >20 stories

3.9 (1.4)

4.1 (1.3)

67

0.78

B. Land use diversity (distance to destinations)

2.1 (0.6)

2.0 (0.6)

2.2 (0.6)

2.2 (0.5)

NA

0.76^b#

0.77^b§

   1) Convenience store

1.4 (0.7)

1.5 (0.8)

65

0.53

   2) Supermarket

1.6 (0.8)

1.5 (0.7)

55

0.56

   3) Fresh-food market

1.8 (0.8)

2.0 (0.9)

73

0.60

   4) Hardware store

1.8 (1.3)

1.7 (1.2)

62

0.60

   5) Clothing/shoe shop

1.9 (1.3)

2.0 (1.3)

64

0.62

   6) Pharmacy/drug store

1.6 (0.9)

1.6 (0.8)

64

0.56

   7) Book/stationary shop

2.3 (1.6)

2.5 (1.8)

54

0.59

   8) Video/audio shop

2.5 (1.8)

2.3 (1.7)

38

0.50

   9) Library

3.4 (1.6)

3.5 (1.6)

60

0.62

   10) Laundry/dry cleaner

1.6 (1.1)

1.7 (1.1)

61

0.61

   11) Salon/barber shop

1.5 (0.8)

1.3 (1.0)

54

0.51

   12) Bank/credit union

2.2 (1.3)

2.2 (1.2)

60

0.72

   13) Post office

2.4 (1.3)

2.6 (1.4)

64

0.64

   14) Doctor/clinical service

1.7 (0.9)

1.5 (1.0)

60

0.60

   15) Primary school

2.1 (1.5)

2.2 (1.5)

68

0.78

   16) Nursery school

1.9 (1.4)

1.9 (1.4)

67

0.73

   17) Chained Western or Chinese fast food restaurant

1.7 (1.0)

1.5 (1.0)

61

0.53

   18) Chinese coffee shop or noodle shop

1.6 (0.9)

1.7 (1.0)

63

0.53

   19) Chinese non-fast food restaurant

1.7 (0.8)

1.9 (1.1)

68

0.55

   20) Western non-fast food restaurant

2.1 (1.5)

2.5 (1.7)

34

0.25

   21) Western coffee shop

2.9 (2.0)

2.7 (2.0)

51

0.37

   22) Park

2.0 (1.2)

1.9 (1.1)

62

0.51

   23) Community center or elderly center

2.1 (1.3)

2.2 (1.4)

66

0.60

   24) Gym or fitness/recreational facility

3.8 (1.8)

3.7 (1.7)

58

0.64

   25) Swimming pool

3.7 (2.0)

3.7 (1.9)

65

0.74

   26) Religious places

3.1 (2.0)

3.1 (1.9)

61

0.60

   27) Public toilet

1.8 (1.3)

2.0 (1.2)

50

0.29

   28) Bakery/cake shop

1.4 (0.6)

1.5 (0.7)

67

0.53

   29) Public transit

1.4 (0.7)

1.4 (0.7)

62

0.50

   30) Hong Kong Jockey Club betting branch

2.9 (1.6)

2.8 (1.6)

78

0.74

C. Access to services

3.9 (0.3)

4.0 (0.2)

76

0.62^b

   1) Shops are within walking distance

3.9 (0.4)

3.9 (0.4)

89

0.64

   2) Shopping accessible via public transport

3.9 (0.4)

4.0 (0.1)

88

0.28

   3) Many places within walking distance

3.8 (0.7)

3.9 (0.4)

84

0.62

   4) Easy to walk to transit stop

3.9 (0.3)

4.0 (0.1)

95

0.27

   D. Physical barriers to walking

1.3 (0.5)

1.2 (0.4)

61

0.57^b

   1) Hilly streets

1.3 (0.8)

1.2 (0.7)

80

0.59

   2) Major barriers (e.g., roadwork, freeways)

1.4 (0.8)

1.2 (0.8)

73

0.55

   3) Many dead ends

1.2 (0.5)

1.2 (0.6)

86

0.52

E. Street connectivity

3.8 (0.4)

3.9 (0.3)

70

0.58^b

   1) Short distance between intersections

3.7 (0.6)

3.8 (0.5)

75

0.52

   2) Many alternative routes

3.8 (0.5)

3.9 (0.3)

85

0.57

F. Infrastructure for walking

3.9 (0.3)

3.9 (0.2)

76

0.53^b

   1) Sidewalks

3.9 (0.4)

4.0 (0.1)

94

0.41

   2) Streets lit at night

3.9 (0.5)

3.9 (0.4)

92

0.65

   3) Crosswalks and pedestrian signals to help walkers cross busy streets

3.8 (0.6)

3.8 (0.6)

86

0.51

G. Indoor places for walking

2.7 (1.0)

2.9 (1.2)

NA

0.66^b

   1) Many covered sidewalks

2.5 (1.3)

2.6 (1.4)

61

0.70

   2) Indoor, air-conditioned places for walking

2.9 (1.3)

3.1 (1.3)

65

0.53

H. Aesthetics

2.1 (0.7)

2.0 (0.6)

NA

0.62^b

   1) Trees

3.3 (1.0)

3.4 (1.0)

79

0.63

   2) Many interesting things to look at

1.6 (1.0)

1.5 (1.0)

68

0.58

   3) Many attractive natural sights

2.1 (1.2)

2.0 (1.3)

75

0.55

   4) Attractive buildings/homes

1.6 (1.0)

1.5 (0.9)

67

0.52

I. Presence of people

3.8 (0.4)

3.9 (0.3)

87

0.37^b

   1) Walkers can be seen

3.9 (0.3)

4.0 (0.2)

91

0.31

   2) Difficult to ask for help because not many people around

1.4 (0.8)

1.3 (0.6)

71

0.50

J. Crowdedness

1.6 (0.7)

1.4 (0.8)

NA

0.72^b

   1) Crowded streets

1.6 (1.0)

1.4 (1.0)

70

0.63

   2) 'Hawkers' and shops on streets blocking the way

1.5 (0.9)

1.4 (0.9)

79

0.64

K. Traffic and road hazards

1.6 (0.6)

1.6 (0.6)

NA

0.62^b

   1) Motor vehicles parked on sidewalks

1.3 (0.5)

1.3 (0.5)

80

0.54

   2) Streets and sidewalks slippery

1.3 (0.5)

1.1 (0.4)

87

0.42

   3) Air pollution (e.g., exhaust fumes)

1.9 (1.1)

1.8 (1.1)

67

0.58

   4) Heavy traffic along nearby streets

1.5 (0.9)

1.6 (1.1)

71

0.53

   5) Parked vehicles block vision

1.8 (1.1)

1.7 (1.1)

65

0.70

   6) Afraid to cross road because too many passing cars

1.5 (1.0)

1.5 (1.1)

74

0.57

L. Traffic speed

1.9 (0.8)

1.6 (0.7)

NA

0.53^b

   1) Slow traffic speed on streets

2.8 (1.1)

3.0 (1.1)

40

0.52

   2) Speeding drivers

1.4 (1.0)

1.2 (0.6)

60

0.54

M. Social disorder/littering

1.8 (0.7)

1.6 (0.7)

NA

0.62^b

   1) Objects dropping from high-rise buildings

1.9 (1.1)

1.7 (1.1)

65

0.65

   2) Animal droppings

2.0 (1.2)

1.8 (1.2)

65

0.51

   3) Many homeless people, drug addicts, prostitutes

1.4 (0.8)

1.4 (0.9)

76

0.57

N. Crime

1.2 (0.4)

1.1 (0.3)

72

0.62^b

   1) High crime rate

1.1 (0.3)

1.1 (0.3)

73

0.41

   2) Unsafe to walk during the day

1.3 (0.7)

1.3 (0.6)

94

0.55

   3) Unsafe to walk at night

1.4 (0.8)

1.4 (0.9)

77

0.57

SINGLE ITEMS

N. Fence separating sidewalk and traffic

3.2 (1.1)

3.5 (1.1)

61

0.61

O. Bridge/overpass connecting to services

2.1 (1.2)

2.0 (1.3)

65

0.58

P. Easy access of residential entrance

3.9 (0.6)

3.9 (0.6)

88

0.68

Q. Sitting facilities

2.9 (1.1)

3.0 (1.3)

68

0.61