A natural experimental study of improvements along an urban canal: impact on canal usage, physical activity and other wellbeing behaviours

Table 1 Key characteristics of all study sites and LSOAs at baseline

Site	Description of sites at baseline	Ward (postcode)	WalkScore ^a	LSOA ^b characteristics
Site	Description of sites at baseline	Ward (postcode)	WalkScore ^a	Population density ^c	Intersection density ^d	IMD ^e	NDVI ^f
Intervention site	Canal with paths on both sides (one unsurfaced and one surfaced); two access routes; a bridge; no benches; no lighting; links to Bridgewater Nature Park and Vicars Hill Village Green	Boothstown and Ellenbrook (M28 1JD)	35	22.67	9.18	4.28	0.55
Comparison site 1A	Brook with paths on both sides (both unsurfaced); two access routes; a footbridge; no benches; no lighting; links to Jumbles Country Park	Bromley Cross (BL2 3EQ)	48	23.91	7.58	8.37	0.54
Comparison site 1B	Canal with two paths on both sides (one unsurfaced and one surfaced); two access routes; a footbridge; no benches; no lighting; links to Pennington Flash Country Park	Leigh West (WN7 4QP)	50	37.93	9.68	27.05	0.52

^a WalkScore uses a Google search algorithm to calculate a weighted score (1–100) based on the number and accessibility of amenities (such as shops and parks) within a 1-mile radius of a user-entered postcode, whereby closer amenities with the most accessible walking routes are weighted more strongly, used as a measure of ‘access to/ availability of destinations and services’. Higher scores indicate more ‘walkable’ areas
^b Lower Layer Super Output Area (LSOA): census reporting units containing between 1000 and 3000 people
^c Population density: number of persons per hectare; used as a proxy measure of residential density. Higher values indicate areas with higher population density
^d Intersection density: the number of 3-way junctions per 1000mˉ² standardised by LSOA area; used as a measure of street connectivity. Higher values indicate areas with higher street connectivity
^e Index of Multiple Deprivation Score (IMD) [47]: an area deprivation score that combines multiple indicators of deprivation including income, employment, health and crime. Higher values indicate more deprived areas
^f Normalised Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI): a validated normalised scale of healthy vegetation cover; used as a measure for presence of greenery at the neighbourhood-level. Higher values indicate areas with more healthy vegetation cover

ISSN: 1479-5868