Exploring the association between openness scale of campus street spaces, street greenery, campus walkability and physical activity of college students

Introduction

Research on the effects of campus street openness and greenery on college students' moderate to vigorous physical activity (MVPA) is relatively limited, as is research based on campus street view data.

Methods

This study utilized campus street view data to explore the relationship between objective campus environmental factors and college students' campus walkability and MVPA. The data were collected from surveys conducted at 34 universities in China involving 1173 college students.

Results

We found that both campus walkability and MVPA of college students will not be affected by campus greenery but they are significantly positively affected by campus sky view factor (SVF) which affects college students' MVPA through partial mediation effect of campus walkability.

Conclusions

SVF is the most different environmental factor in Chinese university campuses, but it is the most important factor that affects the evaluation of campus walkability and promotes MVPA of college students. Therefore, the issues of visual enclosure and spatial suppression on campus streets should be given attention. The results suggest that designers should focus on enhancing the openness of campus street spaces in campus planning, landscape design, and healthy campus construction.