The Urban Environment and Active Living: The Case of Bogotá, Colombia

Abstract

The built environment fundamentally shapes health opportunities, including those for active living. While research from the Global North has identified the types of built environments that support choice-based physical activity, less is known about their distribution and active-living promoting potential in Global South cities, where activity is often necessity-driven and socioeconomic inequalities and segregation are pronounced. This dissertation addressed this gap by using a neighborhood typology approach to examine how socioeconomic residential segregation and neighborhood built environments relate to shape active living patterns in Bogotá, Colombia. Findings showed that more segregated neighborhoods were less likely to be characterized as active living-supporting built environments, but were not directly associated with physical activity levels, likely due to misalignment between researcher-defined and perceived access to neighborhood characteristics. Despite limitations, including cross-sectional data, temporal mismatches, and reliance on proximity-based measures, this work highlights important areas for future place-based epidemiologic research in Global South cities. When leveraged intentionally, the built environment has the potential to foster cities that are fundamentally just, promoting equitable opportunities, mobility, and health for all residents.