Using Google Street View to Audit the Built Environment

Recently, Google Street View imagery has been used to assess characteristics of the built environment. This study analyzed the blinded results of two auditors who independently assessed the same street segments using Google Street View.

The Active Neighborhood Checklist, an assessment tool to measure the existence or absence of built environment surroundings was used. The audit included 288 street segments in suburban and urban areas of Indianapolis and St. Louis in 2011.

Key Finding:

  • The use of Google Street View is a reliable method for conducting built environment audits. Ninety-five percent of the items had substantial or near perfect agreement. This finding suggests that Google Street View audits display inter-rater reliability comparable to observational field audits.

Public health researchers conducting observational field audits face extensive travel and resource demands. The ability to use publicly available data without the need to travel to the locations offers a promising new technology to efficiently conduct audits.

Introduction to the Active Living Research Supplement

  1. 1. Translating Research to Policy Through Health Impact Assessment in Clark County, Washington
  2. 2. Uneven Playing Field--Effective Strategies to Address Health Inequity Through Active Living Research
  3. 3. Using Evidence to Create Active Communities: Stories from the Field--Policy and Research with Chicago's Child Care Centers
  4. 4. Trends in Presentations of Environmental and Policy Studies Related to Physical Activity, Nutrition, and Obesity at Society of Behavioral Medicine, 1995-2010
  5. 5. Spatial Disparities in the Distribution of Parks and Green Spaces in the USA
  6. 6. Exploring the Distribution of Park Availability, Features, and Quality Across Kansas City, Missouri by Income and Race/Ethnicity
  7. 7. Perceptions of Neighborhood Park Quality
  8. 8. Gender Differences in Self-Report Physical Activity and Park and Recreation Facility Use Among Latinos in Wake County, North Carolina
  9. 9. Beyond Distance: Children's School Travel Mode Choice
  10. 10. The Perceived and Built Environment Surrounding Urban Schools and Physical Activity Among Adolescent Girls
  11. 11. Aesthetic Amenities and Safety Hazards Associated with Walking and Bicycling for Transportation in New York City
  12. 12. Does Neighbourhood Walkability Moderate the Effects of Mass Media Communication Strategies to Promote Regular Physical Activity?
  13. 13. Individual-and Area-Level Disparities in Access to the Road Network, Subway System and a Public Bicycle Share Program on the Island of Montreal, Canada
  14. 14. Effect of Bike Lane Infrastructure Improvements on Ridership in One New Orleans Neighborhood
  15. 15. Using Google Street View to Audit the Built Environment
  16. 16. School Sport Participation Under Two School Sport Policies
  17. 17. Physical Education and Student Activity
  18. 18. District and School Physical Education Policies
  19. 19. Predictors of Moderate-to-Vigorous Physical Activity (MVPA) in African American Young Adolescents
  20. 20. Pathways to Outdoor Recreation, Physical Activity, and Delinquency Among Urban Latino Adolescents
  21. 21. Locations of Joint Physical Activity in Parent-Child Pairs Based on Accelerometer and GPS Monitoring

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