There is limited research investigating how the built environment impacts the health of adults with low incomes. In this study, we examined whether there are relationships between the neighbourhood built environment and physical activity or mental health among adults who live in a home provided by Calgary Housing Company, the largest provider of subsidized housing in Calgary. Evidence from this research contributed to our understanding of impacts of the built environment on health among adults with lower incomes. This contribution could inform urban planning policy to improve population health and reduce socioeconomic health-related inequities.

This study examined whether housing affordability was associated with neighbourhood walkability in Canadian cities. For this project, we drew connections between housing costs data from the Canadian Census with data about physical activity-supportive environments (provided by the Canadian Urban Environmental Health Research Consortium (CANUE). We estimated affordability-walkability associations separately for 2006 and 2016 to see if there are changes over time. In addition, we evaluated whether certain cities have more equitable associations between housing affordability and walkability. This study will generate new knowledge on the economic equity of access to physical activity-supportive environments in Canada.

Although physical activity and health-related fitness are linked, health- related fitness has been shown to promote health independently of physical activity, and in some cases, produces additional benefit after controlling for physical activity. The aim of built environment and fitness (BE-FIT) project was to summarize, and provide new empirical evidence for the association between the built environment and health-related fitness in urban dwelling adults. The BE-FIT project provided evidence on the association between the neighbourhood built environment and health-related fitness through a systematic review of the literature, a nationally representative Statistics Canada cohort, and a recruitment of urban dwelling Calgarian adults. The results from the BE-FIT project were aimed at aiding urban planners and public health professionals in understanding how the built environment influences health-related fitness.