The Association between Seeing People Walk and Neighborhood Social Cohesion

Objective: In this paper, we examine the association between frequency of seeing people walk within sight of home and neighborhood social cohesion among adults, and whether this association varies by race/ethnicity. Methods: We used cross-sectional 2015 National Health Interview Survey data on Latino, non-Latino White, non-Latino Black, and non-Latino Asian adults (N = 33,099). We used multinomial logistic regression models to estimate the associations. Results: People seeing others walk every day and every 2-3 days were significantly more likely to report medium levels of neighborhood social cohesion, relative to seeing others with low frequency. The association between seeing people walk and neighborhood social cohesion varied by race/ethnicity. Conclusions: Higher frequency of seeing others walk may contribute to higher levels of neighborhood social cohesion.