The effect of location on physical activity: Implications for active travel

Using an online stated preference survey and secondary data across four different geographic settings in the contiguous United States (U.S.), this paper elucidates the relationships between physical activity levels, built environment, and access to infrastructure (connectivity). Secondary data were collected to characterize the area surrounding respondents' reported residences. We estimated two multi-group structural equation models to measure how statistical constructs vary across settings. The models' results suggest that the built environment has a lower effect on respondents' physical activity in isolated rural and suburban areas than in urban areas and large rural towns, which are denser and promote higher physical activity levels. We conclude that the built environment and access to infrastructure have a non-monotonic relationship with physical activity when considering the levels of rurality. •Physical activity levels vary across settings with different rurality levels.•An increase in physical activity can serve as a proxy for active travel behavior.•Access to infrastructure has a non-monotonic relationship with rurality.•Urban areas consistently reported having the highest physical activity levels.•Our surroundings can encourage or inhibit physical activity.