Librett JJ, Yore MM, Schmid TL. Local ordinances that promote physical activity: a survey of municipal policies. Am J Public Health 2003; 93: 1399-1403.
Summary: This article details a 2001 survey of municipal employees in Utah to study which local ordinances influence physical activity and the intent of their implementation. The authors focused on which employees were responsible for overseeing policies related to 6 physical activity domains: sidewalks, bike lanes, shared-use paths, greenways, recreation facilities, and worksites.
General Concensus: Student critiques of this article echo what the authors stated-policy is difficult to study. Common criticisms include small sample size, unclear exposures, not generalizable, and low survey response rates. Students noted that often those responding to the survey were not the ones responsible for implementing the policy and some suggested that counting completed projects would be a better way to follow up. Other students noted cities with faster growth were more likely to have implemented active city ordinances but wondered, what comes first, smart planning or economic growth? Although there was strong criticism for this study I would recommend keeping it on the reading list because it sparked thoughtful class discussion on the dearth and difficulty of policy studies in the built environment.
Additional Comments:
"I wished the authors had talked a little more about comprehensive or master plans. It seems to me that they are not enforceable through any legal statutes. However, they are a tool that public health can use to expand their scope of influence." (HSERV)
"I would like the authors to publish a follow-up study to this that looks to see if the municipalities actually enacted the policies they said they had an intention of enacting." (ENVH)
"I have a hard time agreeing with any conclusions or understanding why the authors would find this to be something that should be published." (ENVH)
"These data should be used not to set vague targets (e.g. increase the prevalence of multi- use path ordinances from 34% to 50% among high growth cities), but rather to identify the highest growth cities that do not have physical-activity supporting policies and target interventions to these." (UDPL)