Towards the identification of a neighbourhood park typology : a conceptual and methodological exploration
Few studies have characterized park features that may be appealing for youth physical activity (PA). This study assesses the reliability of a youth-oriented direct-observation park assessment tool; identifies park domains captured by the tool using an operationalized conceptual model of parks and PA, and identifies distinct park types.  576 parks were audited using a park observation tool; intra- and inter-rater reliability were estimated. Exploratory principal component analysis (PCA) was conducted and variables were retained if they loaded at 0.3 or higher. A cluster analysis (CA) was conducted using the principal components and park area. The tool was found to be reliable and PCA yielded ten principal components explaining 60% of the total variance. The CA yielded a nine-cluster outcome explaining 40% of the total variance. PCA and CA were found to be feasible methods to use with park data. The operationalization of the conceptual model helped interpret these results.
Cohorte QUALITY QUALITY Cohort Parks Youth physical activity Built environment Park audit tool Reliability Exploratory principal component analysis Cluster analysis