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Streetscape virtual audits across the Americas: measurement, validity, and bias
Dissertation   Open access

Streetscape virtual audits across the Americas: measurement, validity, and bias

Dustin Thomas Fry
Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.), Drexel University
Jul 2022
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.17918/00001353
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Abstract

Streetscapes (Urban design) Epidemiology Public Health
Virtual audits of neighborhood environments using online sources of interactive panoramic imagery, such as Google Street View, are an increasingly-common source of data for public health studies. However, most studies to date have focused on North American and Western European cities. This dissertation describes the development of a novel measure of neighborhood physical disorder applicable for use in health studies in Latin American cities. First, patterns of Google Street View image availability within Latin American cities is described. Second, virtual audits were conducted on street segments in five urban areas in the United States (New York, NY; Philadelphia, PA; Jackson, MS; San Antonio, TX; and the Rio Grande Valley, TX) and four in Latin America (Mexico City, MX; Bogota, CO; Belo Horizonte, BR; and Santiago, CL). Next, a measure of neighborhood physical disorder was adapted from this audit data, and predictors of individual perceptions of disorder by trained auditors are explored. Finally, predictive validity of the measure was assessed by examining associations between neighborhood physical disorder at the subcity level and life expectancy at birth and at age 45, comparing relationships between regions.

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