![]() ![]() The MAPS-Global observation instrument was based in part on the original MAPS and designed to be appropriate for international use, providing measures of microscale features that are comparable across countries by drawing on items developed across several continents. MAPS Abbreviated Online) was shown to be a reliable online audit tool when compared to on-street assessments. reported significant associations between on-street and Google Street View measures for most items in an instrument applied in two US cities. Several studies documented generally strong agreement between on-street and online observations in the USA, Australia and New Zealand. Remote online observations reduce travel costs and are particularly useful when evaluating geographically dispersed or international locations. On-street observations usually consume more time and expense than measurements conducted remotely using online imagery, for example Google Street View. One such instrument is the Microscale Audit of Pedestrian Streetscapes (MAPS) whose items and subscales mainly had moderate to excellent inter-observer reliability and demonstrated validity through associations with several PA measures in multiple age groups. ![]() Studies initially established the inter-rater reliability of these instruments using in-person, on-street measurements. Observation, or audit, measures have been developed to evaluate different types of built environments (e.g., urban centers, residential neighborhoods, public open spaces). A small body of literature has established strong relationships across age groups between microscale attributes and PA, mainly active transport to destinations, independent of macro-level walkability. Microscale characteristics refer to details of streetscapes that can affect the experience of being active, such as design and amenities of streets, sidewalks, and crosswalks, or indicators of social environments and aesthetics. Macroscale attributes are structural features of the environment such as residential density, street connectivity and land use mix that can affect walking to destinations. Environmental factors can be classified as macroscale or microscale variables. MAPS-Global is a feasible and reliable instrument that can be used both on-street and online to analyze microscale environmental characteristics in diverse international urban settings.Īccording to ecological models of health behaviors, physical activity (PA) has multiple levels of influence, including built environment characteristics. Overall scores for each section (route, segment, crossing) showed good to excellent reliability (ICCs: 0.813, 0.929 and 0.885, respectively), and the MAPS-Global grand score had excellent reliability (ICC: 0.861) between the two methods. Only a few subscales had Kappa or ICC values < 0.70, with aesthetic and social environment variables having the lowest overall reliability values, though still in the “good to excellent” category. Overall mean assessment times were the same for on-street and online evaluations (22 ± 12 min). Inter-rater reliability analyses were performed using Kappa statistics or Intraclass Correlation Coefficients (ICC). The final sample included 349 routes, 1228 street segments, 799 crossings, and 16 cul-de-sacs. In-person on the street and online using Google Street View audits were carried out by two independent trained raters in each city. ![]() Methodsĭata were collected along likely walking routes of study participants, from residential starting points toward commercial clusters in Melbourne (Australia), Ghent (Belgium), Curitiba (Brazil), Hong Kong (China), and Valencia (Spain). This study assessed inter-rater reliability of the Microscale Audit of Pedestrian Streetscapes, Global version (MAPS-Global), in an international context, comparing on-street with more efficient online observation methods in five countries with varying levels of walkability. Microscale environmental features are usually evaluated using direct on-street observations.
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