Physical Activity and Redesigned Community Spaces (PARCS) Youth Cohort
The researchers are examining the impact of New York City’s Community Parks Initiative (CPI), a citywide park redesign and renovation, on physical activity, park usage, psychosocial and mental health, and quality of life in underserved neighborhoods. They are following up on an existing cohort of parent-child dyads drawn from intervention vs. matched control neighborhoods from CPI. This natural experiment is a unique collaboration with NYC Parks and the city-led environmental change intervention is unprecedented in scale. Findings will inform future investments in health-oriented urban design policies and offer evidence for addressing health disparities through built environment strategies.
Open Science Framework registration link: https://osf.io/vsj5a
Table 1. Key Measures |
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Construct |
Variables (Sources) |
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Park usage & improvements in park features, programs & quality (direct observations) |
|
|
Pediatric quality of life |
|
Children
|
Physical activity |
Parents
|
Children
|
Habitual park usage & engagement |
Parents
|
Children (Parent Report)
|
Parent support practices for PA |
Parents
|
|
Park satisfaction & perception |
Parents
|
|
Psychosocial/mental health |
Parents
|
Children (Parent Report)
|
Community well-being |
Parents
|
|
Demographic information |
Parents
|
Children (Parent Report)
|
Weather |
Daily high & low temperatures, humidity & rain/sun conditions (PiLR EMA app) |
The study builds on an ongoing natural experiment of 665 parent-child dyads in 13 intervention vs. 11 matched control park neighborhoods. The primary outcome is quality of life in children using a validated scale while the secondary outcome is objectively measured physical activity. Data will be analyzed by examining the change in outcomes pre-and post-park renovation in the intervention vs control groups. Longitudinal data will be analyzed using difference-in-difference and mixed models.

Terry Huang, PhD, MPH, MBA
Katarzyna Wyka, PhD
$487,202 & 36 months