Understanding children's perceptions of, and priorities for, healthy neighbourhoods in Aotearoa New Zealand: study protocol for a cross-sectional study.

INTRODUCTION: Neighbourhood environments can have significant and enduring impacts on children's physical, psychological and social health. Environments can impact health through promoting or hindering physical activity, active travel, and healthy eating in addition to opportunities for social interaction, cognitive development, rest and relaxation. There is a paucity of research that has examined neighbourhood and health priorities, strengths and needs from the perspectives of the community, and even less that has focused on the perspectives of children within communities. The aim of this article is to describe the research protocol for a project to gather child-identified needs and strengths-based solutions for promoting child health and well-being in urban neighbourhood environments. METHODS AND ANALYSIS: This participatory research project is designed to partner with children in school settings in Tamaki Makaurau Auckland and Otepoti Dunedin, Aotearoa New Zealand. An abundant communities approach will be used with children to identify needs and strengths related to neighbourhoods and health. Specific methods including collaborative, creative, play-based methods such as concept-mapping activities and co-creation of final dissemination material on the key messages are described. Plans for researcher reflections, data analysis and dissemination are also detailed. ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION: This research has been approved by the University of Auckland Human Participants Ethics Committee. Results will be disseminated through child and researcher co-created output, a technical report and academic journal articles. By using evidence-based child-centred approaches to knowledge generation, we anticipate the research will generate new localised insights about children's preferences and needs for healthy neighbourhoods which will be shared with stakeholders in planning and practice. The detailed session protocol including critical researcher reflections is shared in this manuscript for application, development and refinement in future research.

"How can we make it work for you?" Enabling sporting assemblages for disabled young people.

Disabled young people have lower levels of participation in community life than nondisabled peers across a number of domains, including sporting activities, with profound implications for health, wellbeing and life course opportunities. Playing sport is a defining feature of identity for many young people in Aotearoa/New Zealand. Participation in sporting activities provides opportunities to develop competencies, to have fun and to compete, while also providing a sense of inclusion and peer group belonging. However, despite policies promoting inclusion of disabled young people in school and club sport, ableist attitudes and practices still function to exclude individuals who do not fit able-bodied norms. Drawing on recent 'assemblage thinking' in health and cultural geography, this paper explores the material, social and affective dimensions of 'enabling' and 'disabling' sporting assemblages, drawing on interviews with 35 disabled young people (12-25 years), parents and key informants. Many reported instances of demoralising exclusion in mainstream sporting activities. Some turned to adaptive sporting codes, designed for inclusion. In our exploration of participants' embodied experiences of enabling and disabling assemblages we employ assemblage theory to examine how social, affective and material forces and processes converge to either enable or constrain participation in local sporting activities. We close with a brief assessment of the implications of our analysis for ongoing efforts to promote inclusion for disabled youth in physical activity.

Keeping kids safe for active travel to school: A mixed method examination of school policies and practices and children's school travel behaviour.

Active school travel contributes to children's physical, mental and social wellbeing. The prevalence of children's active school travel, however, has been declining in many developed countries. Gaining insights into school culture and environments in relation to school travel behaviour is crucial to inform interventions. Using a multiphase mixed methods approach, this study aimed to provide a comprehensive understanding of how school policies and practices supported or inhibited school travel behaviour in Auckland, New Zealand. Data were drawn from Neighbourhoods for Active Kids, a cross-sectional study of 1085 children aged 8-13 years between February 2015 and December 2016. School representatives were interviewed regarding their policies and practices related to school travel behaviour and traffic around school, and the data were analysed thematically. An overarching theme, sub-themes and categories were contextualised for quantitative modelling using objectively measured school variables (school socioeconomic status, active school travel programme, built environments around school). Mixed effects multinomial logistic regression models were employed to determine associations between school travel mode and objectively measured child (sociodemographic characteristics, traffic safety perceptions) and school variables. Safety was the core concept of school travel policies, procedures and programmes. Significant differences in child variables, school socioeconomic status, and cycle lanes and traffic lights around school were found between children who actively travelled or used public transport to school and those driven to school. Overall, this study demonstrated the important role of school policy and procedures and the potential application of an intersectoral approach for interventions to support changes in school travel behaviour.

Suburb-level changes for active transport to meet the SDGs: Causal theory and a New Zealand case study.

The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and its Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) represent a historic global linking of health, equity and environmental sustainability. Accumulated evidence suggests that improving urban neighbourhoods to make them safer and more attractive for walking and cycling can accelerate progress towards the SDGs. The pathways to change are complex, non-linear and involve multiple pathways and multiple SDG outcomes, yet the SDG goals are often considered in isolation. Further, there have been few studies of environmental interventions for healthier transport that foreground equity. The aim of this paper is to describe and demonstrate practically how integrated interventions for placemaking and active transport can contribute to a wide range of SDG targets. First, we take an evidence-based approach to describing how such interventions are connected to targets within the SDGs. Second, we propose a complex causal theory of the pathways to change and the inter-relationships between SDGs. Third, we show, with concrete examples, how a case study project in Auckland, New Zealand illustrates these pathways, contributing to achieving the SDG targets, including barriers and challenges. We find that by addressing Goal 11 in particular ways that focus on equity (Goal 10), eight of the other goals can also be advanced. Our causal theory describes one balancing and 12 reinforcing patterns of behaviour that link interventions improvements to neighbourhoods with ten of the SDGs in a complex system. Our case study demonstrates that it is possible to successfully put this causal theory into practice through interventions, but these require strong partnerships between researchers, public health practitioners, policy-makers and communities, long-term evaluation and addressing both physical and social environments.

'A level playing field': Young people's experiences of wheelchair basketball as an enabling place.

Using a novel case-study of a youth wheelchair basketball team in Auckland, New Zealand, we investigate the experiences of young people with physical disabilities in recreational sports places. We consider the 'enabling places' created by this sport, which can enhance disabled young people's wellbeing and social inclusion. Semi-structured interviews with the team's players and coordinators revealed logistical and societal challenges associated with facilitating youth-oriented sports, as well as those encountered by team members personally. They also identified physical health and social benefits experienced through involvement in wheelchair basketball. The material, social and affective dimensions of participants' experiences of wheelchair basketball elucidate the capacity for the sport, and its team members and settings, to affirm young people's identity and place-in-the-world. We conclude that youth-specific, inclusive sports generate enabling places that enhance young people's social inclusion, wellbeing and life enjoyment.

How Do Neighbourhood Definitions Influence the Associations between Built Environment and Physical Activity?

Researchers investigating relationships between the neighbourhood environment and health first need to decide on the spatial extent of the neighbourhood they are interested in. This decision is an important and ongoing methodological challenge since different methods of defining and delineating neighbourhood boundaries can produce different results. This paper explores this issue in the context of a New Zealand-based study of the relationship between the built environment and multiple measures of physical activity. Geographic information systems were used to measure three built environment attributes-dwelling density, street connectivity, and neighbourhood destination accessibility-using seven different neighbourhood definitions (three administrative unit boundaries, and 500, 800, 1000- and 1500-m road network buffers). The associations between the three built environment measures and five measures of physical activity (mean accelerometer counts per hour, percentage time in moderate-vigorous physical activity, self-reported walking for transport, self-reported walking for recreation and self-reported walking for all purposes) were modelled for each neighbourhood definition. The combination of the choice of neighbourhood definition, built environment measure, and physical activity measure determined whether evidence of an association was detected or not. Results demonstrated that, while there was no single ideal neighbourhood definition, the built environment was most consistently associated with a range of physical activity measures when the 800-m and 1000-m road network buffers were used. For the street connectivity and destination accessibility measures, associations with physical activity were less likely to be detected at smaller scales (less than 800 m). In line with some previous research, this study demonstrated that the choice of neighbourhood definition can influence whether or not an association between the built environment and adults' physical activity is detected or not. This study additionally highlighted the importance of the choice of built environment attribute and physical activity measures. While we identified the 800-m and 1000-m road network buffers as the neighbourhood definitions most consistently associated with a range of physical activity measures, it is important that researchers carefully consider the most appropriate type of neighbourhood definition and scale for the particular aim and participants, especially at smaller scales.

Children's Transport Built Environments: A Mixed Methods Study of Associations between Perceived and Objective Measures and Relationships with Parent Licence for Independent Mobility in Auckland, New Zealand.

Children's independent mobility is declining internationally. Parents are the gatekeepers of children's independent mobility. This mixed methods study investigates whether parent perceptions of the neighbourhood environment align with objective measures of the neighbourhood built environment, and how perceived and objective measures relate to parental licence for children's independent mobility. Parents participating in the Neighbourhood for Active Kids study (n = 940) answered an open-ended question about what would make their neighbourhoods better for their child's independent mobility, and reported household and child demographics. Objective measures of the neighbourhood built environment were generated using geographic information systems. Content analysis was used to classify and group parent-reported changes required to improve their neigbourhood. Parent-reported needs were then compared with objective neighbourhood built environment measures. Linear mixed modelling examined associations between parental licence for independent mobility and (1) parent neighbourhood perceptions; and (2) objectively assessed neighbourhood built environment features. Parents identified the need for safer traffic environments. No significant differences in parent reported needs were found by objectively assessed characteristics. Differences in odds of reporting needs were observed for a range of socio-demographic characteristics. Parental licence for independent mobility was only associated with a need for safer places to cycle (positive) and objectively assessed cycling infrastructure (negative) in adjusted models. Overall, the study findings indicate the importance of safer traffic environments for children's independent mobility.

Assessment of direct and indirect associations between children active school travel and environmental, household and child factors using structural equation modelling.

BACKGROUND: Active school travel (AST) is influenced by multiple factors including built and social environments, households and individual variables. A holistic theory such as Mitra's Behavioural Model of School Transportation (BMST) is vital to comprehensively understand these complex interrelationships. This study aimed to assess direct and indirect associations between children's AST and environmental, household and child factors based on the BMST using structural equation modelling (SEM). METHODS: Data were drawn from Neighbourhoods for Active Kids (NfAK), a cross-sectional study of 1102 children aged 8-13 years (school years 5-8) and their parents from nine intermediate and 10 primary schools in Auckland, New Zealand between February 2015 and December 2016. Data were collected using an online participatory mapping survey (softGIS) with children, a computer-assisted telephone interviewing survey (CATI) with parents, and ArcGIS for built environment attributes. Based on the BMST a conceptual model of children's school travel behaviour was specified for SEM analyses ('hypothesised SEM'), and model modification was made to improve the model ('modified SEM'). SEM analyses using Mplus were performed to test the hypothesised/modified SEM and to assess direct and indirect relationships among variables. RESULTS: The overall fit of the modified SEM was acceptable (N = 542; Root mean square error of approximation = 0.04, Comparative fit index = 0.94, Tucker-Lewis index = 0.92). AST was positively associated with child independent mobility, child-perceived neighbourhood safety, and parent-perceived importance of social interaction and neighbourhood social environment. Distance to school, and parental perceptions of convenience and concerns about traffic safety were negatively associated with AST. Parental fears of stranger danger were indirectly related to AST through those of traffic safety. Distance to school and child independent mobility mediated relationships between AST and child school year and sex. CONCLUSIONS: Increasing children's AST requires action on multiple fronts including communities that support independent mobility by providing child friendly social and built environments, safety from traffic, and policies that promote local schools and safe vehicle-free zones around school.

Associations of children's active school travel with perceptions of the physical environment and characteristics of the social environment: A systematic review.

This systematic review summarised and evaluated the evidence for associations between school travel modes in children aged 5-13 years and perceived physical environments as well as social and sociodemographic characteristics. A computerised electronic search was performed for English articles published between January 2000 and July 2017. Data were extracted, study quality was assessed, and findings were analysed using a vote-counting technique. Thirty-seven studies met the inclusion criteria and were reviewed. Active school travel was associated positively with safety, walkability and neighbourhood social interactions, and negatively with travel distance and car ownership. Risk of bias, poor sampling methods and lack of external validity were common study limitations. Generally insufficient findings were reported for social characteristics.

Are disadvantaged children more likely to be excluded from analysis when applying global positioning systems inclusion criteria?

OBJECTIVE: When using global positioning systems (GPS) to assess an individual's exposure to their environment, a first step in data cleaning is to establish minimum GPS 'inclusion criteria' (a set of rules used to determine which GPS data are able to be included in analyses). Care is needed at this stage to avoid any data exclusion (data loss) systematically biasing results in terms of characteristics of the environment and participants. The extent of potential systematic bias in sample retention due to GPS data loss and application of GPS inclusion criteria is unknown. The aim of this study was to describe differences in sample size and socio-demographic characteristics of the retained sample when applying three different GPS inclusion criteria. The study assessed 7-day GPS data collected from children (aged 9-13 years) recruited from nine schools in Auckland, New Zealand as part of the Kids in the City study. RESULTS: Participants from ethnic minorities and those attending schools in lower socioeconomic areas were disproportionately excluded from the retained samples. This highlights potential equity implications in basing the assessment of exposure-which ultimately influences research results on the relationship between environment and health-on non-representative GPS data.

Enabling participation for disabled young people: study protocol.

BACKGROUND: Participation in community life is vital for health and wellbeing, promoting a sense of belonging, networks of social support and opportunities for physical activity. Disabled young people have lower levels of mobility and participation in recreational activities (physical, social and cultural), education and employment, than their peers without disabilities. This has implications for their health and wellbeing and life course opportunities. Previous research on the participation levels of disabled young people has primarily relied on parent/caregiver reports and been oriented to home and school environments. This study investigates how physical and social environmental factors cohere to support or restrict the everyday mobility and participation of disabled young people. METHODS/DESIGN: The study is located in Auckland, Aotearoa/New Zealand (NZ). Participants comprise 35 young people aged 12-25 years with mobility, vision or hearing impairments. A mixed-methods research design combines objective (global positioning systems, accelerometers, geographical information systems) and self-report measures (travel diaries, and questionnaires) to assess young people's mobility and levels of participation in leisure/educational and employment activities with in-depth interviews exploring their everyday experiences of inclusion/exclusion, and factors enabling or constraining community participation. Parents/caregivers and disability sector key informant viewpoints on the community participation of disabled young people have also been gathered through in-depth interviews. Follow-up workshops with young people and parents/caregivers will identify pathways to increase participation and challenge current disabling practices. DISCUSSION: This study looks beyond barriers in the physical environment to the interplay of personal, social and physical factors that enable or constrain the community participation of disabled young people. In keeping with the study's overarching goal of increasing opportunities for effective community participation and full citizenship of disabled young people, research methods were applied flexibily - negotiated and adapted to maximise each young person's participation in light of their abilities and preferences.

A Cost Benefit Analysis of an Active Travel Intervention with Health and Carbon Emission Reduction Benefits.

Active travel (walking and cycling) is beneficial for people’s health and has many co-benefits, such as reducing motor vehicle congestion and pollution in urban areas. There have been few robust evaluations of active travel, and very few studies have valued health and emissions outcomes. The ACTIVE before-and-after quasi-experimental study estimated the net benefits of health and other outcomes from New Zealand’s Model Communities Programme using an empirical analysis comparing two intervention cities with two control cities. The Programme funded investment in cycle paths, other walking and cycling facilities, cycle parking, ‘shared spaces’, media campaigns and events, such as ‘Share the Road’, and cycle-skills training. Using the modified Integrated Transport and Health Impacts Model, the Programme’s net economic benefits were estimated from the changes in use of active travel modes. Annual benefits for health in the intervention cities were estimated at 34.4 disability-adjusted life years (DALYs) and two lives saved due to reductions in cardiac disease, diabetes, cancer, and respiratory disease. Reductions in transport-related carbon emissions were also estimated and valued. Using a discount rate of 3.5%, the estimated benefit/cost ratio was 11:1 and was robust to sensitivity testing. It is concluded that when concerted investment is made in active travel in a city, there is likely to be a measurable, positive return on investment.

Are government-approved products containing new psychoactive substances perceived to be safer and more socially acceptable than alcohol, tobacco and illegal drugs? Findings from a survey of police arrestees in New Zealand.

INTRODUCTION AND AIMS: In July 2013, New Zealand passed the Psychoactive Substances Act (PSA), which established a legal regulated market for government-approved products containing new psychoactive substances (NPS). One of the aims of the PSA was to separate the market for approved NPS products from unapproved products and illegal drugs. The aim of this study was to explore perceived health risks and social acceptability of government-approved NPS compared to unapproved NPS and other drugs. DESIGN AND METHODS: About 834 police arrestees were surveyed about the health risks and social acceptability of regularly using nine drug types, including approved and unapproved synthetic cannabinoids (SC) and 'party pills' (PP) under the interim PSA regime. Statistical analyses included fitted analysis of variance and logistic ordinal regression models. RESULTS: Approved SC were considered riskier to health than (natural) cannabis, alcohol, approved and unapproved PP, tobacco and ecstasy, but safer than unapproved SC and methamphetamine. Younger participants (16-29 years) were more likely than older participants (30+ years) to give approved SC a high health-risk score. Approved SC were considered less socially acceptable than alcohol, tobacco and cannabis, but more socially acceptable than methamphetamine, unapproved SC and unapproved PP. Frequent SC users were more likely to rate the social acceptability of approved legal SC higher than other drug users. Approved PP received more positive health and social acceptability scores than approved SC. DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS: The PSA was partially successful at separating approved NPS from other drugs. High health-risk and low social acceptability scores for approved SC may reflect the absence of product testing during the interim PSA market.

Systematic literature review of built environment effects on physical activity and active transport - an update and new findings on health equity.

BACKGROUND: Evidence is mounting to suggest a causal relationship between the built environment and people's physical activity behaviours, particularly active transport. The evidence base has been hindered to date by restricted consideration of cost and economic factors associated with built environment interventions, investigation of socioeconomic or ethnic differences in intervention effects, and an inability to isolate the effect of the built environment from other intervention types. The aims of this systematic review were to identify which environmental interventions increase physical activity in residents at the local level, and to build on the evidence base by considering intervention cost, and the differential effects of interventions by ethnicity and socioeconomic status. METHODS: A systematic database search was conducted in June 2015. Articles were eligible if they reported a quantitative empirical study (natural experiment or a prospective, retrospective, experimental, or longitudinal research) investigating the relationship between objectively measured built environment feature(s) and physical activity and/or travel behaviours in children or adults. Quality assessment was conducted and data on intervention cost and whether the effect of the built environment differed by ethnicity or socioeconomic status were extracted. RESULTS: Twenty-eight studies were included in the review. Findings showed a positive effect of walkability components, provision of quality parks and playgrounds, and installation of or improvements in active transport infrastructure on active transport, physical activity, and visits or use of settings. There was some indication that infrastructure improvements may predominantly benefit socioeconomically advantaged groups. Studies were commonly limited by selection bias and insufficient controlling for confounders. Heterogeneity in study design and reporting limited comparability across studies or any clear conclusions to be made regarding intervention cost. CONCLUSIONS: Improving neighbourhood walkability, quality of parks and playgrounds, and providing adequate active transport infrastructure is likely to generate positive impacts on activity in children and adults. The possibility that the benefits of infrastructure improvements may be inequitably distributed requires further investigation. Opportunities to improve the quality of evidence exist, including strategies to improve response rates and representativeness, use of valid and reliable measurement tools, cost-benefit analyses, and adequate controlling for confounders.

What are the associations between neighbourhood walkability and sedentary time in New Zealand adults? The URBAN cross-sectional study.

OBJECTIVES: We estimated associations between objectively determined neighbourhood 'walkability' attributes and accelerometer-derived sedentary time (ST) by sex, city or type of day. DESIGN: A cross-sectional study. SETTING: The URBAN (Understanding the Relationship between Activity and Neighbourhoods) study was conducted in 48 neighbourhoods across four cities in New Zealand (August 2008 to October 2010). PARTICIPANTS: The response rate was 41% (2029 recruited participants/5007 eligible households approached). In total, 1762 participants (aged 41.4±12.1, mean±SD) met the data inclusion criteria and were included in analyses. PRIMARY AND SECONDARY OUTCOME MEASURES: The exposure variables were geographical information system (GIS) measures of neighbourhood walkability (ie, street connectivity, residential density, land-use mix, retail footprint area ratio) for street network buffers of 500 m and 1000 m around residential addresses. Participants wore an accelerometer for 7 days. The outcome measure was average daily minutes of ST. RESULTS: Data were available from 1762 participants (aged 41.4±12.1 years; 58% women). No significant main effects of GIS-based neighbourhood walkability measures were found with ST. Retail footprint area ratio was negatively associated with sedentary time in women, significant only for 500 m residential buffers. An increase of 1 decile in street connectivity was significantly associated with a decrease of over 5 min of ST per day in Christchurch residents for both residential buffers. CONCLUSION: Neighbourhoods with proximal retail and higher street connectivity seem to be associated with less ST. These effects were sex and city specific.

Social and built-environment factors related to children's independent mobility: The importance of neighbourhood cohesion and connectedness.

This study examines aspects of neighbourhood social environments (namely, neighbourhood safety, cohesion and connection) and child-specific built environment attributes in relation to children's independent mobility. The results suggest that children aged 8-13 years with parents who perceive their neighbourhood as more cohesive and more connected, and are located closer to school, engaged in higher levels of independently mobile trips. The qualitative component of this research revealed that for NZ European, Maori, Samoan and other Pacific parents, 'people danger' was the most common concern for letting their children go out alone, whereas for Asian and Indian parents, 'traffic danger' was the most common reason for their concern.

Issues with monitoring the safety of psychoactive products under a legal regulated market for new psychoactive substances ('legal highs') in New Zealand.

INTRODUCTION: New Zealand's Psychoactive Substances Act (2013) established the world's first regulated market for 'low risk' psychoactive products ('legal highs'). Under an interim PSA regime, 47 existing products were permitted to be continued to be sold. AIM: To explore issues with the implementation of regulatory systems to monitor the safety of products on the legal market under the interim Psychoactive Substances Act regime. METHODS: Semi-structured interviews with 30 key stakeholders, including industry, government agency, health and drug service professionals were conducted, transcribed and analysed thematically. RESULTS: In retrospect stakeholders questioned the decision to approve strong synthetic cannabinoid smoking products, noting their health risks because of product formulation, inconsistent manufacturing practices and smoking as the means of administration. Industry actors claimed the decision to approve synthetic cannabinoid smokeable products prevented potentially safer products from gaining market share. The system for withdrawing approved products which were subsequently found to be harmful was criticised for the poor quality of data available, limited engagement with health professionals and the slowness of product withdrawal. Many of the problems with the regime were attributed to the urgency under which the legal market under the interim Psychoactive Substances Act was established and implemented. CONCLUSIONS: The selection of 'safer' products, implementation of the product monitoring system, and engagement with health professionals may have benefited from more time and resources. An incremental approach to establishing the new market may have made the regulatory management of the new regime more workable. [Rychert M, Wilkins C, Witten K. Issues with monitoring the safety of psychoactive products under a legal regulated market for new psychoactive substances ('legal highs') in New Zealand. Drug Alcohol Rev 2017;00:000-000].

Exploring children's seasonal play to promote active lifestyles in Auckland, New Zealand.

Studies of seasonal barriers for outdoor activities seldom view families' play practices as grounded in the everyday experience of the natural elements. This paper brings 20 families' mundane outdoor play experiences in Auckland's temperate climate to the fore. Through drawings and interviews, families residing in both suburban detached houses and central city apartments revealed locally constituted beliefs about appropriate play spaces (e.g. garden, park). While the majority of participants retreated to indoor activities during winter, some children and their parents viewed the outdoors as the only opportunity for 'real fun'. We advocate the importance of a better understanding of children's seasonal outdoor play. In particular, we argue that in order to promote year-round healthy levels of outdoor activities it is necessary to understand variations in societal, neighbourhood and family values attributed to outdoor activities. Further, to develop a more nuanced understanding of the locational complexities of outdoor play it is important to understand the meanings of, and practices associated with, seasonal and weather conditions in different international locations.

Neighbourhoods for Active Kids: study protocol for a cross-sectional examination of neighbourhood features and children's physical activity, active travel, independent mobility and body size.

INTRODUCTION: New Zealand children's physical activity, including independent mobility and active travel, has declined markedly over recent decades. The Neighbourhoods for Active Kids (NfAK) study examines how neighbourhood built environments are associated with the independent mobility, active travel, physical activity and neighbourhood experiences of children aged 9-12 years in primary and intermediate schools across Auckland, New Zealand's largest city. METHODS AND ANALYSIS: Child-specific indices of walkability, destination accessibility and traffic exposure will be constructed to measure the built environment in 8 neighbourhoods in Auckland. Interactive online-mapping software will be used to measure children's independent mobility and transport mode to destinations and to derive measures of neighbourhood use and perceptions. Physical activity will be measured using 7-day accelerometry. Height, weight and waist circumference will be objectively measured. Parent telephone interviews will collect sociodemographic information and parent neighbourhood perceptions. Interviews with school representative will capture supports and barriers for healthy activity and nutrition behaviours at the school level. Multilevel modelling approaches will be used to understand how differing built environment variables are associated with activity, neighbourhood experiences and health outcomes. DISCUSSION: We anticipate that children who reside in neighbourhoods considered highly walkable will be more physically active, accumulate more independent mobility and active travel, and be more likely to have a healthy body size. This research is timely as cities throughout New Zealand develop and implement plans to improve the liveability of intensifying urban neighbourhoods. Results will be disseminated to participants, local government agencies and through conventional academic avenues.