Who are the targeted participants in an urban ciclovia initiative?: Identifying underserved participants of sunday streets san francisco

Introduction: Community-based events that use spaces such as city streets for recreation have the potential to influence population-wide health behavior. The routes developed for Sunday Streets SF (SS), are designed to target underserved neighborhoods. In this study, we describe seven variables that define “underserved” neighborhoods, demonstrate the reach of SS, and offer a model for defining targeted participants in multiple contexts. Methods: A total of 626 participants from three SS events completed a 24-item survey in 2010 reporting demographic information and physical activity behavior. The participants' residential zip-codes were cross-referenced with a park assessment report, a city Planning Department map, and seven variables (e.g. income, access to bike lanes, crime, recreation area, diabetes hospitalizations) from neighborhood-level health data (www.thehdmt.org) to determine the participants' underserved status. Results: More than 50% of SS participants reside in neighborhoods defined as underserved using the seven variables. Using cluster analysis, we classified participants into three distinct groups. Group I (22%) consisted of (underserved) participants who reside along event routes; Group II, (35.5 %) reside in underserved neighborhoods outside the routes. Non-San Francisco participants formed Group III. Targeted populations (Groups I and II) engaged in physical activity for an average of 55 minutes at SS. Conclusions: Using the seven selected variables, we have developed a tool for understanding the impact of neighborhoods defined as “underserved” on residents. Attendance rates and physical activity behavior of residents of underserved neighborhoods suggest that a regular schedule of SS events could play an important role in improving population-wide public health.