Developed in 2002, NEWS assesses residents' perception of neighborhood design features related to physical activity, including residential density, land use mix (including both indices of proximity and accessibility), street connectivity, infrastructure for walking/cycling, neighborhood aesthetics, traffic and crime safety, and neighborhood satisfaction. NEWS has been validated in several countries. Multiple versions have been developed. We recommend use of the NEWS-CFA version.
Main Citations:
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Saelens, B.E., Sallis, J.F., Black, J.B., and Chen, D. (2003). Neighborhood-based differences in physical activity: An environment scale evaluation.American Journal of Public Health, 93, 1552-1558.
Cerin, E., Saelens, B.E., Sallis, J.F., and Frank, L.D. (2006). Neighborhood environment walkability scale: Validity and development of a short form.Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise, 38, 1682-1691.
Cerin, E., Conway, T.L., Saelens, B.E., Frank, L.D., and Sallis, J.F. Cross-validation of the factorial structure of the Neighborhood Environment Walkability Scale (NEWS) and its abbreviated form (NEWS-A). (2009). International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity, 6:32.
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Cerin, E., Conway, T.L., Cain, K.L., Kerr, J., De Bourdeaudhuij, I., Owen, N., Reis, R.S., Sarmiento, O.L., Hinckson, E.A., Salvo, D., Christiansen, L.B., MacFarlane, D.J., Davey, R., Mitas, J., Aguinaga-Ontoso, I., and Sallis, J.F. (2013). Sharing good NEWS across the world: Developing comparable scores across 12 countries for the Neighborhood Environment Walkability Scale (NEWS). BMC Public Health, 13:309. DOI: 10.1186/1471-2458-13-309. PMCID: PMC3642009. Link
Oyeyemi, A.L., Kasoma, S.S., Onywera, V.O., Assah, F., Assah, F., Adedoyin, R.A., Conway, T.L., Moss, S.J., Ocansey, R., Kolbe-Alexander, T.L., Akinroye, K.K., Prista, A., Larouche, R., Gavand, K.A., Cain, K.L., Lambert, E.V., Aryeetey, R., Bartels, C., Tremblay, M.S., and Sallis, J.F. (2016). NEWS for Africa: Adaptation and reliability of a built environment questionnaire for physical activity in seven African countries. International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity,13:33. DOI: 10.1186/s12966-016-0357-y. Link (open access)
Oyeyemi, A.L., Conway, T.L., Adedoyin, R.A., Akinroye, K.K., Aryeetey, R., Assah, F., Cain, K.L., Gavand, K.A., Kasoma, S.S., Kolbe-Alexander, T.L., Lambert, E.V., Larouche, R., Moss, S.J., Ocansey, R., Onywera, V.O., Prista, A., Tremblay, M.S., and
Sallis, J.F. (2017). Construct validity of the neighborhood environment walkability scale for Africa. Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise, 49(3), 482-491. DOI: 10.1249/MSS.0000000000001131
Cerin, E., Conway, T.L., Barnett, A., Smith, M., Veitch, J., Cain, K.L., Salonna, F., Reis, R.S., Molina-Garcia, J., Hinckson, E., Manan Wan Muda, W.A., Anjana, R.M., van Dyck, D., Oyeyemi, A.L., Timperio, A., Christiansen, L.B., Mitáš, J., Moran, M., Islam, M.Z., Mellecker, R.R., and Sallis, J.F. (2019). Development and validation of the Neighborhood Environment Walkability Scale for Youth across six continents. International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity, 16: 122. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1186/s12966-019-0890-6 Open access
Key differences between original NEWS and NEWS-CFA scales: The residential density and land use mix-diversity subscales were not appropriate for inclusion in the multi-level CFA, so they remain the same. The multi-level CFA tested both individual-level (participant) subscales and blockgroup-level (census unit) subscales.
Follow-up multi-level confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) of the NEWS was conducted using data from the Neighborhood Quality of Life Study (NQLS) in the U.S. The scoring procedures described here are based on these confirmatory factor analyses.
98-question instrument that assesses the perception of neighborhood design features related to physical activity, including residential density, land use mix (including both indices of proximity and accessibility), street connectivity, infrastructure for walking/cycling, neighborhood aesthetics, traffic and crime safety, and neighborhood satisfaction. Original version used in Neighborhood Quality of Life Study.
Test-retest reliability coefficients for individual items of the Neighborhood Environment Walkability Scale.
Scoring procedures and preliminary psychometrics for the Neighborhood Environment Walkability Scale (NEWS)
The NEWS-A is an abbreviated version of the Neighborhood Environment Walkability Scale (NEWS). The abbreviated version was created in 2007 in an attempt to provide a more succinct and empirically-derived measure of various aspects of the built environment we purport to be related to walking.
Scoring for the Neighborhood Environment Walkability Scale – Abbreviated (NEWS-A)
Cerin, E., Saelens, B.E., Sallis, J.F., and Frank, L.D. (2006). Neighborhood environment walkability scale: Validity and development of a short form. Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise, 38, 1682-1691.
The NEWS-Y was created in 2009 in an attempt to provide a more succinct and empirically-derived measure of various aspects of the built environment we purport to be related to walking in youth. Parent version.
Rosenberg, D. Ding, D., Sallis, J.F., Kerr, J., Norman, G.J., Durant, N., Harris, S.K., & Saelens, B.E.
The NEWS-Y was created in 2009 in an attempt to provide a more succinct and empirically-derived measure of various aspects of the built environment we purport to be related to walking in youth. Adolescent version.
Rosenberg, D. Ding, D., Sallis, J.F., Kerr, J., Norman, G.J., Durant, N., Harris, S.K., & Saelens, B.E.
Scoring for the Neighborhood Environment Walkability Scale – Youth (NEWS-Y)
Translation by laboratory of Shigeru Inoue MD, PhD, Tokyo Medical University inoue@tokyo-med.ac.jp
Translation by Daniel Cauchi MD, MSc (Melit), London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine Daniel.Cauchi@lshtm.ac.uk
For use in the European population.
Translation by laboratory of Ester Cerin. Please direct questions to ecerin@hku.hk.
Translation by laboratory of Ester Cerin. Please direct questions to ecerin@hku.hk
Translation by Deepti Adlakha. Please direct questions to D.Adlakha@qub.ac.uk
This study systematically adapted the Neighborhood Environment Walkability Scale (NEWS) for India and evaluated aspects of test-retest reliability of the adapted version among Indian adults. Cultural adaptation of the NEWS was conducted by Indian and international experts. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with local residents and key informants in the city of Chennai, India. At baseline, participants (N = 370; female = 47.2%) from Chennai completed the adapted NEWS-India surveys on perceived residential density, land use mix-diversity, land use mix-access, street connectivity, infrastructure and safety for walking and cycling, aesthetics, traffic safety, and safety from crime. NEWS-India was administered for a second time to consenting participants (N = 62; female = 53.2%) with a gap of 2–3 weeks between successive administrations. The adapted NEWS subscales had moderate to high test-retest reliability (ICC range 0.48–0.99).
Adlakha, D., Hipp, J.A., Brownson, R.C. Adaptation and Evaluation of the Neighborhood Environment Walkability Scale in India (NEWS-India). Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2016, 13, 401.