Utilization and physical activity levels at renovated and unrenovated school playgrounds Natalie Colabianchi a, ⁎, Audrey E. Kinsella b , Claudia J. Coulton b , Shirley M. Moore b a University of South Carolina, Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, 921 Assembly Street, Columbia, SC 29208, USA b Case Western Reserve University,10900 Euclid Avenue, Cleveland, OH 44106, USA abstract article info Available online 14 November 2008 Keywords: Motor activity Intervention studies Environmental impact Schools Child Adolescent Adult Urban health Objective. This study examined utilization and physical activity levels at renovated compared to unrenovated school playgrounds. Methods. Ten unrenovated and ten renovated school playgrounds (renovated at least a year prior) in Cleveland, OH were matched on school and neighborhood characteristics. Using direct observation (SOPLAY), the number of persons attending each playground and their physical activity levels were recorded using separate counts for girls, boys, men and women. Each school was observed ten times for 90 min each time outside of school hours in 2005. Paired t-tests, Wilcoxon Signed Ranks tests, and regression analyses were completed to examine differences across school pairs. Results. More persons overall including adults and children utilized the renovated playgrounds compared to the unrenovated playgrounds. The proportion moderately-to-vigorously active was not different between renovated and unrenovated playgrounds although the proportion of children, in particular boys, who were vigorously active was greater at the renovated playgrounds. Although utilization was higher at the renovated playgrounds, absolute utilization was low across all playgrounds. Conclusions. This study suggests that playgrounds renovations may have the potential to increase the number of children utilizing the playground outside of school hours and may increase the proportion of children, especially boys, who are vigorously active. © 2008 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. Introduction A large number of children are not active at recommended levels, especially girls and minorities (CDC, 2003; CDC, 2004). Consequently, novel approaches are needed to increase physical activity in children. Accumulating research evidence indicates the built environment may inhibit or facilitate physical activity in adults and youth (Transporta- tion Research Board, 2005; Davison and Lawson, 2006; Duncan et al., 2005; Humpel et al., 2004; Saelens et al., 2003; Sallis et al., 1998). Studies of built environment changes may provide reasonable evidence for a causal relationship between the built environment and physical activity (Transportation Research Board, 2005; Sallis and Glanz, 2006). However, only a few studies of built environment changes have been conducted and the results of such studies are mixed (Boarnet et al., 2005; Evenson et al., 2005; Merom et al., 2003). To increase physical activity levels in children, several researchers have suggested increasing access to quality play spaces at school (Sallis et al., 2001; Stone et al., 1998; Wechsler et al., 2000). This study sought to determine whether renovated school grounds (including playgrounds) in an urban area could result in greater utilization rates and higher levels of physical activity relative to matched unrenovated playgrounds that did not undergo renovations. Methods Using individually matched school pairs, this study examined ten schools that had been renovated for at least 1 year compared to ten matched unrenovated schools. The renovation project titled “School Grounds as Community Parks” provided for new playground equip- ment, an outdoor learning garden, and safety and site improvements (average cost for renovation was $200,000 per site in US dollars). Hereafter these modifications are referred to as playground renova- tions. The focus of this study was on non-school hours because the research aim was to determine whether the built environment modifications would affect individuals’ leisure physical activity. Schools without a playground in very low income areas were selected in rank order for the renovations. Other additional sites were selected when total project costs were covered by ward allocations from members of City Council. At the time of the study, 19 schools had been renovated. The ten renovated schools selected for this study were those for which an appropriate matched school was available. The unrenovated schools were chosen from the remaining elementary schools in the district Preventive Medicine 48 (2009) 140–143 ⁎ Corresponding author. E-mail address: colabianchi@sc.edu (N. Colabianchi). 0091-7435/$ – see front matter © 2008 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. doi:10.1016/j.ypmed.2008.11.005 Contents lists available at ScienceDirect Preventive Medicine journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/ypmed