Article Built environment assessment: Multidisciplinary perspectives Karen Glanz a,n , Susan L. Handy b , Kathryn E. Henderson c , Sandy J. Slater d , Erica L. Davis e , Lisa M. Powell f a Department of Biostatistics and Epidemiology, Perelman School of Medicine and School of Nursing, University of Pennsylvania, 801 Blockley Hall, 423 Guardian Drive, Philadelphia, PA 19104, United States b Department of Environmental Science and Policy, University of California at Davis, 2130 Wickson Hall, Davis, CA 95616, United States c Henderson Consulting, Guilford, CT, United States d Health Policy and Administration and Institute for Health Research and Policy, School of Public Health, University of Illinois at Chicago, 492 Westside Research Office Building, 1747 West Roosevelt Road, Chicago, IL 60608, United States e Department of Biostatistics and Epidemiology, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, 813 Blockley Hall, 423 Guardian Drive, Phila- delphia, PA 19104, United States f Health Policy and Administration and Institute for Health Research and Policy, School of Public Health, University of Illinois at Chicago, 448 Westside Research Office Building, 1747 West Roosevelt Road, Chicago, IL 60608, United States article info Article history: Received 17 July 2015 Received in revised form 5 January 2016 Accepted 4 February 2016 Keywords: Obesity Nutrition Physical activity Built environment Interprofessional education abstract Context: As obesity has become increasingly widespread, scientists seek better ways to assess and modify built and social environments to positively impact health. The applicable methods and concepts draw on multiple disciplines and require collaboration and cross-learning. This paper describes the results of an expert team's analysis of how key disciplinary perspectives contribute to environmental context-based assessment related to obesity, identifies gaps, and suggests opportunities to encourage effective advances in this arena. Evidence acquisition: A team of experts representing diverse disciplines convened in 2013 to discuss the contributions of their respective disciplines to assessing built environments relevant to obesity pre- vention. The disciplines include urban planning, public health nutrition, exercise science, physical activity research, public health and epidemiology, behavioral and social sciences, and economics. Each expert identified key concepts and measures from their discipline, and applications to built environment assessment and action. A selective review of published literature and internet-based information was conducted in 2013 and 2014. Evidence synthesis: The key points that are highlighted in this article were identified in 2014–2015 through discussion, debate and consensus-building among the team of experts. Results focus on the various disciplines' perspectives and tools, recommendations, progress and gaps. Conclusions: There has been significant progress in collaboration across key disciplines that contribute to studies of built environments and obesity, but important gaps remain. Using lessons from interprofes- sional education and team science, along with appreciation of and attention to other disciplines' con- tributions, can promote more effective cross-disciplinary collaboration in obesity prevention. & 2016 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/). 1. Introduction The built environment related to obesity can be thought of as the totality of places built or designed by humans, including buildings, grounds around buildings, layout of communities, transportation infrastructure, parks and trails (Anonymous, 2005; Sallis, Floyd Rodri- guez, & Saelens, 2012), and features of locations where food is mar- keted, sold and served (Glanz, Sallis, Saelens, & Frank, 2005; Glanz, 2009). Built environments and the policies that shape them are increasingly considered key determinants of health behaviors related to obesity and other chronic diseases (Anonymous, 2001; Koplan, Liverman, & Krakk, 2005; Parker, Burns, & Sanchez, 2009). Thus, an improved understanding of built environments – and built environ- ment measures – is critical to population health. A variety of measures now exist that allow researchers and practitioners to plan and evaluate changes to the built Contents lists available at ScienceDirect journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/ssmph SSM -Population Health http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ssmph.2016.02.002 2352-8273/& 2016 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/). Abbreviations: GIS, geographic information systems; IPE, interprofessional edu- cation; MAPS, Microscale Audit of Pedestrian Streetscapes; NEMS, Nutrition Environment Measure Survey n Corresponding author. Tel.: þ1 215 898 0613; fax: þ1 215 573 5315. E-mail addresses: kglanz@upenn.edu (K. Glanz), slhandy@ucdavis.edu (S.L. Handy), kathrynh333@gmail.com (K.E. Henderson), sslater@uic.edu (S.J. Slater), edavi@upenn.edu (E.L. Davis), powelll@uic.edu (L.M. Powell). SSM -Population Health 2 (2016) 24–31