Fear of Crime and Individual Factors As Barriers To Leisure Walking in Neighborhoods

Leisure walking is one of the most common forms of the physical activity and is usually performed in neighborhood streets and public open spaces. to create the neighborhood environments that encourage leisure walking, it is important to understand which physical, social and individual factors are most strongly related to this type of the physical activity. this study explored the association of personal barriers (as individual factor) and crime safety (as social factor) with leisure walking activity. the study adopted a questionnaire survey to address research inquiries. 500 questionnaires were systematically distributed among adults residing in four residential neighborhoods of bandar abbas city. of these, 411 qualified samples were used in the study. the findings of the study showed that promoting walking behavior among adults is a public priority in iran to maintain health. this study showed that fear of crime play an important role in preventing people to walk leisurely in the neighborhoods. in addition, the findings of the study revealed how individual barriers decrease the chance of residents to be outside of their homes to walk for recreation or exercise. the findings of the study might help the local government departments to better identify the current situation of the neighborhoods in terms of the walking behavior and the needs of the residents to promote the leisure walking activity. this is because the walking activity is important for the individuals’ health and well-being as well as promoting the social interaction in the neighborhood areas.