Development of a smartphone app to evaluate the quality of public open space for physical activity. An instrument for health researchers and urban planners

Abstract

Public Open Spaces (POS) such as green spaces have well-known health benefits and certain attributes are important for encouraging their use. Audit tools have been developed to evaluate POS quality. These are mostly available in paper form, although software applications (app) offer several advantages, such as facilitating data entry, organization and exportation and allowing access to sensors available in portable devices. We aimed to develop a free and open-source app for smartphone based on the original paper-form Quality of Public Open Space Tool (POST), and to describe its development, functionalities and strengths. Adapting the paper version of POST to an app was a relatively straightforward process. Taking advantage of the smartphone sensors and functionalities, we have been able to incorporate several tools that can improve the POST functionality and efficiency. Given the ubiquity of smartphones, the POST app has potential to be used widely by both researchers and planners.