THE URBAN SETTING OF JUVENILE PEDESTRIAN INJURIES - A STUDY OF BEHAVIORAL ECOLOGY AND SOCIAL DISADVANTAGE

Population-adjusted rates of fatal and serious pedestrian injuries (in 435 Calgary residents age 0 to 17) and some other indicators of behavioural problems (including juvenile delinquency) and social indicators (including poverty and proportions with low birth weight) were compared across 120 neighbourhoods. Two areas with high rates of pedestrian injury, delinquency, and various indicators of disadvantage were identified, one close to the city core and the other in modem, low-income housing on the city periphery. The patterning of injury rates by income levels across neighbourhoods supports earlier Canadian work. Once again, a multivariate, causal model of stress and vulnerability in coping with physically hazardous traffic environments is implied. Social intervention and community development models based on social work research are advocated.