Table 2.

Differences in NEWS/NEWS-A items* across 12 countries and proposed solutions to maximize comparability across countries

Original NEWS/NEWS-A subscale and items	Differences / issues	Proposed solution
Residential density	Original scale ranging from 1 to 5, with 1 denoting ‘none’. This yields positive density scores even in absence of residential buildings and sometimes similar density scores for environments with different densities.	Recode original response scale ranging from 1 to 5 to 0 = none; 1 = a few; 2 = some; 3 = most; 4 = all
	Belgium used a 3-point (none; some; many) rather than 5-point scale (none; a few; some; most; all) on all subscale items.	The Belgian response “some” will be given a value of 2 (as in the recoded 5-point scale), while “many” will be assigned a value of 3, corresponding to “most” on the recoded 5-point scale.
1. Detached single-family residences	None	NA
2. Townhouses or rows of 1–3 stories houses	Hong Kong combined this item with item 3.	This item and item 3 have similar density weights (12 and 10). The Hong Kong item will be given a mid-weight of 11. For all other sites, with the exception of the UK which does not have item 3, the item with the highest rating (between item 2 and 3) will be chosen to be included in the summary residential density score and given a weight of 11. If items 2 and 3 have equal ratings, one of them will be included in the calculations and given a weight of 11.
		The UK will have this item weighted by 11.
3. Apartments or condos with 1–3 stories	Hong Kong combined this item with item 2.	See comments for item 2.
	The UK combined this item with item 4.	For the UK site, see comment for item 4 below.
4. Apartments of condos with 4–6 stories	The UK combined this item with item 3.	Items 3 and 4 have very different weights (12 and 25, respectively). We will weigh this UK item by the mid-point of the two original weights (18.5), with the assumption that the two types of apartments have similar prevalence.
5. Apartments or condos with 7–12 stories	None	NA
6. Apartments or condos with >12 stories	Australia, Belgium, Denmark, the Czech Republic, and the UK did not include it because high-rise residential buildings were judged to have very low prevalence. Hong Kong modified this item to read “Apartments or condos with 12–20 stories”.	No action is required as such buildings have low prevalence in the study sites that omitted this item. The mean score on this item would have been close to 0 and, thus, not adding to the overall density score. Hong Kong modified this item to distinguish residential buildings with 12–20 stories from those with 20–50 stories, which are common in Hong Kong but not in other study sites.
7. Apartments or condos with >20 stories	Hong Kong added this item to the subscale.	This item will be given a weight of 100.
Land use mix – access
1. Stores within easy walking distance	None	NA
2. Many places within walking distance	Belgium and the UK did not include this item.	For these two countries, the CFA and summary score on this subscale will be based on 2 rather than 3 items. Using data from other countries, ascertain the correspondence between scores based on the 2- and 3-item subscales.
3. Easy to walk to a transit stop	None	NA
Street connectivity
1. Short distance between intersections	Belgium did not include this item but had an additional item “four-way intersections” that is part of the NEWS street connectivity subscale	Include the additional connectivity item in the Belgian CFA model and, using data from countries that had all three street connectivity items, ascertain the comparability of the two 2-item street connectivity scores and a connectivity score based on an item common to Belgium and other countries (item 2).
2. Many alternative routes	Australia did not include this item but had an additional item “four-way intersections” that is part of the NEWS street connectivity subscale	Include the additional connectivity item in the Australian CFA model and, using data from countries that had all three street connectivity items, ascertain the comparability of the two 2-item street connectivity scores and a connectivity score based on an item common to Australia and other countries (item 1)
Infrastructure and safety for walking and cycling
1. Sidewalks	None	NA
2. Cars separating sidewalks and traffic	Hong Kong did not include this item. Belgium combined it with item 3.	For these countries, the CFAs and summary score on this subscale will be based on a smaller number of items. Using data from other countries, ascertain the correspondence between scores on the subscale based on different combinations of items.
3. Grass/dirt separating sidewalks and traffic	Hong Kong did not include this item. Belgium combined it with item 3.	As above (see item 2).
4. Street lights	None	NA
5. Walkers and bikers easily seen	Australia, Brazil, and Hong Kong did not have this item.	As above (see item 2)
6. Crosswalks and pedestrian signals	None	NA
Aesthetics
1. Trees	Australia included a slightly different item from the NEWS: “trees give shade”.	Include the additional item in the Australian CFA model and, using data from countries that had this additional item, ascertain the comparability of the Australian 4-item version of the subscale with the original 4-item version.
2. Many interesting things to look at	Belgium and the UK did not include this item.	For these two countries, the CFA and summary score on this subscale will be based on 3 rather than 4 items. Using data from other sites, ascertain the correspondence between scores based on the 3- and 4-item subscales.
3. Many attractive natural sights	None	NA
4. Attractive buildings/homes	None	NA
Traffic safety/hazards
1. Heavy traffic along nearby streets	Brazil and the Czech Republic included a slightly different item from the NEWS: “heavy traffic along the street”	Use the slightly different item as a substitute for item 1. Using data from other countries that included all relevant items, ascertain the correspondence between scores based on the common subscale and these two countries’ version of the subscale.
2. Slow traffic speed on nearby streets	Australia, Belgium, and the Czech republic included a slightly different item from the NEWS: “slow traffic speed on the street”	Use the slightly different item as a substitute for item 2. Using data from other sites that included all relevant items, ascertain the correspondence between scores based on the common subscale and these three sites’ version of the subscale.
3. Speeding drivers	Australia did not include this item.	The Australian CFA and summary score on this subscale will be based on 2 rather than 3 items. Using data from other countries, ascertain the correspondence between scores based on the 2- and 3-item subscales.
Safety from crime
1. High crime rate	None	NA
2. Unsafe to walk during the day	None	NA
3. Unsafe to walk at night	None	NA
Few cul-de-sacs	None	NA
Physical barriers to walking	Some differences in examples of type of barriers to walking.	NA

NEWS, Neighborhood environment walkability scale; NEWS-A, NEWS, Abbreviated form; NA, Not applicable; CFA, Confirmatory factor analysis; UK, United Kingdom; *Except for the items of the land use mix – diversity scale, which as explained in the text, was modified to provide a good match for all sites.