Enhancing our understanding of access to sporting facilities in Wales through geospatial analysis

Ongoing research into strategies and public health policies aimed at lowering levels of obesity in Wales is geared towards encouraging more people to take part in sporting activities. One of the key factors in helping to increase sports participation relates to the availability of sport facilities. GIS can be used to compute and visualise geographical access to sporting infrastructure and opportunities. This paper draws on a new database of sporting facilities in Wales, and uses Two-Step Floating Catchment Area (92SFCA) analysis to measure potential accessibility and examine patterns of access to various sports activities in Wales. Future plans to analyse and visualise this dataset using innovative open-source web-based solutions are outlined, highlighting the role GIS-based approaches can have in improving the evidence-base upon which future investments decisions are likely to be made.