Shaping Minds: How the Built Environment Influences the Neurodevelopment of African American Adolescents Open Access
Smith, Sidney (Spring 2026)
Abstract
This study examines how features of the built environment shape neurodevelopmental outcomes among African American adolescents in the United States. Grounded in Bronfenbrenner's Ecological Systems Theory, this research conceptualizes the built environment as a multilevel determinant of health, encompassing environmental exposures; access to green space, building density, and proximity to roadways. The study addresses critical gaps in the literature by linking structurally patterned environmental conditions to specific domains of adolescent neurodevelopment, including fluid and crystallized cognition.
Data were drawn from the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development (ABCD) Study, a nationally representative longitudinal cohort, and cognitive outcomes were assessed using the NIH Toolbox Cognition Battery. Key built environment predictors included proximity to major roadways, access to green space, and building density, which were examined as indicators of environmental risk and protective resources. Structural racism and socioeconomic inequality were theorized as upstream determinants shaping neighborhood conditions and, in turn, adolescent developmental trajectories.
Findings revealed that built environment exposures were not significantly associated with cognitive outcomes across domains. Road proximity and building density were not independently associated with fluid or crystallized cognition after accounting for sociodemographic covariates. Mediation analyses examining fine particulate matter (PM2.5) as a biological pathway yielded limited and inconsistent evidence, suggesting that the mechanisms linking built environment exposures to cognitive outcomes in this population may be more complex than a single mediating pathway can capture. Exposure to extreme heat was modestly associated with lower crystallized cognition scores when serving as a mediator of the pathway linking building density and crystallized cognition.
These findings contribute to a growing body of literature emphasizing the role of environmental context in producing neurodevelopmental health disparities. By integrating a socioecological framework with empirical analysis, this study underscores the need for policy and urban planning interventions that prioritize equitable access to health-promoting neighborhood resources. This research advances understanding of how structural and environmental factors intersect to shape neurodevelopment among African American adolescents, with implications for public health, urban policy, and health equity.
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Chapter 1: Introduction...1
Problem Statement...1
Structural Racism...2
The Built Environment as a Contributor to Structural Exposure...4
Highway Proximity, Noise, and Air Pollution...5
Access to Green Space...5
Building Density and Urban Heat...6
Adolescence and Neurodevelopmental Sensitivity...6
Theoretical Framework: Bronfenbrenner’s Ecological Systems Theory...7
The Adolescent Brain and Cognitive Development (ABCD) Study...8
Purpose of the Study...9
Research Question...10
Hypotheses...10
Chapter 2: Literature Review...11
The Built Environment as a Determinant of Health...11
Structural Racism as a Determinant of Environmental Inequity...12
Built Environment Through Biological and Psychosocial Pathways...14
Neurobiological Changes During Adolescence...15
Biological Pathways...16
Psychosocial Pathways...17
Adolescent Neurodevelopmental Sensitivity...19
Adolescence and Environmental Health...19
Features of the Built Environment and Adolescent Neurodevelopment...20
Highway Proximity as a Source of Environmental and Psychosocial Stress...20
Traffic-Related Air Pollution and Neurotoxic Mechanisms...21
Community Disruption and Chronic Stress Pathways...22
Access to Green Space as a Protective Environmental Resource...23
Green Space and Neurodevelopmental Outcomes...23
Inequitable Access to Green Space and Environmental Justice...24
Building Density and Urban Environmental Conditions...25
Environmental and Psychosocial Conditions in High-Density Areas...27
Implications of Building Density for Neurodevelopment....28
Measurement of Neurodevelopment: NIH Toolbox and the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development Study...29
Neurodevelopmental Measures and the NIH Toolbox....29
Overview of the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development (ABCD) Study...30
Bronfenbrenner’s Ecological Systems Theoretical Framework...32
Gaps in the Literature...35
Underrepresentation of African American Adolescents...35
Lack of Ecological Systems–Based Approaches...36
Limited Integration of Multiple Built Environment Features...36
Rationale for the Present Study...37
Chapter 3: Methods...38
Study Design...38
Study Participants...39
Inclusion Criteria...40
Exclusion Criteria...40
Analytic Variables...40
Primary Exposures...40
Primary Outcomes...42
Confounders...45
Covariates...46
Mediators...48
Data Analysis...49
Ethical Considerations...50
Chapter 4: Results...52
Sample Characteristics...52
Associations Between Built Environment Exposures and Age-Corrected Cognition...55
Green Space...55
Fluid Cognition Age-Corrected Composite Score...55
Crystallized Cognition Age-Corrected Composite Scores...56
Road Proximity...58
Fluid Cognition Age-Corrected Composite Score...58
Crystallized Cognition Age-Corrected Composite Score...59
Building Density...61
Fluid Cognition Age-Corrected Composition Score...61
Crystallized Cognition Age-Corrected Composite Score...62
Summary of Findings...64
Chapter 5: Discussion...68
Summary of Key Findings...68
Interpretation of Findings...70
Built Environment as a Structurally Patterned Exposure...70
Environmental Pathways and Neurodevelopment...71
Fluid vs. Crystallized Cognition...71
Implications...72
Limitations...73
Future Directions...74
Conclusion...75
References...77
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