This thesis aims to determine how and to what extent spatial factors of the physical environment impact on children s travel, play and physical activity. These factors were introduced from an historical perspective, including the neurohumoral and ecological basis for early movement behaviour and global secular trends in human movement and use of space. This thesis incorporates a series of studies focusing on primary school aged children s movement behaviour and the impact of the spatial environment at two levels, the neighbourhood, and the school playground.To examine the impact of space at...