Measuring Cognability

A research team based at the University of Michigan is making available, without charge, an easy-to-use tool that can be used to determine how well a particular area supports the cognitive health of aging brains.  The press release for this achievement notes: “A new tool, an interactive map developed by University of Michigan researchers, allows you to plug in your address and assess how your neighborhood could support healthy cognitive aging under a theory U-M scientist Jessica Finlay and colleagues developed, called ‘cognability.’ . . . a group at the U-M Institute for Social Research and U-M School of Public Health. . . . recently published a study in Social Science & Medicine finding that. . . . . neighborhood features such as recreation centers, civic and social organizations, fast-food and coffee shops, arts organizations, museums and highways all were significant predictors of people’s cognitive function scores. People who lived in neighborhoods with ready access to civic and social organizations displayed higher cognitive scores than those who lived in neighborhoods with no immediate access to such organizations. This is similar to about a two-year difference in people’s age.”  There is, similarly, a difference in cognitive scores (corresponding to a two-year age difference) linked to living near highways with people living in neighborhoods closer to highways have lower scores.  The tool from the Michigan team is available here:  https://cognability.isr.umich.edu/

“Calculate Your Neighborhood’s ‘Cognability.’” 2022. Press release, University of Michigan, https://news.umich.edu/calculate-your-neighborhoods-cognability/