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The perceived importance and objective measurement of walkability in the built environment rating

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  • Xuan Zhang
  • Lan Mu

Abstract

The built environment plays an important role in shaping physical activities and furthering a healthy lifestyle. An obesogenic environment, which promotes obesity through uninviting neighborhood design, can cause sedentary living and environmentally induced inactivity, particularly by reducing walking. Existing measures of walkability consider the distribution and features of potential destinations, but fail to account for key aspects of the built environment design, pedestrian preferences, or various reasons for walking. In this paper, we propose a new assessment method, the P erceived importance and O bjective measurement of W alkability in the built E nvironment R ating (POWER), incorporating pedestrian preferences derived from a walking preference survey. By conducting a university campus-based case study, we developed a quantitative method, the customized analytic hierarchy process, to analyze data from the survey. The customized analytic hierarchy process was used to calculate the perceived importance of various factors. In addition, objective measurements were collected and processed from Geographic Information System (GIS) data and fieldwork. Using both perceived importance and objective measurements, we created a POWER map showing the most walkable and unwalkable places on campus. The outcome of this case study reveals the nuanced spatial variations with regard to walkability. The proposed integral measure creates an improved method for rating the walkability of the built environment. Future applications and limitations are also discussed.

Suggested Citation

  • Xuan Zhang & Lan Mu, 2020. "The perceived importance and objective measurement of walkability in the built environment rating," Environment and Planning B, , vol. 47(9), pages 1655-1671, November.
    • Handle: RePEc:sae:envirb:v:47:y:2020:i:9:p:1655-1671
    DOI: 10.1177/2399808319832305
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Changjoo Kim & Olivier Parent & Rainer vom Hofe, 2018. "The role of peer effects and the built environment on individual travel behavior," Environment and Planning B, , vol. 45(3), pages 452-469, May.
    2. Adela Hruby & Frank Hu, 2015. "The Epidemiology of Obesity: A Big Picture," PharmacoEconomics, Springer, vol. 33(7), pages 673-689, July.
    3. Park, Sungjin, 2008. "Defining, Measuring, and Evaluating Path Walkability, and Testing Its Impacts on Transit Users’ Mode Choice and Walking Distance to the Station," University of California Transportation Center, Working Papers qt0ct7c30p, University of California Transportation Center.
    4. Xinyu Cao & Susan Handy & Patricia Mokhtarian, 2006. "The Influences of the Built Environment and Residential Self-Selection on Pedestrian Behavior: Evidence from Austin, TX," Transportation, Springer, vol. 33(1), pages 1-20, January.
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    Cited by:

    1. Te Mu & Yanqing Lao, 2022. "A Study on the Walkability of Zijingang East Campus of Zhejiang University: Based on Network Distance Walk Score," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(17), pages 1-17, September.

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