Geography Reference
In-Depth Information
Chapter 5
The Influence of Built Environment on Walking
Behavior: Measurement Issues, Theoretical
Considerations, Modeling Methodologies
and Chinese Empirical Studies
Hui Lin, Guibo Sun, and Rongrong Li
5.1
Introduction
The built environment provides spatial, temporal and social contexts for human
behavior. They usually comprise the following elements: (1) land use patterns,
including the spatial distributions of buildings and human activities; (2) transporta-
tion systems, including hard transport infrastructure and soft transit service and
(3) design, including the arrangement and appearance of physical elements (Handy
2005
; Saelens and Handy
2008
). Certain studies of the built environment on walking
behavior in Western cities are driven by planning reform movements, such as new
urbanism, smart growth and transit-oriented development (TOD). By shaping the
built environment, planners aim to encourage walking behavior while reducing
motorized movement. A built environment is labeled as “pedestrian-oriented” if
it has relatively high density, a mixture of land uses, a street network with high
connectivity, human-scale streets and desirable aesthetic qualities (Cervero and
Kockelman
1997
). Because walking is emerging as an important form of moderate-
intensity physical activity and a practical health improvement method for the general
public, public health is putting great effort into researching walking behavior (Owen
et al.
2004
).
However, several issues require further work. (1) Measurement of the key
variables: the lack of an agreed-upon definition of a “built environment” has
led to various measurement approaches in empirical studies. Most studies view
the relation between the built environment and human walking choices from
objective or physical perspectives. The effect would obviously go unrealized without
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