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Journal ArticleDOI

Walkability in urban landscapes: a comparative study of four large cities in China

TL;DR: Wang et al. as mentioned in this paper developed a composite walkability index to evaluate the spatio-temporal pattern of the walkability of cities, and evaluated the spatiotemporal patterns and changes of walkability in the context of rapid urban expansion.
Abstract: Walkability is an important element for assessing the sustainability of urban landscapes. There are increased concerns that as the world becomes more urbanized, cities become less walkable. We aim to develop a composite walkability index to evaluate the spatio-temporal pattern of the walkability of cities. By using the index to evaluate four major cities China, we also aim to provide policy implications. A comprehensive walkability index is developed to integrate five aspects of the urban built environment: dwelling density, street connectivity, land-use mix, access to public transit, and flatness. Shanghai, Hangzhou, Chongqing, and Lanzhou are chosen as case studies to evaluate the spatio-temporal patterns and changes of walkability in the context of rapid urban expansion. Great variations exist among the four cities in terms of speed, scale, and locations of changes of walkability. During 2000–2010, the inner cities of Hangzhou, Chongqing, and Lanzhou and the entire cities of Shanghai and Chongqing increased their walkability index, whereas the inner city of Shanghai had decreased walkability. Furthermore, while inner cities of Shanghai and Hangzhou experienced decreased or stable walkability, the inner cities of Lanzhou and Chongqing enjoyed moderate to high increases in walkability. For inner cities, Shanghai had the highest average walkability index, whereas Lanzhou held the lowest in 2010. The spatiotemporal changes in walkability seem to be closely associated with governmental policies and planning. The walkability index method can be widely implemented for any urban landscape because of its comprehensiveness, simplicity, and flexibility.
Citations
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Journal ArticleDOI
Min Weng1, Ning Ding1, Jing Li, Xianfeng Jin, He Xiao, He Zhiming, Shiliang Su1 
TL;DR: Wang et al. as discussed by the authors proposed a modified method for measuring 15-min walkable neighborhoods and applied it to Shanghai, China, where the assessment considers walking demands of different pedestrian groups (i.e., the entire population, children, adults, and seniors), the amenity attributes (scale and category), and real traffic conditions.
Abstract: A sufficient number of studies have highlighted that walkable neighborhoods can help to reduce the risk of obesity and noncommunicable diseases (NCDs). The Chinese government advocates the 15-minute (15-min) walkable neighborhoods to provide citizens with 15-min walkable access to basic public services, and ultimately to improve walking behavior and overall health. Following the Walk Score metric, this paper proposes a modified method for measuring 15-min walkable neighborhoods and applies it to Shanghai, China. Based on amenity access, the assessment considers walking demands of different pedestrian groups (i.e., the entire population, children, adults, and seniors), the amenity attributes (scale and category), and the real traffic conditions. Spatial regression is further performed to determine whether significant associations exist between community socioeconomic status and 15-min walkable neighborhoods score. Results show clear variations in 15-min walkable neighborhoods score for different pedestrian groups. Regarding the overall 15-min walkable neighborhoods, highly walkable communities are primarily concentrated in the central areas; and that poorly walkable communities are dispersed in rural areas. Senior-concentrated and adult-concentrated communities are more likely to present higher walkability, while children-concentrated communities exhibit lower walkability. Moreover, communities with inferior walkability are characterized by a high proportion of floating population (nonresidents). This research provides future studies with references for evaluating 15-min walkable neighborhoods. Social inequalities in 15-min walkable neighborhoods should be emphasized, and interventions in planning implementation for building healthy communities in China should be targeted.

133 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: Walkability is a concept that has gained enormous popularity in recent years due to its potential to promote health and sustainable mode of transport as mentioned in this paper, and is a healthy way of doing physical activity.

45 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this paper, the integration of space syntax analysis (SSA) in a process of participatory planning focused on a neighbourhood scale where the challenge of promoting pedestrian-friendly regeneration process is a bottom-up priority is discussed.
Abstract: The work is focused on the integration of space syntax analysis (SSA) in a process of participatory planning focused on a neighbourhood scale where the challenge of promoting pedestrian-friendly regeneration process is a bottom-up priority. The promotion of active mobility is one of the main themes of the urban regeneration project CAST operating on the western part of the city of Potenza (capital of the Basilicata region, Italy). Both the state of the art of the case study area and the potential effects of the intervention proposed on the basis of the participatory process have been assessed by SSA as a walkability assessment method. By measuring a street network’s syntactic parameters, it was possible to further enrich the cognitive framework relating to the current situation and to simultaneously evaluate the effects (in terms of potential movement and social usage) deriving from design interventions. The paper presents a methodology to evaluate the urban pedestrian environment and to provide an insight for walking-related intervention and improvements in neighbourhood-scale planning, according to a participatory approach. The research, based on specific local characteristics, represents a transferable approach to supporting and informing policy-makers and designers engaged in inclusive and participative urban regeneration projects.

25 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this paper, the effects of six heat mitigation strategies on thermal environment, thermal comfort, and walkability are evaluated using a micro-scale computational fluid dynamic (CFD) model.

24 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In contemporary Chinese cities dynamic street vendors are a common presence, frequently occupying spaces where many people regularly walk, leading to functional changes to the streets as mentioned in this paper, which can lead to functional change to the street.
Abstract: In contemporary Chinese cities dynamic street vendors are a common presence, frequently occupying spaces where many people regularly walk, leading to functional changes to the streets. This...

22 citations


Cites background from "Walkability in urban landscapes: a ..."

  • ...Despite ‘lower accessibility’ correlating negatively to walkability, other spatial characteristics corresponded with most studies on a walkable environment of ‘a higher residential density and various amenities within a walkable distance’ in the city centre (e.g. Cerin et al., 2013; Fan et al., 2018; Frank et al., 2010; Mehta, 2008)....

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  • ...…recent years, a few studies have focused on walkable environments but they tend to ignore the nuanced understanding and features (e.g. fast development, high density and temporal use of streets) of Chinese cities at the micro-scale (e.g. Fan et al., 2018; Sun, Liu, & Kong, 2015; Zhou & Long, 2017)....

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  • ...vendors and dynamically used by pedestrians? From the review above, it can be seen that the empirical basis and temporal data are lacking at a micro-scale (Fan et al., 2018)....

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  • ...From the review above, it can be seen that the empirical basis and temporal data are lacking at a micro-scale (Fan et al., 2018)....

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  • ...…negatively to walkability, other spatial characteristics corresponded with most studies on a walkable environment of ‘a higher residential density and various amenities within a walkable distance’ in the city centre (e.g. Cerin et al., 2013; Fan et al., 2018; Frank et al., 2010; Mehta, 2008)....

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References
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Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: This paper gives an overview of the development of object based methods, which aim to delineate readily usable objects from imagery while at the same time combining image processing and GIS functionalities in order to utilize spectral and contextual information in an integrative way.
Abstract: Remote sensing imagery needs to be converted into tangible information which can be utilised in conjunction with other data sets, often within widely used Geographic Information Systems (GIS). As long as pixel sizes remained typically coarser than, or at the best, similar in size to the objects of interest, emphasis was placed on per-pixel analysis, or even sub-pixel analysis for this conversion, but with increasing spatial resolutions alternative paths have been followed, aimed at deriving objects that are made up of several pixels. This paper gives an overview of the development of object based methods, which aim to delineate readily usable objects from imagery while at the same time combining image processing and GIS functionalities in order to utilize spectral and contextual information in an integrative way. The most common approach used for building objects is image segmentation, which dates back to the 1970s. Around the year 2000 GIS and image processing started to grow together rapidly through object based image analysis (OBIA - or GEOBIA for geospatial object based image analysis). In contrast to typical Landsat resolutions, high resolution images support several scales within their images. Through a comprehensive literature review several thousand abstracts have been screened, and more than 820 OBIA-related articles comprising 145 journal papers, 84 book chapters and nearly 600 conference papers, are analysed in detail. It becomes evident that the first years of the OBIA/GEOBIA developments were characterised by the dominance of ‘grey’ literature, but that the number of peer-reviewed journal articles has increased sharply over the last four to five years. The pixel paradigm is beginning to show cracks and the OBIA methods are making considerable progress towards a spatially explicit information extraction workflow, such as is required for spatial planning as well as for many monitoring programmes.

3,809 citations


"Walkability in urban landscapes: a ..." refers background or methods in this paper

  • ...…traditional classification methods, object-oriented classification methods utilize the spectral, texture and geometric features comprehensively (Blaschke 2010), which helps to rectify the issues of ‘‘different spectrum with same object’’ for urban land use classification (Blaschke et al. 2014)....

    [...]

  • ...In comparison with traditional classification methods, object-oriented classification methods utilize the spectral, texture and geometric features comprehensively (Blaschke 2010), which helps to rectify the issues of ‘‘different spectrum with same object’’ for urban land use classification (Blaschke et al....

    [...]

  • ...…take the spectral information for classification without considering vast texture and geometric features, which will cause to a mass of sliver patches and cannot deal with the issues of ‘‘different spectrum with same object’’ and ‘‘different objects with same spectrum’’ (Hay and Blaschke 2010)....

    [...]

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this article, neighborhood environment characteristics proposed to be relevant to walking/cycling for transport are defined, including population density, connectivity, and land use mix, with evidence suggesting that residents from communities with higher density, greater connectivity and more land-use mix report higher rates of walking and cycling for utilitarian purposes than low-density, poorly connected, and single land use neighborhoods.
Abstract: Research in transportation, urban design, and planning has examined associations between physical environment variables and individuals' walking and cycling for transport. Constructs, methods, and findings from these fields can be applied by physical activity and health researchers to improve understanding of environmental influences on physical activity. In this review, neighborhood environment characteristics proposed to be relevant to walking/cycling for transport are defined, including population density, connectivity, and land use mix. Neighborhood comparison and correlational studies with nonmotorized transport outcomes are considered, with evidence suggesting that residents from communities with higher density, greater connectivity, and more land use mix report higher rates of walking/cycling for utilitarian purposes than low-density, poorly connected, and single land use neighborhoods. Environmental variables appear to add to variance accounted for beyond sociodemographic predictors of walking/cycling for transport. Implications of the transportation literature for physical activity and related research are outlined. Future research directions are detailed for physical activity research to further examine the impact of neighborhood and other physical environment factors on physical activity and the potential interactive effects of psychosocial and environmental variables. The transportation, urban design, and planning literatures provide a valuable starting point for multidisciplinary research on environmental contributions to physical activity levels in the population.

2,218 citations


"Walkability in urban landscapes: a ..." refers background in this paper

  • ...Nevertheless, it is generally agreed that a walkable neighborhood has well mixed land use, well-connected streets, and high residential density (Saelens et al. 2003; Lake et al. 2006)....

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Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: The hypothesis that community design is significantly associated with moderate levels of physical activity is supported and the rationale for the development of policy that promotes increased levels of land-use mix, street connectivity, and residential density as interventions that can have lasting public health benefits is supported.

1,400 citations


"Walkability in urban landscapes: a ..." refers background in this paper

  • ...…researchers and policies makers can incorporate public health data to further understand the relationships between walkability and public health, as explored by other studies such as Frank et al. (2005), Smith et al. (2008), Brown et al. (2009), Frank et al. (2010) and Smith et al. (2011)....

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  • ...First, due to limitations in data availability, most walkability studies have used 1 km resolution (Frank et al. 2005; Marshall et al. 2009) or other variable sized spatial units, such as neighborhoods in Belgium (De Meester et al. 2012), census block groups in the US (Smith et al. 2008; Brown et al. 2009; Frank et al. 2010), and census collection districts in Australia (Leslie et al. 2005; Owen et al. 2007)....

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  • ...First, land use mix has been found to have the greatest explanatory power of variation in the valid number of minutes of moderate activity per day (Frank et al. 2005)....

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  • ...Each of the following components were modified or redefined from Frank et al. (2005) and Lovasi et al. (2009) to fit the data reality in Chinese cities: • Net residential density (NRD): the number of household population per 0.01 km2 of residential use, as an indicator of residential density; • Street connectivity (SC): the number of true intersections (i.e., intersections with three or more legs) per 0.01 km2 as an indicator of street connectivity; to calculate the street connectivity of a grid cell, a 500 m radius around its center was drawn to tally the number of intersections within it; • Land-use mix (LUM): the mixed level of six land use types of (1) residential, (2) commercial and office, (3) industrial, (4) institutional (e.g., schools, libraries, kindergartens), (5) green/park area, and (6) water and wetland; LUM of a grid cell is calculated with a 500 m radius around its center; • Transit Stops (TS): the number of bus (BS) and subway/light rail stops (SLS) per 0.01 km2; the BS or SLS of a grid cell is calculated with a 500 m radius around its center; • Flatness of Land (FL): the difference between maximum elevation and minimum elevation of the 100 m 9 100 m land area....

    [...]

  • ...It not only benefits the economy, such as consumer savings through reduced vehicle use, public cost savings for transportation infrastructure, and cost saving from the improved land use efficiency, but also advances sustainability in environment and equity, such as less environmental damage from vehicle emissions and waste of resources, increased safety, community livability and cohesion, and personal health benefits (Littman 1994, 2003; Sturm and Cohen 2004; Frank et al. 2006; Cortright 2009)....

    [...]

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors discuss the limitations of prevailing per-pixel methods when applied to high-resolution images and explore the paradigm concept developed by Kuhn (1962) and discuss whether GEOBIA can be regarded as a paradigm according to this definition.
Abstract: The amount of scientific literature on (Geographic) Object-based Image Analysis – GEOBIA has been and still is sharply increasing. These approaches to analysing imagery have antecedents in earlier research on image segmentation and use GIS-like spatial analysis within classification and feature extraction approaches. This article investigates these development and its implications and asks whether or not this is a new paradigm in remote sensing and Geographic Information Science (GIScience). We first discuss several limitations of prevailing per-pixel methods when applied to high resolution images. Then we explore the paradigm concept developed by Kuhn (1962) and discuss whether GEOBIA can be regarded as a paradigm according to this definition. We crystallize core concepts of GEOBIA, including the role of objects, of ontologies and the multiplicity of scales and we discuss how these conceptual developments support important methods in remote sensing such as change detection and accuracy assessment. The ramifications of the different theoretical foundations between the ‘per-pixel paradigm’ and GEOBIA are analysed, as are some of the challenges along this path from pixels, to objects, to geo-intelligence. Based on several paradigm indications as defined by Kuhn and based on an analysis of peer-reviewed scientific literature we conclude that GEOBIA is a new and evolving paradigm.

1,231 citations


"Walkability in urban landscapes: a ..." refers methods in this paper

  • ...…traditional classification methods, object-oriented classification methods utilize the spectral, texture and geometric features comprehensively (Blaschke 2010), which helps to rectify the issues of ‘‘different spectrum with same object’’ for urban land use classification (Blaschke et al. 2014)....

    [...]

  • ...In comparison with traditional classification methods, object-oriented classification methods utilize the spectral, texture and geometric features comprehensively (Blaschke 2010), which helps to rectify the issues of ‘‘different spectrum with same object’’ for urban land use classification (Blaschke et al. 2014)....

    [...]

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors evaluated the association between a single index of walkability that incorporated land use mix, street connectivity, net residential density, and retail floor area ratios, with health-related outcomes in King County, Washington.
Abstract: The literature shows single-use, low-density land development and disconnected street networks to be positively associated with auto dependence and negatively associated with walking and transit use. These factors in turn appear to affect health by influencing physical activity, obesity, and emissions of air pollutants. We evaluated the association between a single index of walkability that incorporated land use mix, street connectivity, net residential density, and retail floor area ratios, with health-related outcomes in King County, Washington. We found a 5% increase in walkability to be associated with a per capita 32.1% increase in time spent in physically active travel, a 0.23-point reduction in body mass index, 6.5% fewer vehicle miles traveled, 5.6% fewer grams of oxides of nitrogen (NOx) emitted, and 5.5% fewer grams of volatile organic compounds (VOC) emitted. These results connect development patterns with factors that affect several prevalent chronic diseases.

1,210 citations


"Walkability in urban landscapes: a ..." refers background in this paper

  • ...First, due to limitations in data availability, most walkability studies have used 1 km resolution (Frank et al. 2005; Marshall et al. 2009) or other variable sized spatial units, such as neighborhoods in Belgium (De Meester et al. 2012), census block groups in the US (Smith et al. 2008; Brown et al. 2009; Frank et al. 2010), and census collection districts in Australia (Leslie et al. 2005; Owen et al. 2007)....

    [...]

  • ...Each of the following components were modified or redefined from Frank et al. (2005) and Lovasi et al. (2009) to fit the data reality in Chinese cities: • Net residential density (NRD): the number of household population per 0.01 km2 of residential use, as an indicator of residential density; • Street connectivity (SC): the number of true intersections (i.e., intersections with three or more legs) per 0.01 km2 as an indicator of street connectivity; to calculate the street connectivity of a grid cell, a 500 m radius around its center was drawn to tally the number of intersections within it; • Land-use mix (LUM): the mixed level of six land use types of (1) residential, (2) commercial and office, (3) industrial, (4) institutional (e.g., schools, libraries, kindergartens), (5) green/park area, and (6) water and wetland; LUM of a grid cell is calculated with a 500 m radius around its center; • Transit Stops (TS): the number of bus (BS) and subway/light rail stops (SLS) per 0.01 km2; the BS or SLS of a grid cell is calculated with a 500 m radius around its center; • Flatness of Land (FL): the difference between maximum elevation and minimum elevation of the 100 m 9 100 m land area....

    [...]

  • ...It not only benefits the economy, such as consumer savings through reduced vehicle use, public cost savings for transportation infrastructure, and cost saving from the improved land use efficiency, but also advances sustainability in environment and equity, such as less environmental damage from vehicle emissions and waste of resources, increased safety, community livability and cohesion, and personal health benefits (Littman 1994, 2003; Sturm and Cohen 2004; Frank et al. 2006; Cortright 2009)....

    [...]

  • ...found strong relationships between a neighborhood’s walkability and level of physical activity, body mass index (BMI), and the prevalence of chronic diseases (Sturm and Cohen 2004; Doyle et al. 2006; Frank et al. 2006; Smith et al. 2011)....

    [...]

  • ...Due to the importance of walkability in urban environment and quality of life, researchers have developed a variety of walkability indexes (WIs) to evaluate the walkability for urban landscapes, with a focus on cities in Western countries, such as Salt Lake City, Seattle, Baltimore, and Washington D.C. in the USA, Ghent in Belgium, and Adelaide in Australia (Leslie et al. 2005; Frank et al. 2005, 2006; Owen et al. 2007; Smith et al. 2008; Brown et al. 2009; Marshall et al. 2009; Frank et al. 2010; De Meester et al. 2012)....

    [...]