The effects of perceived and objective measures of home-environment on transportation and recreational walking among children

This study explores the relative association of objective and perceived environmental factors with recreational and transportation walking behaviour. Randomly selected parents of students (ages 12-14) at 10 elementary schools (N=1000) located in Istanbul, Turkey, completed questionnaires about their socio-demographic characteristics, neighbourhood environment, and their children’s physical activity. Home-environments (400 and 800 meter buffers) were evaluated through GIS-based land-use, segment-based street connectivity measures, and street-level topography. In addition, detailed field surveys related to pedestrian quality attributes were conducted within home-environments. Logistic regression was used to investigate the relationships between recreation and transportation-related walking and objective and perceived measures of the built form. Findings of the study indicate that both types of walking behaviour are associated with different perceived and objective environmental attributes. More importantly, preliminary results suggest street network connectivity measured at the segment-level is significantly associated with walking behaviours. Thus, it can be argued that modifications to the home-environment may help change hence children’s walking behaviour

Pedestrianised Commercial Areas: from the perspective of the pedestrian and the vehicle

The pedestrianisation of city centre is a developing trend in an attempt to revitalize city centre, often in conjunction with commercial interests (Kumar and Ross 2006) and for a safer environment (Pitsiava-Latinopoulou and Basbas 2000, Sonia and Soni 2016). If the pedestrianisation of high streets is now common in the UK, the implantation of shopping centres nearby increases the surface of pedestrian zones such as Liverpool One in Liverpool or Westgate in Oxford. By extending the pedestrian zones and by pushing the automobile traffic at their periphery, is there not a risk to emulate the Shopping centre model in which access is restricted and circulation contained within its precincts, but at the expense of the surroundings? The case study is Newcastle City Centre that hosts a shopping centre near a pedestrianised high street. The city council projects to extend the pedestrianisation to a much larger area including the main integrated east-west axis – Blackett Street – that is currently shared by both pedestrians, buses and taxis. This study investigates the potential effects of prospective pedestrianisation on the liveliness of the commercial centre of the city through studying the distribution of pedestrians before and after the closure of Blackett Street to traffic. The main hypothesis of the paper is that an effective pedestrianisation should take into consideration the syntactic primary structure of the city. Hence, this study questions the removal of the most integrated street of the primary structure of the city in terms of public transportation (buses), which is the primary source of potential pedestrians into the centre. How does the pedestrianisation of part of the primary structure affect the liveliness (movement) of the edge of the core? This paper looks at the logic of the axial map as it is reintroduced by the pedestrianisation of large areas, in relationship with the city scale logic of the street centre-line (Turner 2007, Liu and Jiang 2012). The spatial structure of the city is therefore analysed globally through street centre-lines as well as more locally through axial lines. Moving and static activity is recorded by street segment on the edge of the pedestrianized area and on Blackett Street, over 4 weekend days (on two of which Blackett Street is closed to transit). Three times are recorded: 10h, 14h and 21h. The last time period is also included to compare the rates of pedestrian flows when the shops are closed and the retail activities are reduced. Pedestrian counts are then aggregated by axial line, and statistical analyses are developed to compare the association of each representation mode on the distribution of flows. It is expected that locally, from the point of view of the transit (street centre line analysis), the spatial structure of the city will change drastically since the primary structure is broken and globally the edge becomes the transition space; whereas from the point of the pedestrian (axial lines analysis), it will remain unchanged. Understanding the logic of the axial map in relationship with the street centre-line logic could help in maintaining a lively city centre by preserving the primary structure

The Effects of Urban Form on Walking to Transit

This study analyzes an on-board transit survey conducted by the Atlanta Regional Commission in order to determine how far urban density, mixed land-uses, and street network connectivity are related to transit walk-mode shares to/from stations. The data are drawn from all the stations of Atlanta’s rapid transit network (MARTA). Overall, the analyses presented in this study confirm the hypothesis that local conditions around MARTA rail stations are significantly related to riders’ choice to walk to/from transit. The results emphasize the importance of including measures of street connectivity in transit-oriented studies. It is shown that street connectivity is strongly associated with walk-mode shares when controlling for transit service characteristics as well as population density, land-use mix and personal attributes. The research findings have several implications. They confirm that transit oriented policies are better supported by urban development policies and zoning and subdivision regulations that encourage transit-friendly urban forms. Findings also augment the knowledge base that supports transit oriented development by emphasizing the contribution of the spatial structure of the street network, over and above the impact of side-walk provision and design and pedestrian safety

Computer models of saliency alone fail to predict subjective visual attention to landmarks during observed navigation

This study aimed to understand whether or not computer models of saliency could explain landmark saliency. An online survey was conducted and participants were asked to watch videos from a spatial navigation video game (Sea Hero Quest). Participants were asked to pay attention to the environments within which the boat was moving and to rate the perceived saliency of each landmark. In addition, state-of-the-art computer saliency models were used to objectively quantify landmark saliency. No significant relationship was found between objective and subjective saliency measures. This indicates that during passive observation of an environment while being navigated, current automated models of saliency fail to predict subjective reports of visual attention to landmarks

Measuring the relationship between spatial configuration, diversity and user behavior: A Post Occupancy Evaluation study in Istanbul’s peripheral districts

Post Occupancy Evaluation (POE) is a robust tool to systematically evaluate the effects of design decisions on spatial performance and to identify the relationship between the space and its users. Although there is a growing body of POE research on complex buildings, such as hospitals and education spaces, studies on the POE evaluation of public open spaces are limited. More importantly, few studies have investigated public squares designed at the periphery and how they are used. This study aims to identify the extent to which spatial configuration of public squares is related to users’ behavior (i.e., modes/distances of access, level of satisfaction). For this purpose, we focused on four peripheral urban squares located in Istanbul, Turkey. The methodology applied in the study includes a synthesis of three types of expertise: 1) behavioral mapping of urban squares (through the analysis of patterns of use based on direct observation), 2) cognitive evaluation of spaces based on perceived factors (through user questionnaires), and 3) quantifying urban public spaces objectively (through the methodology of space syntax and urban morphology). The results identify associations between objective characteristics of public spaces designed at the peripheral districts, patterns of use and users’ perception of these areas, to a certain extent. For example, the variety and intensity of activities within the square as well as the length of occupancy are highest for Avcılar square, which is most integrated within its urban surroundings with reduced average block size. An important finding is the association between the average street connectivity levels of these squares with their pedestrian catchment areas. In other words, the more integrated a public urban space is with its surroundings (800mt buffers), its users will access this space on foot from a larger distance. Based on these findings, spatial configuration as measured by space syntax measures appears to be an explanatory measure assessing the potentiality of public open spaces for bringing users together, hence, creating a lively, well-used space. However, the results also point to some disagreements between the perceived (users’ evaluations) and objective (syntactic analysis) measurements, which indicate that both types of measurements are needed in POE research of public spaces.&nbsp

Children’s Experiences of Their Journey to School: Integrating Behaviour Change Frameworks to Inform the Role of the Built Environment in Active School Travel Promotion

Childhood obesity is a public health problem with multiple effects on children’s life. Promoting Active School Travel (AST) could provide an inclusive opportunity for physical activity and shape healthy behaviours. Data for this cross-sectional study were drawn from questionnaires carried out in five primary schools located in Newcastle upon Tyne, UK, in neighbourhoods chosen for their variability in IMD (index of multiple deprivation) and spatial structure of street networks (measured through space syntax measure of integration). A randomly selected and heterogenic sample of 145 pupils (aged 9–10) completed an open-ended questionnaire to state what they like and dislike about their journey to school. Thematic analysis identified four typologies (environmental context, emotions, social influences and trip factors) based on the Theoretical Domains Framework (TDF) and specific themes and sub-themes underlying children’s affective experiences of their journeys to school. This study is the first known to authors to attempt to adapt the Capability, Opportunity and Motivation Behaviour (COM-B) model into AST and children’s experiences and associated behavioural domains with design aspects. Such an insight into children’s attitudes could inform urban planners and designers about how to apply more effective behaviour change interventions, targeting an AST increase among children

A Quantitative Investigation of the Factors Affecting Patterns of Occupation in a Suburban Campus: The Case of Ozyegin University in Istanbul

This study investigates the patterns of occupation of outdoor spaces on a suburban university campus and seeks to understand the factors that affect them. The comprehensive methodology applied in this research attempted to overcome some of the shortcomings of related studies by conducting a longitudinal study (behavioral mapping during a year, as opposed to a few days) and by objectively analyzing the associations of user behavior and physical attributes, and the configurational properties of the campus layout. The results show that campus users fail to capitalize on the potential offered by the spatial configuration of outdoor spaces because they are not supported by amenities for pedestrians such as seating, shading elements and catering facilities. Supporting campus outdoor spaces that have the configurational potential of bringing various types of users (students and staff) with amenities for pedestrians and service facilities would create a lively and sustainable campus for its users

Physiological responses to urban design during bicycling: A naturalistic investigation

The current research set out to measure the moderating effect that urban design may have on bicyclist physiology while in transition. Focusing on the hilly City of Wuppertal, Germany, we harnessed bicyclists with mobile sensors to measure their responses to urban design metrics obtained from space syntax, while also adjusting for known traffic, terrain, and contextual factors. The empirical strategy consisted of exploratory data analysis (EDA), ordinary least squares (OLS), and a local regression model to account for spatial autocorrelation. The latter model was robust (R2 = 68%), and showed that two statistically significant (p < 0.05) urban design factors influenced bicyclist physiology. Controllability, a measure of how spatially dominated a space is, increased bicyclist responses (i.e., decreased comfortability); while integration, which is related to accessibility and connectivity, had the opposite effect. Other noteworthy covariates included one-way streets and density of parked automobiles: these exerted a negative influence on bicyclist physiology. The results of this research ultimately showed that nuanced urban designs have a moderate influence on bicycling comfort. These outcomes could be utilized by practitioners focused on implementing appropriate interventions to increase bicyclist comfort levels and this mode share

Entropy and a Sub-Group of Geometric Measures of Paths Predict the Navigability of an Environment

Despite extensive research on navigation, it remains unclear which features of an environment predict how difficult it will be to navigate. We analysed 478,170 trajectories from 10,626 participants who navigated 45 virtual environments in the research app-based game Sea Hero Quest. Virtual environments were designed to vary in a range of properties such as their layout, number of goals, visibility (varying fog) and map condition. We calculated 58 spatial measures grouped into four families: task-specific metrics, space syntax configurational metrics, space syntax geometric metrics, and general geometric metrics. We used Lasso, a variable selection method, to select the most predictive measures of navigation difficulty. Geometric features such as entropy, area of navigable space, number of rings and closeness centrality of path networks were among the most significant factors determining the navigational difficulty. By contrast a range of other measures did not predict difficulty, including measures of intelligibility. Unsurprisingly, other task-specific features (e.g. number of destinations) and fog also predicted navigation difficulty. These findings have implications for the study of spatial behaviour in ecological settings, as well as predicting human movements in different settings, such as complex buildings and transport networks and may aid the design of more navigable environments

Walking alone or walking together: A spatial evaluation of children’s travel behavior to school

The purpose of this research is to extend our understanding of children’s walking behavior to school in an understudied region of the world, Istanbul, Turkey. Children (aged 11-17) and their parents were surveyed to comprehend subjective and objective factors on walking behavior to school when alone or with someone. Using participatory mapping and GIS, a route detour index was first created to highlight differences in walking behaviors. A robust spatial analysis, consisting of spatial statistics and a hierarchical spatial error model, then signified important survey responses, urban design factors from space syntax, and neighborhood composition and contextual variables on between-group route choices. Empirical and geovisual analysis confirmed that accompanied children deviated more from GIS shortest routes to school than their unaccompanied peers and “hot-spot” analysis showed it was dependent on where children reside. The spatial error models exhibited notable relations among route choice, children’s age, health, and gender. Parent attitudes concerning greenspace positively affected children’s longer route choices, while street connectivity had the opposite influence. Surprisingly, neighborhood walkability did not impact children’s route choice decisions for either group. The results provide new insights on how to encourage additional walking trips to school