One-Kilometer Walking Limit during COVID-19: Evaluating Accessibility to Residential Public Open Spaces in a Major Saudi City

Amer Habibullah (), Nawaf Alhajaj and Ahmad Fallatah
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Amer Habibullah: Department of Landscape Architecture, Faculty of Architecture and Planning, King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah 21589, Saudi Arabia
Nawaf Alhajaj: Department of Landscape Architecture, Faculty of Architecture and Planning, King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah 21589, Saudi Arabia
Ahmad Fallatah: Department of Geomatics, Faculty of Architecture and Planning, King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah 21589, Saudi Arabia

Sustainability, 2022, vol. 14, issue 21, 1-16

Abstract: Considering the significance of physical activities in maintaining physical and mental well-being, several nations made exceptions during the COVID-19 lockdowns and allowed residents to walk outdoors, but with time and distance restrictions that varied across countries. This study aimed to identify if such regulations provided residents with equal access to public open spaces (POS) to engage in physical activity during the lockdown. Using a mixed research method (secondary descriptive data, field observations, and spatial analysis), we assessed the one-kilometer walking limit imposed on six typical existing neighborhoods in Jeddah city, Saudi Arabia. We find that the imposed one-kilometer limit was effective in providing accessibility, and the four urban factors ensured the effectiveness of the imposed walking distance: the small scale of residential districts in comparison to the long-imposed walking distance; the presence of neighborhood parks near main local streets; the distribution of neighborhood parks throughout the districts; and the absence of major highways that physically isolated residential districts. Notably, regulations related to walking distances during future pandemics should not be generalized to all cities; instead, they should be based on the existing availability of relatively good POS provisions with easy and equal access to all community members to enhance social sustainability.

Keywords: walking distance; COVID-19; neighborhood parks; public open space provision; physical activity; social sustainability; sustainable urban planning (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
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