Effects of green space on walking: Does size, shape and density matter?

Xiaohu Zhang, Scott Melbourne, Chinmoy Sarkar, Alain Chiaradia and Chris Webster
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Xiaohu Zhang: Massachusetts Institute of Technology, USA
Scott Melbourne: University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong
Chinmoy Sarkar: University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong
Alain Chiaradia: University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong
Chris Webster: University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong

Urban Studies, 2020, vol. 57, issue 16, 3402-3420

Abstract: The role of the built environment in improving public health through fostering physical activity has come under increased scrutiny in recent years. This study investigates relationships between walking activity and the configuration of green spaces in Greater London. Pedestrian activity for N  = 54,910 walking trip stages is gathered through the London Travel Demand Survey (LTDS), with routes between origin and destination mapped onto the street network from the Integrated Transport Network of Ordnance Survey. Green spaces were extracted from UKMap and agglomerated to form London’s hundreds of parks. Regressions of pedestrian activity on park configuration, controlling for built environment metrics, revealed that catchments around smaller parks have more walking trips. Irregularity of park shape has the opposite effect. Park density, measured as number of parks inside a catchment, is insignificant in regression. Parks adjacent to retail areas were associated with pronounced increases in walking. The study contributes to landscape, urban management, environmental policy and urban planning and design literature. The evidence provides implications for performance-oriented policy and design decisions that configure a city’s green spaces to improve citizens’ public health through enhancing walkability.

Keywords: green space; park shape; park size; walkability; 绿地; 公园形状; 公园大å°; å ¯æ­¥è¡Œæ€§ (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (10)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:sae:urbstu:v:57:y:2020:i:16:p:3402-3420

DOI: 10.1177/0042098020902739

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