Virtual Only | Track 1 | Session 1. Sustainable Urban Mobility

Background: As an urban space closely related to people’s daily lives, the street provides a space for people's physical activity and influences their mental experience. High-quality streets bring a high-quality visual experience and create positive emotions such as comfort and safety. In addition, it has been revealed that high-quality streets that promote walking and cycling, improve public physical health. This is the reason why many studies have focused on the street quality, making the perception of street a critical theme in this field. Objectives: This paper aims to perform a literature review on the perception of street, exploring its overall evolution path as well as current research hotspots and frontier issues. Data sources and Methods: To ensure the scientific validity of the data source, this research is based on the core collection of the Web of Science (WOS) database. The study takes “street” and “perception” as the subject keywords and “paper or review” as the source to qualify the journal type. The data retrieval time is May 29, 2022, the period is 1992-2022 and a total of 3561 articles are retrieved. To identify the knowledge base and recent advances in the area, the CiteSpace analysis tool is used to perform keyword cluster analysis and create corresponding knowledge maps. Results: Using CiteSpace to analyse the collected literature, it is found that the current research can be grouped into three main areas: (1) Physical environment focuses on the street environment perception, specifically on the visual, auditory, and microclimate experiences. Some studies also investigate the impact of street environment perception on the spatial distribution of human behavior. (2) Economic environment emphasizes the relationship between perceived street quality and urban economic benefits, not only in terms of the pedestrian economic activities but also in the real estate economy. (3) Social environment explores the relevance of street quality and social equity based on demographic attributes, such as gender, age, and income. Furthermore, for trends in the research method, the study has the following findings. Firstly, due to recent technological developments, there has been widespread interest in using big data to study street perception and there is a growing trend to move from merely measuring the physical environment to transforming physical environment indicators into environmental perception indicators, based on relevant theories. Secondly, the data obtained from the sensor devices provide a more objective measurement for survey-based study that previously relied on subjective interviews and questionnaires. Finally, the use of survey-based method for psychological testing of street quality measurements obtained with the big data approach has now attracted the attention of researchers, for example, to study the perceived accessibility. Conclusions: This article provides an overview of trends and hot spots in the perception of street research, summarizes current research areas, and identifies changes in research methods. It has been showed that the combination of survey-based study with big data approach is now a clear tendency for research in this field.

This paper starts with the general problem of insufficient healthy walking conditions in the residential rail transit station area, and discusses the importance of walking improvement to the overall utility improvement of the residential rail transit station area. Through the research on subjective willingness, environmental perception and the influence of the environment on walking, the spatial research of perceptual dimension is an important means to improve the environmental experience of city subway stations. Both objective environment and subjective psychology have important impact on healthy walking. In order to further explore the influencing factors of walking in the residential rail station area, this study established a composite environmental walking behavior impact model by expanding the theory of planned behavior (TPB), combining the spatial perception theory and the related research frameworks of environmental behavior. It contains five dimensions: subjective community psychology, objective environmental perception, walking intention, walking behavior, and personal social attributes. Among them, the subjective community psychology includes three elements of behavioral attitude, subjective norm and perceived behavioral control in TPB. According to the relevant theories and studies on the impact of walking on the environment, the objective environmental perception is determined as four aspects: walking system, service facilities, environmental construction and transfer connections, each of which contains urban design elements that can be transformed. According to the preset influencing factors and the questionnaire design specification of TPB, a Likert five-point scale was used to design a questionnaire on walking perception in the surrounding area of a residential subway station. The questionnaire contains five dimensions and 42 questions. We selected 5 residential subway stations in the old city of Harbin to issue questionnaires within the 800-meter influence area, and screened 376 valid questionnaires. Structural equation model (SEM) was used to analyze the interaction relationship of five dimensions and explore the moderating effect of personal social attributes on walking intention to walking behavior. The results show that walking intention has a significant positive impact on walking behavior; except for walking attitude, other subjective community psychological factors and objective environmental perception factors have significant positive effects on walking intention; private car ownership and occupation have significant moderating effects on the transformation process of healthy walking intention to behavior. Finally, according to the research results, the priorities of the factors that affect the walking environment are determined, and strategies to improve the environment of residential rail transit stations to promote healthy walking are proposed.

The desire for movement is an intrinsic part of human existence. Bergmann suggests the importance of mobility by restating Descartes as ‘Moveo Ergo Sum’. The invention of the wheel gave the impetus to the attempts of enhancing locomotion for man, but not until 19th century the two wheels were set together on a frame for individual human transport. Further industrial revolution added technological wings to this frame for mobility. Overshadowed by industrial revolution, a concern for sustainable communities was not felt until 1962, when Rachel Carson’s book the Silent Spring brought forth the effects of human interventions on the environment. Until then societies were unconcerned and unaware of the repercussions of unsustainable practices. A report by World Commission on Environment and Development in 1987 emerged with a definition stating that ‘A development which meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs is a sustainable development.’ The Earth Summit in 1992 directed the policy makers to ‘Think globally but act Locally’. This summit recognized that local authorities are the closest to the people and hence play a vital role in achieving sustained growth. The sustainability concept accepted globally in 1992 was professed long ago by the man who led India to its freedom, Mahatma Gandhi. The ways and means of a sustained growth were Gandhiji’s message through his own life. Though Gandhiji’s philosophies were largely rural centric, the urban life, amidst its struggle to achieve a sustainable paradigm, finds answers though the demystifying lenses which Gandhiji wore. In the wake of making our societies sustainable, a paradigm shift has brought one such system to the forefront of urban development – 'The Public Transport Systems'. But these systems have not been able to include the masses, most of whom are poor and whose mobility issues are an outcome of constraints rather than choices. Today transportation is vital to urban life, as cities have outgrown human scale, consisting of spatially separated, highly specialized land uses which need interconnectivity. The difficulties faced by urban poor while commuting is a form of social exclusion which affects all aspects of their lives and hinders their economic output and health. This study thus touches upon the aspect which needs consideration for planning sustainable and inclusive communities i.e. inclusive public transport systems. The study is focused on the central India city of Bhopal which has an urban population of approximately 1.9 million, with a modal share of walking-43%, cycling-4% and public modes of transport-27%. Cars account for only about 3% of the total modal share, while two wheelers are 25%. With the longest Bus Rapid Transit System (BRTS) network in India and a world class Public Bike Sharing (PBS) initiative in place, Bhopal is still struggling to strike a balance in providing mobility to its inhabitants. This research puts forth how the urban mobility issues can be fostered through Gandhian Philosophy of sustainability and inclusivity. It establishes the need for walkability and cyclability as drivers of change in ensuring inclusive and sustainable public transport systems in urban areas. The study documents the overall passenger transport scenario in the city of Bhopal. It examines the causes for the low footprint of walkability and cyclability whilst a world class Public Bike Sharing initiative in Bhopal. It further recommends measures for promoting walkability and cyclability along with its integration with public transport systems to achieve low carbon, sustainable and inclusive urban mobility.

The cold weather in winter in severe cold areas has brought many adverse effects on the local social and economic development. As an essential connecting element between buildings, the warm skyway not only provides convenient travel conditions for the community but also expands the functional richness of public space and promotes a healthy life. The core of this study is to improve the quality of public space and build a community traffic environment suitable for walking and convenient transportation by constructing a warm skyway to renew university campuses in cold regions. Harbin, located in the 44 ° 04 '~46 ° 40' north latitude, is a typical cold region city in Northeast China. Taking the community of Harbin Institute of technology as an example, using the GIS platform, POI data, OSM map, and other open-source data, through the methods of vector analysis, nuclear density analysis, correlation analysis, and mixing degree analysis, this paper studies the location of the warm skyway and the functional transformation of the connecting layer, and puts forward the planning conditions and Strategies of the warm skyway system in the university campus community in severe cold areas, to provide a basis for the construction of a healthy walking-friendly community in cold cities.

Suburban sprawl and motorization have caused series of urban problems such as traffic congestion, environmental pollution and the degradation of urban areas in Kumamoto. How to transfer a motor vehicle-based city to a people-oriented city is an important issue for the sustainable development of the city. Creating people-oriented walkable cities will bring significant benefits to the physical activity and health of residents. The purpose of this research is to estimating walkability of each residential addresses in Kumamoto city and explore regional difference from the perspective of facility accessibility. Based on Walk Score methodology, walkability of all the 215309 residential addresses in Kumamoto city were calculated. After that, the results were visualized and compared at the levels of city-wide, urbanized area, and 15 regional bases. We found that at the level of regional bases, nearly 80% of the residential addresses have reached a very walkable level, meanwhile, there was no residence that completely relied on private cars for personal trip. However, at the level of city-wide, although nearly 50% of residential addresses were very walkable, 10% of residential addresses completely relied on private car and they were mainly distributed in the non-urbanized area. This study shows the inequality of walkability between urbanized areas and non-urbanized areas. How to promote a compact walkable city and narrow the gap of walkability between regions will be the focus of development in Kumamoto.

The desire for a more liveable, highly interconnected and people-oriented city is driving a surge of interest in the ‘15-minute city’, an intuitive, adaptable and popular vision of urban living that already takes place around the world. Elements of the 15-minute city have helped to manage urban life effectively globally by offering a way to build on positive changes to boost local economies and deliver lasting health, wellbeing, equity and climate benefits. As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to unfold and health concerns remain paramount, the strategy are already supporting cities towards recovery. As an important engine of global urbanization, the future development of China’s cities is threatened by increasing air pollution, traffic congestion, social inequities and other pressures. In May 2021, the Ministry of Natural Resources of China released The Standard of Spatial Planning Guidance Community Life Unity to offer technique support for future 15-minute city construction. Taking a 15-minute walking distance as the space scale, the Guidance configures various functions and facilities required for basic living of residents, and provides a construction reference for healthy, energetic and low-carbon lifestyle, which satisfies urban residents' yearning for a better life. Furthermore, the Guidance offers a detailed spatial assessment framework of 15-minute city facilities deployment including a variety of parameters. Based on the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei Urban Agglomeration, this paper evaluates the integrated performance of 13 cities in the Agglomeration by using the framework of the Guidance for visualizing and exploring facilities’ POIs on POI-type semantic space. The comparation of 15-minute community construction between different cities is rendered as a “mode map” by POI counts on various types, providing a vivid information delivery method for urban planners and POI related urban studies and applications.

In recent years, the problems of rapidly developing Chinese urban communities have become increasingly prominent. Community living circles, as the basic needs of urban residents' daily travel range, have become an important part of building a vibrant and livable city. During the COVID-19 pandemic, studies have shown that parks can improve the physical and mental health of surrounding residents, and the effects of relatively small community parks are even greater. As the cell of urban green space system and park city, community park is an indispensable public space and is being paid more and more attention. However, the construction of community parks in China has not yet shifted from high-speed development to high-quality development. Many community parks face problems such as lack of spatial vitality, mismatch with surrounding land, and single supporting functions. Based on this, this study attempts to select the pilot demonstration area of China's park city – within the Third Ring Road of Chengdu City as the research scope, based on the POI data with strong reliability, analyze the land use types within the service area of community parks, and summarize the types of community parks mainly for residential, commercial, and transportation land. Then, the POI vitality analysis was carried out on samples of different types of parks, and a multiple linear regression model based on the 12-hour land use structure and real-time pedestrian flow in the park was established. The extraction analysis causes the real-time pedestrian flow in the park to change significantly with time throughout the day and is the land use type of the main urban functional class. Finally, based on the research results, a strategy for improving vitality is proposed: 1) Improve the disorder of land use around the community park; 2) Increase the mix of residential, commercial and transportation land around the community park; 3) The community park needs to be planned according to its own type layout to achieve a balance between supply and demand.

The discourse on walkability not only focuses on the environmental features or means of making walkable environments, but also zone in on the urban feature that makes places lively, enhance sustainable transportation options, and induce exercise. Drawing from this, it can be construed that improving walkability requires ease of access to different modes of transport. Thus, to make spaces more walkable, achieving inter-modality is the key goal. To ensure walkability, it is important for city planners and architects to design spaces keeping in mind the primary stakeholders who will be directly influenced by the interventions or the walkability action plan. The existing literature on walkability shows that there is an interplay of different factors which influence how walkable any space is, including objective (access to open spaces) as well as perceived (aesthetic) environmental attributes. This means that perceptions of walkability may vary depending on demographic factors such as age, gender, socio-economic status, ethnicity and other facets. Hence, it is essential to take into consideration the multiple actors and barriers to walkability for the users and account for the residents and public at large when designing walkable streets. This report seeks to understand the Non-Motorized mode of transport (NMT) practices, such as walking in the urban mobility context of the 0.5-mile radius area of Disco Bakery neighbourhood in Gulshan-e-Iqbal, Karachi, Pakistan. The aim of the research is to understand the walkability scenario of our site area, investigate the extent to which the area is feasible and accessible to the residents, conduct primary research and incorporate stakeholder input in proposing recommendations for an improved walkability action plan. This was done through observation, resident perception surveys, DIY walkthroughs and neighbourhood design surveys. Random sampling was carried out with a sample size of 50 individuals who were living and working within the above-mentioned radii. An oversampling was done deliberately to reduce the margin of error and to yield a more representative result of the population. Based on these critical considerations and survey results on walkability, the report determines the walkability score of the neighbourhood and also places the survey results into 4 thematic walkability parameters: (i) walker friendliness; (ii) comfort; (iii) safety; and (iv) convenience and connectedness. To overcome the challenges in the walkability of the residents, the report also extends recommendations for improving the neighbourhood's walkability status through Walkability Action Plan. The Walkability Score for the neighbourhood of Disco Bakery turned out to be low at 41.40%, signifying that the area is mostly car-dependent and only a few amenities are walkable. The residents hardly felt leisure in walking in the neighbourhood. Although there exists a positive correlation between walkability and street connectivity, however, the low walkability score represents a less favourable environment for any physical activity in the neighbourhood. Moreover, the lack of safety and comfort levels further makes it difficult to encourage residents to walk. The area does not have measures for protection from the traffic, walkable pathways, resting benches or shelters where residents can rest and stop. These outcomes helped in the creation of a more accurate plan and design for the walkability action plan that best suits the walkability needs of the residents keeping into consideration the barriers and the challenges.

Pedestrian infrastructure which plays an important role in determining the quality of life in cities, is one of the most neglected elements in Global South where city development is seen as a profit-making opportunity instead of a social and cultural catalyst. Since 2015, India has been rapidly developing 100 of its major cities and towns, focusing on road expansions for private vehicles. Traffic congestion is the most pressing issue that Indian cities wish to resolve, to build liveable cities. The solutions adopted are limited to expanding roads to accommodate more private vehicles. In a society, where people are wary of walking and cycling in their daily commutes, absence of cycle networks and functional footpaths encourage more vehicular usage, thus worsening the traffic situation. While tier 1 and some tier 2 cities are investing in metro and bus transit systems, pedestrian infrastructure connecting the transit modes is highly underdeveloped. Walking on streets is becoming more dangerous with every passing day. People do not use streets for spending quality time. Cities in the west are actively working on developing well-functioning pedestrian and cycle transit systems, well-connected by metro and bus transits, diverse cultural and economic activities, and blue-green infrastructure to improve quality of life. However, developing efficient, functional, and attractive pedestrian and cycle infrastructure is usually the last priority in Indian cities. The research aims to investigate the quality of pedestrian infrastructure and street life in a TOD region of Bengaluru which includes 1.1 km long stretch of TOD region on Kanakarpura Main Road (connecting two important metro stations) and 1.4 km long stretch of Vasantpura Main Road connecting the TOD forming a T-junction. The two roads are mixed-use developments and connect all daily necessities within a 15 min walking distance. If pedestrian infrastructure is developed efficiently, it can work perfectly as a 15 min low carbon neighbourhood. Using mixed method approach the selected road stretch has been studied to understand the existing condition of pedestrian infrastructure. Findings from direct observation and visual analysis conducted during field study, show that vehicular traffic is given high priority (more than 85%) in terms of dedicated street area even on the Metro transit route. The footpaths are inconsistently present, breaking abruptly in multiple places. These narrow walkways (widths: 0.6m to 1.5m) are encroached by two–wheeler parking, vendors, electric poles, advertisement boards, construction materials etc. Some shops use the footpaths as loading and unloading bays while vegetable and fruit markets spill over at regular intervals forcing the pedestrians to walk on the busy roads. To ensure people do not use footpaths for riding two wheelers, the footpaths are built 0.3 -0.45m high across the entire stretch. The height of the footpath and the absence of ramps or steps make it highly inconvenient for the pedestrians. Interviews with traffic officials and public shows dissatisfaction and apprehension related to pedestrian infrastructure usage and safety. The research further studies land use, building functional usage and public transit infrastructure using GIS and Google Earth to understand the area at a neighbourhood level. Literature studies and different precedent studies have been carried out to understand how quality pedestrian infrastructure can help enhance social relationships, boost local economy, strengthen communal integrity, enrich cultural identity, and improve public health and well-being, giving a unique character to the streets. Using the findings from field study, interviews, mapping activities and literature studies, the paper proposes design solutions and guidelines for Bengaluru’s TOD regions to improve walkability and cyclability, enhance street life and encourage people to use streets as vibrant public spaces thus changing their perception of street usage.