Does improving the physical street environment create satisfactory and active streets? Evidence from Seoul’s Design Street Project

Abstract As the overall interest regarding pedestrian-friendly environments grows, street-improvement projects are continually implemented. These projects aim to encourage walking activities and promote street-based social activities through the improvement of pedestrian environments; however, only a few studies have empirically evaluated the impact of street improvement on pedestrian satisfaction and pedestrian volume. The present research study examines the influence of the Design Street Project of Seoul, Korea, for which sidewalks, public spaces, and the other physical elements of streets were improved. For a difference-in-difference analysis, the pedestrian-satisfaction levels and the pedestrian volumes of the Design Streets and the matching areas from before and after the implementation of the Design Street Project are compared. Multilevel models indicate that the improvement of the street environment positively influences pedestrian-satisfaction levels, but is not effective for increasing the pedestrian volume. The results imply that the physical improvement of street environments can be effective for the elevation of pedestrian-satisfaction levels, as well as quality of life.

[1]  M. Friman,et al.  Perceived Satisfaction with Public Transport Service in Nine European Cities , 2012 .

[2]  Sungjin Park,et al.  Meso- or micro-scale? Environmental factors influencing pedestrian satisfaction , 2014 .

[3]  J. Sallis,et al.  Environmental correlates of walking and cycling: Findings from the transportation, urban design, and planning literatures , 2003, Annals of behavioral medicine : a publication of the Society of Behavioral Medicine.

[4]  D. Ettema,et al.  Psychometric analysis of the satisfaction with travel scale , 2013 .

[5]  B. Giles-Corti,et al.  The relative influence of individual, social and physical environment determinants of physical activity. , 2002, Social science & medicine.

[6]  Anne Vernez Moudon,et al.  The 3Ds + R: Quantifying Land Use and Urban Form Correlates of Walking , 2006 .

[7]  B. Armstrong,et al.  Public health benefits of strategies to reduce greenhouse-gas emissions: overview and implications for policy makers , 2009, The Lancet.

[8]  Li Yin,et al.  The impact of street network connectivity on pedestrian volume , 2015 .

[9]  Tommy Gärling,et al.  Stated reasons for reducing work-commute by car , 2008 .

[10]  Jun-Hyung Kim,et al.  Design elements to improve pleasantness, vitality, safety, and complexity of the pedestrian environment: evidence from a Korean neighbourhood walkability case study , 2013 .

[11]  Reid Ewing,et al.  Measuring Urban Design: Metrics for Livable Places , 2013 .

[12]  Ding Ding,et al.  Built environment, physical activity, and obesity: what have we learned from reviewing the literature? , 2012, Health & place.

[13]  Billie Giles-Corti,et al.  Neighborhood environmental factors correlated with walking near home: Using SPACES. , 2006, Medicine and science in sports and exercise.

[14]  D. Ettema,et al.  Out-of-home activities, daily travel, and subjective well-being , 2010 .

[15]  W. Greene,et al.  Streetscape Features Related to Pedestrian Activity , 2016 .

[16]  M. Ben-Akiva,et al.  The effect of social comparisons on commute well-being , 2011 .

[17]  J. Jacobs The Death and Life of Great American Cities , 1962 .

[18]  Juan Ignacio Aragonés,et al.  A THEORETICAL AND METHODOLOGICAL APPROACH TO THE STUDY OF RESIDENTIAL SATISFACTION , 1997 .

[19]  Jae Seung Lee,et al.  Safely active mobility for urban baby boomers: The role of neighborhood design. , 2013, Accident; analysis and prevention.

[20]  B. Saelens,et al.  Built environment correlates of walking: a review. , 2008, Medicine and science in sports and exercise.

[21]  A. Cheadle,et al.  Operational Definitions of Walkable Neighborhood: Theoretical and Empirical Insights. , 2006, Journal of physical activity & health.

[22]  B. Giles-Corti,et al.  Increasing walking: how important is distance to, attractiveness, and size of public open space? , 2005, American journal of preventive medicine.

[23]  Raymond Isaacs,et al.  The Urban Picturesque: An Aesthetic Experience of Urban Pedestrian Places , 2000 .

[24]  R. Cervero,et al.  Influences of Built Environments on Walking and Cycling: Lessons from Bogotá , 2009 .

[25]  Jillian Anable,et al.  Performance, importance and user disgruntlement: a six-step method for measuring satisfaction with travel modes. , 2007 .

[26]  K. Axhausen,et al.  Activity‐based approaches to travel analysis: conceptual frameworks, models, and research problems , 1992 .

[27]  Ann Forsyth,et al.  The Street Level Built Environment and Physical Activity and Walking , 2011 .

[28]  Moshe Ben-Akiva,et al.  Happiness and Travel Mode Switching: Findings from a Swiss Public Transportation Experiment , 2012 .

[29]  D. Kahneman,et al.  Back to Bentham? Explorations of experience utility , 1997 .

[30]  Chulmin Jun,et al.  An empirical study on sustainable walkability indices for transit-oriented development by using the analytic network process approach , 2011 .

[31]  Kelly R Evenson,et al.  Neighborhood Environment, Access to Places for Activity, and Leisure-Time Physical Activity in a Diverse North Carolina Population , 2003, American journal of health promotion : AJHP.

[32]  Reid Ewing,et al.  Travel and the Built Environment , 2010 .

[33]  Susan L Handy,et al.  Measuring the Unmeasurable: Urban Design Qualities Related to Walkability , 2009 .

[34]  W. Whyte City: Rediscovering the Center , 1988 .

[35]  P. Calthorpe The Next American Metropolis: Ecology, Community, and the American Dream , 1993 .

[36]  J. Pucher,et al.  Walking and Cycling for Healthy Cities , 2010 .

[37]  A. Soltani,et al.  An analysis of the connection between built environment, physical activity and health: comparing three urban neighbourhoods from Shiraz, Iran , 2014 .

[38]  R. Cervero,et al.  TRAVEL DEMAND AND THE 3DS: DENSITY, DIVERSITY, AND DESIGN , 1997 .

[39]  Greet Cardon,et al.  Do adults like living in high-walkable neighborhoods? Associations of walkability parameters with neighborhood satisfaction and possible mediators. , 2011, Health & place.