THE INTERACTION BETWEEN PHYSICAL ATTRIBUTES OF SIDEWALKS AND PEDESTRIAN WALKING BEHAVIOUR

Abstract

The importance of macro- and micro-scale attributes cannot be emphasised enough in many studies on walkability. However, most studies had only managed to focus on a single area due to the extensiveness of efforts to venture into other areas. In this study, I involved socio-demographic profiles of pedestrians as well as macro- and micro- physical environment factors in my binary logistic regression model, with the entirety of data derived from observational work and face-to-face surveys. Five locations were surveyed over a sample size of 250 respondents chosen over a random sampling process. This paper had attained a statistically significant result of which safety, comfort and accessibility factors are deemed especially meaningful. Within these factors, the width of sidewalks and accessibility to public transportation nodes play a huge role in increasing the frequency of pedestrian walking on sidewalks. The final implication is that safety emerged as the most important sidewalk environment characteristic that influences the frequency of walking.