Impact of Built Environment on Walking Efficiency from the Perspective of Healthy Cities:A Case Study Based on the Core Area of Chengguan District in Lanzhou City
In the new era,research on cities"orienting to people's life health"has important practical significance.Walking,an important component of physical activity,is crucial role in reducing traffic congestion,promoting neighborhood interactions,and improving residents'physical and mental health.Increasing walking efficiency and residents'willingness to walk by improving the built environment,thereby promoting their physical and mental health,has become an important scientific question.Although there are abundant studies on the relationship between the built environment and residents'walking behaviors,study areas have hardly been chosen in northwestern China,and the traditional parameter statistical model is mainly applied as the research method.There are insufficient nonlinear studies on quantifying response variables and explanatory variables based on machine learning,and the spatial division is relatively single.The core area of Chengguan District in Lanzhou City was chosen as the study area.Since low-level urban roads undertake the life services in the study area and witness the high occurrence of walking activities,traffic microcirculation was introduced to divide spatial analysis units according to urban arterial streets.To eliminate interference caused by area differences among basic traffic microcirculation units on the required walking time,the walking efficiency was characterized by the walking time density within each unit.Further,an index system of the built environment was established from five element types,including"point,line,plane,organization,and space."The built environment in each basic traffic microcirculation unit was further depicted from perspectives of density distribution characteristics(point density and line density),planar structure characteristics(degree of land use mix,density of plot numbers,building density and fragmentation index of plot number),traffic organization means(proportion of one-way streets),and spatial scene characteristics(green view index and street safety).The influence of the built environment on walking efficiency was discussed by the extreme gradient boosting model.Some major conclusions could be drawn.(1)The built environment plays an important role in walking efficiency of traffic microcirculation.Built environmental elements like dead-end intersection density(0.24),ratio of secondary roads to streets and alleys(0.22),plot number density(0.13),bus line density(0.09),bus stop density(0.08),and land use mix(0.07)can influence walking efficiency of traffic microcirculation greatly.They deserve critical attention during the formulation of planning strategies for walking-friendly spaces.(2)There are complex nonlinear relations between various built environment elements and walking efficiency.Specifically,the ratio of secondary roads to streets and alleys is positively correlated with walking time density and has a significant threshold effect.The walking efficiency is relatively high when the ratio values 0～0.9.The road network structure is crucial to walking efficiency.The walking efficiency is relatively high when the land use mix values 0.6～0.75.The walking efficiency is relatively high when the bus stop density and bus line density are 7(/km2)and 4～6(km/km2),respectively.Dead-end intersection density and plot number density are negatively correlated with walking time density.Based on these conclusions,some optimization strategies for walking activities in the core area of Chengguan District in Lanzhou City were proposed from three aspects:advocating small-scale block patterns,appropriate mixed land use,and rational layout of public transportation.These strategies aim to create a pedestrian-friendly spatial environment,enhance residents'willingness to walk,and promote their physical and mental health.Research conclusions can provide references to optimal pedestrian environment construction and promote the physical and mental health of residents in similar regions.
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