Walkability vs. walking: assessing outcomes of walkability at Southeast False Creek, Vancouver, Canada

ABSTRACT

If a neighbourhood is designed and built according to best practices for walkable neighbourhood design, will people respond and walk in the public realm? This was a narrowly focused case study of a brownfield redevelopment in Vancouver, Canada, intentionally designed to be highly walkable. Methods included a Walk Score® analysis, both in-person and video observational studies of people using three public spaces over a nine-month period, supplemented with questionnaires. Observational studies and questionnaires revealed high numbers of people using the public spaces for walking and active mobility throughout the year in all weather conditions, validating a very high Walk Score®. However, the study also uncovered unexpected patterns of walking and motivations for walking, which reveals the value of post-occupancy observational and survey studies to fully understand how specific attributes of the neighbourhood landscape may significantly change what people value and how they use the public realm.

KEYWORDS:

• Walkable neighbourhood
• urban greenways
• access to nature
• social interaction
• post occupancy observation
• walkability index

Acknowledgments

This study was certified by the UBC Behavioural Research Ethics Board.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Cynthia Girling

Cynthia Girling is a Professor of Landscape Architecture in the School of Architecture and Landscape Architecture at the University of British Columbia. Her research focuses on sustainable neighborhood scale urban design with a particular emphasis on: developing methods, metrics, tools and visualizations to inform community planning & urban design. She also conducts evaluations of new neighbourhood developments emphasizing urban form and landscape performance. She is Co-director, with Ronald Kellett, of the elementsLab, an applied urban design and environment research group located at the UBC Centre for Interactive Research on Sustainability.

K. Zheng

K. Zheng is a researcher in the College of Architecture and Urban Planning, Tongji University. She conducts research in two related areas: Green community evaluation (built environment, urban amenity, quality of life, urban physical environment) and building performance (durability, energy efficiency, health, sustainability).

A. Monti

A. Monti obtained a Master of Science in Architecture from Politecnico di Milano and a MASA (Master of Advanced Studies in Architecture) from the University of British Columbia. Her research interests focus on the neighbourhood scale and include regenerative design, social and environmental value of green space, social interactions.

M. Ebneshahidi

M. Ebneshahidi is a PhD student in the Interdisciplinary Studies Graduate Program at the University of British Columbia. Her research focuses on neighbourhood livability, walkability, inclusive planning, quality of life, multiculturalism and immigrants. She is working as a research assistant on research into inclusive planning practice in the School of Community and Regional Planning at UBC.