Assessing the walkability of a community under transit-oriented development (TOD) in Hong Kong : a case study of Tseung Kwan O

Abstract

There is growing interest in the walkability of communities in Hong Kong (HK). As HK adopts transit-oriented development (TOD) in its new town development, walking is the most common way for public transit users to get access to transit stations in these communities. Thus, the quality of walking environment between people’s place of residence and transit stations affects people’s access to public transit and public transport patronage. However, it is found that there is a lack of study that comprehensively and quantitatively reviews the walkability of communities developed under TOD in HK.

By assessing all the potential pedestrian routes that connect the four MTR stations in Tseung Kwan O (TKO) with different types of housing using the walkability indicators developed in this study, this paper assesses the walkability of TKO in terms of accessibility, connectivity as well as quality and design, and studies the social implications based on the assessment result.

Through quantitative assessment using the Geographical Information System, this paper confirms that there is inequitable access to railway stations by residents living in different types of housing. Routes to private housing generally have better overall, accessibility as well as quality and design scores than routes to subsidised housing.

Also, it is discovered that subsidized housing residents face a trade-off between accessibility, and quality and design of routes. They have to incur higher walking costs in travel distance and time if they travel via the more pleasant mix routes of street-level and indoor/elevated walkway. However, residents who prefer more direct routes have to travel via street-level routes that have worse quality and design. Meanwhile, private housing residents can arrive at their residence via the well-designed indoor/elevated routes that scored well in accessibility.

Moreover, this paper confirms criticism that walking environment at grade in TKO is generally unpleasant and dull. Street-level routes in TKO generally scored worse in terms of quality and design, compared with the indoor/elevated routes and mixed routes.

Furthermore, this paper finds out that streets in TKO mostly serve as passageway of subsidised housing residents instead of space for social interaction in the community due to absence of social life and business activity.

Based on the assessment outcome and social implications, recommendations are made at the end of this paper. Improvement measures, which mainly focus on enhancing the street-level routes that have good accessibility, are suggested to enhance the walkability in TKO. Also, recommendations on planning parameters and urban design are offered to create pedestrian-friendly TOD communities in the future.