The integration of walkability and transit-oriented development : a comparative study of Hong Kong and Guangzhou

Abstract

Transit-oriented development, being seen as a useful tool for sustainable development by enhancing public transport and walking as well as reducing automobile ridership, has been widely applied and becomes more and more important in Asia, especially mainland China that facing server traffic problems. Along with the application and practice of transit-oriented development, walkability becomes more and more important, being an indispensable part of the mutual TOD practice. Though quite a few previous studies have explored the relationship and implication between TOD and walkability, seldom researchers pay attention to the integrated development of TOD and walkability. In order to understand the current situation of the integration development and the social implication that would probably produce, two TOD survey sites in Hong Kong and Guangzhou respectively with different TOD community types were selected for the study. First-hand data about the travel behavior, walking experience and the sense of community, collected by on-site questionnaire survey would be further analyzed. The dissertation applies a set of methods, including Chi-squared test, one-way ANOVA and spatial analysis using ArcGISPro to draw a picture reflecting the current situation of the transit-oriented development and residents’ behavior and perceptions in these communities. Furthermore, an evaluation framework involving transit-oriented development proxies, variables reflecting the perception of walkability and the sense of community has been established and applied in the canonical correlation analysis (CCA) model for exploring the relationship between the sense of community and the integration of walkability and transit-oriented development. The results of the analysis indicated that positive association was observed between the sense of community and the integration of walkability and transit-oriented development. Furthermore, the two comparative studies of Hong Kong and Guangzhou, infill TOD communities and greenfield TOD communities together reflected the positive relationship between the integration and social interaction. The integral model and the two comparative studies together indicated that enough public service facilities within walking distance make the most outstanding contributions to the integrated development. Thus, to improve the quality of the integrated development, more attention should be paid to construct the convenient walking environment, especially the locations of the public service facilities.