Built Environment, Pedestrian Behaviors, and Urban Sustainability

Dear Colleagues,

The built environment and resultant behaviors of people are key determinants of the social, economic, and environmental sustainability of a city. The reckless spread of urban sprawl and consequent progress in motorization (increasing car dependency) have been pointed out as key causes of the energy crisis, environmental pollution, human-induced global warming, and climate change. On the other hand, active or nonmotorized transportation modes, including walking, have been encouraged as desirable modes that enhances the quality life of people and urban sustainability. In particular, walking affects individual health and social capital, and determines street safety and attractiveness, neighborhood livability and vitality, and even the prosperity of regional and state economies. The policy interventions for promoting walking and the pedestrian-friendly urban built environment is undoubtedly a crucial success factor for streets, neighborhoods, and cities.

Thus, the built environment and the resulting pedestrian behaviors are not only traditional research topics in planning, urban design, and transportation, but are also receiving considerable attention in sociology, public health, environmental science, and many other disciplines. Several previous studies have examined the physical conditions under which more walking activities can occur, and found that the traditional 5D variables play significant roles. However, recent studies have shown that the effects of these variables can vary significantly depending on the urban context, and research on microscale built environmental variables is still insufficient. Meanwhile, researchers have also argued that ensuring pedestrian rights and safety should be prioritized over providing a pedestrian-friendly built environment. Recently, experimental studies using virtual reality technologies have been attempted to analyze the microscopic built environment and pedestrian behaviors, but important policy questions still remain unanswered.

This Special Issue focuses on the analysis of the relationship between built environment, pedestrian behaviors, and urban social, economic, and environmental sustainability. This Special Issue aims to provide new empirical evidence for physical planning practices and policies for a more sustainable future of cities by looking at the following topics:

• The relationship between the built environment and transportation mode choice (particularly, focused on the active modes);
• The relationship between the built environment and outdoor activities;
• The relationship between the built environment and street-level pedestrian volume;
• The relationship between microscopic street design and the subjectively perceived or objectively measured pedestrian safety level;
• The impacts of active travel and outdoor activities on individual outcomes such as physical and mental health, social network and participation, and other quality of life indicators;
• The impacts of walking or pedestrian volume on urban social, economic, and environmental sustainability.

As an approach to examine the above research topics, various traditional research data are allowed, including data from travel diary surveys, self-reported surveys, trained investigators’ observations, and automated investigations using GPS, sensors, and computer vision techniques. Experimental studies using VR experiments or social/natural experiments are also encouraged. Above all, this Special Issue welcomes empirical research conducted in various cities around the world. Submitted manuscripts should have a solid theoretical basis and analysis and valid conclusions.

Dr. Seung-Nam Kim
Dr. Gi-Hyoug Cho
Dr. Hee-Chul Kim
Guest Editors

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