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Considering the significance of physical activities in maintaining physical and mental well-being, several nations made exceptions during the COVID-19 lockdowns and allowed residents to walk outdoors, but with time and distance restrictions that varied across countries. This study aimed to identify if such regulations provided residents with equal access to public open spaces (POS) to engage in physical activity during the lockdown. Using a mixed research method (secondary descriptive data, field observations, and spatial analysis), we assessed the one-kilometer walking limit imposed on six typical existing neighborhoods in Jeddah city, Saudi Arabia. We find that the imposed one-kilometer limit was effective in providing accessibility, and the four urban factors ensured the effectiveness of the imposed walking distance: the small scale of residential districts in comparison to the long-imposed walking distance; the presence of neighborhood parks near main local streets; the distribution of neighborhood parks throughout the districts; and the absence of major highways that physically isolated residential districts. Notably, regulations related to walking distances during future pandemics should not be generalized to all cities; instead, they should be based on the existing availability of relatively good POS provisions with easy and equal access to all community members to enhance social sustainability.

Car-dominated university campuses allocate large areas of land for parking lots, which are major hubs for users to start and end their daily walking trips. However, studies on the walkability of large parking lots are limited, and there is a study gap in the assessment of existing constructed walking infrastructures and their usage and effectiveness in facilitating walking. In this study, a method is developed that can assess both the walking infrastructure and its usage, then applied in five large campus parking lots based on observational strategies. The results indicate that the orientation of a walking path perpendicular to a destination (which provides short-distance walks), availability of proper access to walking paths and designated crossing areas that connect between walking paths, proper implementation of effective traffic calming strategies, and presence of a single entrance and exit for vehicles all play important roles in promoting the use of existing walking infrastructure and creating pedestrian-friendly parking lots. Additionally, this study method extends the walkability assessment of built environments, particularly in large parking lots. This study promotes the creation of sustainable university campuses, thereby enhancing the quality of life of students and staff who use the facilities.