The Effect of the Built Environment on Pedestrian Volume in Microscopic Space- Focusing on the Comparison Between OLS (Ordinary Least Square) and Poisson Regression

Abstract

This study is aimed at establishing a correlation between microscopic factors and pedestrian volume in the urban environment, focusing on microscopic factors that stimulate pedestrian volume, such as density, diversity, network structure, accessibility, the form of lots and buildings, and the form of building façades. In particular, factors already known to boost pedestrian volume include density, diversity and accessibility, which are three variables highly related to the concept of 3Ds (Density, Diversity, Design) proposed by Cervero and Kockelman (1997) and the additional 2Ds (Distance to Transit, Destination Accessibility) suggested by Ewing et al. (2008). The analysis in this study is based on the 2010 survey of the floating population in Seoul, particularly on the data from Seocho-gu in the Gangnam area. Data was established by analyzing microscopic factors within the 500m radius around each of the 616 spots from which the pedestrian volume in Seocho-gu was measured. This study compared and analyzed two methods: OLS, which is featured in multiple studies of pedestrian volume, and Poisson Regression, which is the most common statistical analysis method of abnormal count data such as pedestrian volume. The analysis results showed that density, diversity and accessibility, three factors that were already known to be effective in increasing pedestrian volume, also proved to have the same effect in the Gangnam area. Moreover, the form of the ground level and facade of buildings were found to have a significant effect on pedestrian volume. These findings are expected to serve as basic data for the development of sustainable and resilient cities through higher pedestrian volume.

Exploring Effective Built Environment Factors for Evaluating Pedestrian Volume in High-Density Areas: A New Finding for the Central Business District in Melbourne, Australia

“…Furthermore, structural equation modelling was used to estimate the correlation between built environment variables and pedestrian volume. Lee et al established pedestrian volume by the Ordinary least square and Poisson regression in Seoul [20]. This study confirmed the association between the built environment and pedestrian volume in Gangnam, Seoul.…”

“…New data sources and methods have stimulated research on pedestrian volume. Responding to the growing demand for transit-oriented development and walkable urbanism in metropolitan areas undergoing urban renewal, previous studies determine the association between pedestrian volume or counts by multiple built environment variables, thus providing evidence to improve the walkability and service level of amenities [19][20][21].…”

Walkability, complete streets, and gender: Who benefits most?

“…In past research few studies have addressed how street-level walkability in general relates to use (Lee et al, 2015) or how street renovations associated with complete streets relate to street users (Lenker et al, 2016) or whether effects of street walkability differs by gender. The current study adds to this scarce literature by addressing three questions: Does street-level walkability correspond to numbers of street users?…”

The Built Environment and the Frequency of Cycling Trips by Urban Elderly: Insights from Zhongshan, China

“…In recent years, Asian scholars began to examine the effects of built environment on travel behavior and health outcomes of different age groups (Zhang et al, 2011;Lee et al, 2015;An et al, 2014;Zhang et al, 2014b;Ding et al, 2014). However, few studies have examined the environmental representations in the Chinese context, let alone the association between the environment attributes and cycling activity among Chinese urban elderly, as the present paper does.…”