The Study of the Effects of Built Form on Pedestrian Activities: A GIS-Based Integrated Approach

There has been a growing interest among urban designers in applying quantitative methods to gain a more accurate understanding of the effects of built form on pedestrian activities, particularly in historic cities. The quantitative methods, so far, tend to be used largely in isolation from one another as a result of different intellectual origins and channels of dissemination. This article argues that a significantly better understanding can be achieved by applying all the main methods in a complementary manner. To test this hypothesis, we develop an integrated approach, which incorporates different accessibility indices and perception measures of the pedestrian environment based on a geographical information system. This makes it possible to examine the structural properties of the street network and land use layout with insights into the rich tapestry of the local setting. The approach is tested on a modernizing urban quarter in the Old City of Beijing. The results show that the integrated approach can explain close to 90% of the variations of pedestrian movements and around 70% of those of stationary activities, representing significantly better performance than applying any of the methods individually. Finally, we consider how the integrated approach can be applied to inform conceptualization of urban design ideas and comparison of alternative schemes.