Walk Score, Environmental Quality and Walking in a Campus Setting

A small amount of campus walkability research has considered facility layout and environmental quality. The aim of this paper is to use a Walk Score and Urban Design Quality to assess campus walkability and investigate the impact of a campus Walk Score, environmental quality and other streetscape features on walking activity. This paper optimizes the Walk Score method based on the frequency, variety, and distance of students’ walking to and from public facilities. A total of 157 campus street segments from the Weijin Road Campus of Tianjin University in China were selected to assess campus Walk Scores and environmental quality through the use of GIS and field audits. The effect of campus walkability and environmental features on pedestrian volume was examined by negative binomial regression. We found that Walk Score, transparency, street furniture, the number of buildings and noise level have a positive effect on walking activity, while enclosure and building basic color show a negative relationship with pedestrian volume. The results will be used to propose strategies to improve campus walkability and promote walking activity.