How important is the land use mix measure in understanding walking behaviour? Results from the RESIDE study

2011

The Impact of Land Use Mix on Walking Behavior

Sample size: 1798 publication 10 minutes Evidence: moderate

Author Information

Author(s): Christian Hayley E, Bull Fiona C, Middleton Nicholas J, Knuiman Matthew W, Divitini Mark L, Hooper Paula, Amarasinghe Anura, Giles-Corti Billie

Primary Institution: Centre for the Built Environment and Health, School of Population Health, The University of Western Australia

Hypothesis

Different computations of land use mix (LUM) will affect the association between neighborhood design and walking behavior.

Conclusion

The combination of land uses in the LUM calculation significantly influences the strength of relationships with various types of walking.

Supporting Evidence

Participants in high walkable neighborhoods reported almost twice the amount of walking compared to those in low walkable neighborhoods.
Different land use categories were relevant for different types and amounts of walking.
Transport walking had the strongest association with the walkability index when specific land uses were included.

Takeaway

People who live in neighborhoods with a mix of different types of places tend to walk more. The specific types of places matter for different kinds of walking.

Methodology

Participants self-reported their walking behavior, and logistic regression was used to analyze associations between walkability indices and walking behavior.