Spatial disparity of individual and collective walking behaviors: A new theoretical framework

The creation of walkable environments, and the promotion of walkability for health and environmental benefits have been widely advocated. However, the term “walkability” is often associated with two related but distinct walking behaviors: individual and collective walking behaviors. It is unclear whether spatial disparity exists between them, and whether built environment characteristics have distinctive effects on them.
This research was the first to explore the spatial disparity between the two types of walking behaviors. Collective walking behaviors were measured using the citywide pedestrian volume, extracted from 219,248 street view images. Individual walking behaviors were measured form a population-level survey. Spatial mismatches were found between the two types of walking behaviors and built environment elements had stronger associations with collective walking behaviors. Therefore, it is prudent to theoretically differentiate collective and individual walking behaviors, and targeted planning policies must be developed to promote one or both types of walking behaviors.