| Title |
Characteristics of Walking and Neighborhood Environment in an Old Residential Neighborhood |
| Authors |
Seo Han-Lim ; Park So-Hyun |
| Keywords |
Walking ; Walking Environment ; Walking Destination ; Walking Route ; Old Residential Neighborhood ; Bukchon |
| Abstract |
What we pursue in planning desirable urban places is closely related to, among others, the provision of walking-friendly environments. Recent studies of the relationship between walking activities and urban form in the North America help us learn more about the impacts of environmental elements on walkable places. Common research findings from the existing studies indicate that the neighborhood urban forms of the traditional residential areas in North America provide walking-friendly environments. Based on those previous researches, this paper preliminarily examines characteristics of the walking environments in an old residential neighborhood, called Bukchon, in Seoul, Korea. Major research methods include literature reviews, field observations, GIS analyses, and interview surveys. Some meaningful findings of this paper can be summarized in 4 points: 1) Most frequently used walking destinations are neighborhood supermarkets, local bus stations, and local main streets, which were used mostly daily or once in two to three days; 2) Different age groups have different walking destinations of their frequent uses among supermarkets, local buses, and neighborhood parks. Overall, the age group of above 65 years old walk most in the neighborhood; 3) The familiar environmental settings such as the traditional houses and old street patterns provide pleasant walking environments; 4) Street classifications by the degrees of frequent uses were drawn, as well as the average lengths of representative walking destinations. The contribution of this paper is to let us know the basic elements and characteristics of walking and walking conditions in an old residential district in Seoul, where how people walk is not yet researched much. This paper belongs to an initial phase of a larger research project, which builds upon the results of this and on-going studies. |