Does the pedestrian environment affect the utility of walking? A case of path choice in downtown Boston |
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| Authors: | Zhan Guo |
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| Institution: | 1. School of Economics and Management, Beihang University, Beijing 100191, China;2. Key Lab of Complex System Analysis and Management Decision, Ministry of Education, Beijing 100191, China;3. Beijing Institute for Advanced Studies, National University of Defense Technology, Beijing 100101, China;4. College of Systems Engineering, National University of Defense Technology, Changsha, Hunan 410073, China;5. Beijing Advanced Innovation Center for Big Data and Brain Computing, Beihang University, Beijing 100191, China;6. Beijing Key Laboratory of Emergency Support Simulation Technologies for City Operations, Beijing 100191, China;7. Beijing International Science and Technology Cooperation Base for City Safety Operation and Emergency Support, Beijing 100191, China;1. Humphrey School of Public Affairs, University of Minnesota, Twin Cities., 301 19th Ave S, Minneapolis, MN 55455, United States;2. Humphrey School of Public Affairs, University of Minnesota, Twin Cities., 301 19th Ave S, Minneapolis, MN 55455, United States |
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| Abstract: | There is a lack of consensus as to whether the relationship between the built environment and travel is causal and, if it is, the extent of this causality. This problem is largely caused by inappropriate research designs adopted in many studies. This paper proposes a new method (based on path choice) to investigate the causal effect of the pedestrian environment on the utility of walking. Specifically, the paper examines how the pedestrian environment affects subway commuters’ egress path choice from a station to their workplaces in downtown Boston. The path-based measure is sensitive enough to capture minor differences in the environment experienced by pedestrians. More importantly, path choice is less likely to correlate with job and housing location choices, and therefore largely avoids the self-selection problem. The results suggest that the pedestrian environment can significantly affect a person’s walking experience and the utility of walking along a path. |
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