Urban Form and Pedestrian Choices: Study of Austin Neighborhoods

Supporters of the New Urbanism suggest that the right design will encourage walking, thereby encouraging interaction and a greater sense of community and discouraging automobile dependence. Existing research provides insufficient evidence to support this belief, however, largely because of limitations in the data and methodologies that researchers have used. The research described moves beyond a simple test of correlations to an exploration of how urban form fits into a more comprehensive model of choices about pedestrian trips. First, a model for individual choices about pedestrian trips is proposed. Second, the results of a study of six neighborhoods in Austin, Texas, are presented. Data from a survey of residents in these neighborhoods support the proposed model and suggest that certain aspects of urban form can play an important role in encouraging walks to a destination but that the savings in travel from the substitution of walking for driving is likely to be small.