The Influence of Built Environment and Perceived Walkability on Walking Behaviour in Taiwan

Walking is the most common and natural forms of transport mode and the most important transport mode for public transport to connect the first mile and last mile. This study aims to investigate the relationships between objective and subjective measures of the walking environment, walkability and walking behaviour in Taiwan. We assume perceptions of the walking environment mediate between objective measures of walking environment, and overall walkability and walking behaviour. A structural equation model was adopted to verify the hypotheses of this study. The results show that objective measures of population density, land-use mix, the percentage of 4-way intersections and the number of cul-de-sacs exert significant impact on the perceptions of distances to services, opportunities & street connectivity, aesthetics and on-street barriers. In addition, an individual’s perceptions of the walking environment have a significant influence on overall walkability, and overall walkability affects travel mode choice towards walking.