TITLE:
Re-Finding PL.AC.E. for Walking: Assessment of Key-Elements Using Questionnaire
AUTHORS:
Fritz Akhmad Nuzir, Bart Dewancker
KEYWORDS:
Walking, Pedestrian, Key-Elements, Key-Attributes, PL.AC.E.
JOURNAL NAME:
Current Urban Studies,
Vol.3 No.4,
October
28,
2015
ABSTRACT: Many studies had already been conducted to acknowledge the contribution of walking in sustainable
urban development. After conducting a literature study, authors identified the 3 (three) keyelements
and introduced them as PL.AC.E. (abbreviation of Profile, Activity, and Environment), of
the pedestrian. The Pedestrian Profile was defined as a combination of the following key-attributes:
age; financial income; physical condition; gender; mobility choice; employment and education;
social cultural capital; pedestrian type; and public transportation usage. The Pedestrian Activity
was defined from the key-attributes as follow: walking-related purposes; social interaction;
walking intensity; walking habits; and transport modes interaction. Then the Pedestrian Environment
was defined within key-attributes of: spatial planning; walk-ability; neighborhood livability;
traffic safety; pedestrian facilities (hard elements); pedestrian facilities (soft elements); and
environmental quality. In this study, authors would assess those key-elements by distributing a
questionnaire to a group of freshmen of the Department of Architecture in the University of Kitakyushu,
Japan as a trial experiment. Total 58 responses were recorded and then analyzed using
correlations type statistical analysis. It was then concluded that there are indications that those
key-elements could be addressed in the planning process of a walk-able urban environment.
However in order to validate the result, authors would continue to further distribute the questionnaire
to various respondents within different case study areas.