Walking accessibility to non-work facilities and travel patterns in suburban new towns

Abstract

Previous research on the self-containment of new towns has focused on access to employment and commute travel; little research has been documented regarding access to non-work facilities and its relation to non-work active travel, overlooking an important aspect to assessing the self-containment of new towns. Drawing on multiple sources of data in Hong Kong, we measure walking accessibility to three main types of non-work facilities (markets, restaurants and parks) as major destinations for non-work travel. Through a series of statistical analysis, we investigate in detail the effects of accessibility on the probability and duration of home-based walking trips. Our findings indicate that: (1) new towns were more disadvantaged and less equitable in terms of the accessibility to non-work facilities than urban areas; and (2) accessibility increased both the likelihood and duration of new town residents' walking trips particularly for grocery-shopping and dining-out purposes. The findings indicate that enhancing accessibility to non-work facilities in new towns can be beneficial in terms of both achieving self-containment and promoting more sustainable travel behaviour. Recommendations are proposed accordingly to help create more pedestrian-friendly environment, and balanced provision of non-work facilities in and around new towns and other suburban developments.