Preferences for walking-to-school environments: Exploring landscape designs that are most welcomed by children and parents
Ding, Yizhen
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https://hdl.handle.net/2142/105719
Description
Title
Preferences for walking-to-school environments: Exploring landscape designs that are most welcomed by children and parents
Author(s)
Ding, Yizhen
Issue Date
2019-07-18
Director of Research (if dissertation) or Advisor (if thesis)
Sullivan , William C.
Department of Study
Landscape Architecture
Discipline
Landscape Architecture
Degree Granting Institution
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Degree Name
M.L.A.
Degree Level
Thesis
Keyword(s)
landscape
sidewalk landscape
walking to school
active transportation to school
built environment
Abstract
The impact of the built environment on how children and parents make decisions about walking to school has attracted the attention of designers, planners, and policymakers. Yet we know little about the impact of the micro-scale environment of the sidewalk on these decisions about walking to school. This lack of knowledge may lead to a lack of infrastructure investment that would support walkable neighborhoods. This study examines a variety of characteristics in the micro-scale environment and the reactions of parents and students to these characteristics as they think about walking to school. 976 participants were recruited online, at an urban park, and at a museum, and were asked to evaluate simulated sidewalk images. Participants most preferred images that included large trees along sidewalks, as well as settings that included sidewalks far from the street rather than close to the street. Children expressed a slightly greater preference for settings with trees along the street and for the attractiveness of the setting, as compared to adults. The contributions of these findings are discussed in relation to a variety of efforts to create walkable communities.
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