Evaluation of New Lynn Urban Plan as a Walkable Transit Orientated Development Site

Abstract

The planning and design of the walkable environment is receiving more and more attention for its benefits related to public health, sustainability, the economy and social life. Therefore, there is a growing need for knowledge about the walkability. This project aims to measure the walkability of the case study area and find the gaps in existing knowledge which affect walkability in New Lynn. Through literature review and an observation study this project tries to investigate the concept of walkability by trying to understand the different aspects of the built environment. The knowledge that this thesis tries to produce is not only whether or not the built environment influences walkability, but also how the built environment influences walkability. The empirical study will analyze the neighborhood observation study of the New Lynn area. The discussion is mainly around the major factors that existing walkability studies have identified, such as land-use diversity, density, and connectivity, but also consider other pedestrian-friendly urban design factors and the topics discussed in urban design literature. The results of the empirical study confirm the significance of the major walkability factors. More importantly, they provide insights into how the factors function in close relation to each other, and how the various factors and the condition of the built environment influence walking with different effects.