Measurement and Analysis of
Walkability in Hong Kong
By:
Michael Audi, Kathryn Byorkman, Alison Couture, Suzanne Najem
ZRH006
Measurement and Analysis of
Walkability in Hong Kong
An Interactive Qualifying Project Report
Submitted to the faculty of the Worcester Polytechnic Institute
In partial fulfillment of the requirements for
Degree of Bachelor of Science
In cooperation with Designing Kong Hong, Ltd. and
The Harbour Business Forum
On March 4, 2010
- Submitted by:
- Submitted to:
- Paul Zimmerman
- Michael Audi
Kathryn Byorkman Alison Couture Suzanne Najem
Margaret Brooke Dr. Sujata Govada Roger Nissim Professor Robert Kinicki Professor Zhikun Hou
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Abstract
Though Hong Kong’s Victoria Harbour is world-renowned, the harbor front districts are far from walkable. The WPI team surveyed 16 waterfront districts, four in-depth, assessing their walkability using a tool created by the research team and conducted preference surveys to understand the perceptions of Hong Kong pedestrians. Because pedestrians value the shortest, safest, least-crowded, and easiest to navigate routes, this study found that confusing routes, unsafe or indirect connections, and a lack of amenities detract from the walkability in Hong Kong. This report provides new data concerning the walkability in harbor front districts and a tool to measure it, along with recommendations for potential improvements.
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Acknowledgements
Our team would like to thank the many people that helped us over the course of this project. First, we would like to thank our sponsors Paul Zimmerman, Dr. Sujata Govada, Margaret Brooke, and Roger Nissim for their help and dedication throughout our project and for providing all of the resources and contacts that we required.
We would like to thank the staff at Designing Hong Kong and The Harbour Business Forum for their support, insight, and assistance with the project.
We would also like to thank Brenda Fung for her time and effort spent organizing meetings, finding extra office space and collecting information.
In addition, the team would like to thank Eva Tam for her translation skills for our survey and Rita Fu, and Stone Zheng for volunteering their time to help administer the survey.
Finally, we would like to thank our Worcester Polytechnic Institute advisors, Zhikun Hou and Professors Robert Kinicki, for their generous advice and continuous support throughout this project.
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Table of Authorship
Abstract...............................................................................................................................Byorkman Acknowledgements............................................................................................................................. Table of Authorship ............................................................................................................................ Executive Summary..............................................................................................................Byorkman 1.0 2.0
Introduction ..................................................................................................... Najem,Couture Background ..............................................................................................................Byorkman
- URBAN PLANNING........................................................................................................................................AUDI
- 2.1.
2.1.1. 2.1.2.
Government Policy on Urban Planning of the Harbor Front.......................................................... Audi Vehicular Transportation............................................................................................................... Audi Public Transit ................................................................................................................................. Audi Foot Travel..................................................................................................................................... Audi
WALKABILITY...............................................................................................................................................AUDI
Definition of Walkability...............................................................................................Audi,Byokrman Importance of Walking......................................................................................................... Byorkman Walkability Studies ....................................................................................................Byorkman,Najem How to Measure Walkability ............................................................................ Audi,Najem,Byorkman
WALKABILITY IN HISTORIC CITIES...............................................................................................................COUTURE
Boston, Massachusetts.............................................................................................................Couture Shanghai, China........................................................................................................................Couture New York City, New York ..........................................................................................................Couture Singapore..................................................................................................................................Couture Similarities to Walkability in Hong Kong ....................................................................................... Audi Uniqueness of Walkability in Hong Kong....................................................................................... Audi
HONG KONG .........................................................................................................................................COUTURE
History and City Development ..................................................................................................Couture Land Reclamation.....................................................................................................................Couture Geography ................................................................................................................Najem, Byorkman Attractions................................................................................................................Najem, Byokrman Studies on Walkability in Hong Kong.......................................................................................... Najem Walkability in Hong Kong ..................................................................................................... Byorkamn
2.1.3. 2.1.4.
2.3.1. 2.3.2. 2.3.3. 2.3.4. 2.3.5. 2.3.6.
2.4.1. 2.4.2. 2.4.3. 2.4.4. 2.4.5. 2.4.6.
- 3.0
- Methodology.................................................................................................................... Audi
PRELIMINARY WALKABILITY ANALYSIS ...........................................................................................................NAJEM
Preliminary Evaluation Rubric .................................................................................................... Najem Definitions of Preliminary Evaluation Rubric Metrics ................................................................. Najem Execution of Preliminary Evaluation........................................................................................... Najem Data Analysis of Preliminary Walkability Observations ................................................................ Audi
SURVEY ................................................................................................................................................COUTURE
Pedestrian Route Selection at the Tsim Sha Tsui Harbor Front Survey.....................................Couture
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Pedestrian Perception of Walkability Survey............................................................................Couture Survey Data Processing ................................................................................................................. Audi
IN-DEPTH WALKABILITY METHODOLOGY.....................................................................................................COUTURE
Final Walkability Criteria ..........................................................................................................Couture In-depth Data Processing .............................................................................................................. Audi Walking Map .............................................................................................................................. Najem Recommendations......................................................................................................................... Audi
3.3.1. 3.3.2. 3.3.3. 3.3.4.
- 4.0
- Results......................................................................................................................... Couture
- 4.1.
- PRELIMINARY WALKING RUBRICS ...........................................................................................................BYORKMAN
PEDESTRIAN ROUTE SELECTION AT THE TSIM SHA TSUI HARBOR FRONT SURVEY ................................................COUTURE
PEDESTRIAN PERCEPTION OF WALKABILITY SURVEY ............................................................................................AUDI IN-DEPTH DISTRICT ANALYSIS ................................................................................................................BYORKMAN
4.2. 4.3. 4.4.
4.4.1. 4.4.2. 4.4.3. 4.4.4.
Yau Ma Tei............................................................................................................................ Byorkman Tsim Sha Tsui ........................................................................................................................ Byorkman Wan Chai .................................................................................................................................... Najem Sai Ying Pun ................................................................................................................................ Najem
- 5.0
- Recommendations......................................................................................................... Najem
5.2. 5.3.
ROUTE RECOMMENDATIONS .................................................................................................................BYORKMAN
Yau Ma Tei............................................................................................................................ Byorkman Tsim Sha Tsui ................................................................................................................................. Audi Wan Chai ..................................................................................................................................Couture Sai Ying Pun ................................................................................................................................ Najem
GENERAL RECOMMENDATIONS.................................................................................................................COUTURE WAT RECOMMENDATIONS FOR FUTURE IMPROVEMENTS....................................................................................AUDI
- 6.0
- Conclusion..................................................................................................................... Najem
References and Bibliography ................................................................................................... Couture Appendix.........................................................................................................................................Audi
A. Sponsor Descriptions ...................................................................................................................
A.1. A.2.
DESIGNING HONG KONG .......................................................................................................BYORKMAN, COUTURE HARBOUR BUSINESS FORUM .......................................................................................................................NAJEM
B. Interview Protocol for Interview with Suzanne LePage .......................................................... Audi C. Interview with Suzanne LePage.......................................................................................... Najem D. District Maps...............................................................................................................................
D.1. D.2. D.3. D.4.
GOOGLE EARTH MAP OF 16 HARBOR FRONT DISTRICTS ......................................................................................AUDI GOOGLE EARTH MAP OF THE 4 CHOSEN DISTRICTS.............................................................................................AUDI GOOGLE MAP OF THE 16 CHOSEN ROUTES.......................................................................................................AUDI YAU MA TEI DISTRICT MAPS.................................................................................................................................
D.4.1. D.4.2.
Yau Ma Tei Route 1: .................................................................................................... . B yorkman,Audi Yau Ma Tei Route 2: .................................................................................................... Byorkman, Audi
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D.4.3. D.4.4.
Yau Ma Tei Route 3: .................................................................................................... . B yorkman,Audi Yau Ma Tei Route 4: .................................................................................................... . B yorkman,Audi
D.5.
D.5.1. D.5.2.
TSIM SHA TSUI DISTRICT MAPS .............................................................................................................................
Tsim Sha Tsui Route 1 : . ................................................................................................ . B yorkman,Audi Tsim Sha Tsui Route 2 : . ................................................................................................ . B yorkman,Audi Tsim Sha Tsui Route 3 : . ................................................................................................ . B yorkman,Audi Tsim Sha Tsui Route 4 : . ................................................................................................ . B yorkman,Audi
D.5.3. D.5.4.
D.6.
D.6.1. D.6.2.
SAI YING PUN DISTRICT MAPS...............................................................................................................................
Sai Ying Pun Route 1:........................................................................................................Couture,Audi Sai Ying Pun Route 2:........................................................................................................Couture,Audi Sai Ying Pun Route 3:........................................................................................................Couture,Audi Sai Ying Pun Route 4:........................................................................................................Couture,Audi
D.6.3. D.6.4.
