Factors of the Built Environment that Affects the Walkability in a Sri Lankan Urban Neighborhood

Abstract

The quality of the neighboring environment plays a major role in encouraging people to walk when attending to their daily needs. Although many previous studies identified a relationship between different factors of the built environment and the level of walkability, this interdependence is poorly understood in urban planning in Sri Lanka. This Study analyses the relevance of thirty factors of the built environment, identified by previous studies as affecting the walkability, to Sri Lankan urban context, using thirty five residents within a selected neighborhood in the town of Panadura. The identified factors were examined within a 100m radius of each participant’s residence through a questionnaire survey and field observations. Chi-squared analysis and bivariate correlation analysis were carried out to identify the most decisive factors for walkability. The results show that block length, the number of street lights, vehicle ownership, having relatives in the neighborhood and unpleasant land uses are the most significant factors.