Differences in the influence of microclimate on pedestrian volume according to land-use

Abstract

Identifying how the urban environment affects pedestrian volume is a traditional urban planning topic. Recently, because of climate change and air pollution, interest in the effects of urban microclimates has been increasing. However, it is unclear whether the effects of microclimate on pedestrian volume can vary depending on the urban environment. This study determines whether microclimate’s influence on pedestrian volume differs according to land-use in the urban environment in Seoul, Korea. We constructed eight models with microclimate factors (temperature, precipitation, and PM10) as independent variables, using pedestrian volume as the dependent variable. We classified the models according to season and land-use and conducted a negative binomial regression analysis. The results confirmed that the effect of microclimate on pedestrian volume varies by land-use. A summary of the results is as follows. First, residential areas had more microclimate factors that significantly affected pedestrian volume compared to commercial areas. Second, for microclimate variables that had significant influences in commercial areas, the size of their influence was greater in commercial than in residential areas. Third, the influence of microclimatic factors on pedestrian volume in mixed-use areas has intermediate characteristics between residential and commercial areas.