Neighbourhood Walkability Assessment in Tianjin, China: Needs to be Analyzed from a Complex System Perspective

Walkability is one of the key guiding frameworks for practitioners to design vibrant and healthy neighborhoods through urban planning interventions, especially in current circumstances where concernsover chronic diseases, obesity and apathetic neighborhoods are growing. The objective of this research is to develop a walkability index, with considerations of the uniqueness of the neighborhood built environment, life style, planning framework and requirement of Chinese cities, and apply it to Tianjin. The results show an uneven distribution pattern of the walkability. Further, the influence of the neighborhood’s location is identifiable, the closer it is to the city commercial center, the higher the walkability score is. The results indicate that the neighborhood walkability varies with both the built environment within it and its location within the whole city, which calls for more cross-scale analysis.