Research on the Factors of Pedestrian Volume in Different Functional Areas of Kumamoto City

Improving urban walkability is critical to the long-term development of cities. Although previous studies have demonstrated a relationship between the built environment and walking, an approach that can control the exploration of different functional areas has not yet been discussed. In this study, built environment features include density, design, diversity, destination accessibility, and distance to transit. Geodetector and regression methods were used to investigate the impact of the built environmental features on pedestrian volume in different functional areas of Kumamoto City. It was found there were various dominant features for the different functional areas in the city, including the city center (diversity, design, and density), local hubs (destination accessibility, density, and distance to transit), living hubs (density, design, and distance to transit), UPA (diversity, design, and distance to transit), UCA (density, density, and design), and NPA (density). Additionally, population density and land use diversity in the overly dense population area were negatively related to pedestrian volume. This study complements research on pedestrians and the built environment in different functional areas, and provides advice for the urban planners and government of Kumamoto City.