Walkable and Sustainable City Centre Greenway Planning
Round 1
Reviewer 1 Report
Comments and Suggestions for AuthorsThis manuscript offers a comprehensive exploration of walkable and sustainable city centre greenway planning across three distinct geographical contexts: Northern Ireland (UK), Portugal (Southern Europe), and the United States. The authors examine the interplay between urban design, greenways, and walkability through case studies in Ballyclare, Leiria, and Scottsdale. The study is well-structured and provides valuable insights into how urban centres can be revitalized through sustainable planning and design interventions. The research is relevant and timely, given the increasing global focus on sustainable urban development and the promotion of active transportation. There are some comments as follows.
1、Comments on Language and Style. Some sentences are overly complex and could benefit from simplification to improve readability. For example:“However, one is still hard pressed to find research examining what makes urban settings of small, medium, and large sizes across different geographical settings on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean conducive to walking...”,; “Streets are designed to artificially separate motorized traffic from pedestrians, greenways are designed to create the natural conditions for a harmonious co-existence of people with nature.”;“This paper attempts to answer three main research questions: To what extent are cities and towns relying on transportation improvements to create more walkable and vibrant neighbourhoods...”. Please check all of the sentences in your paper.
2、The study mainly relies on qualitative analysis, such as field visits, visual documentation, and analysis of policy documents. Although these methods can provide rich contextual information and in-depth insights, the lack of quantitative data support (such as pedestrian flow, resident satisfaction surveys, and changes in traffic volume) may somewhat affect the persuasiveness of the research findings. Combining quantitative data (such as pedestrian flow, traffic volume, and resident satisfaction surveys) can more comprehensively assess the actual effects of walkability improvement measures and greenway planning.
3、Although the study mentions informal meetings with local planners, it lacks direct interviews or surveys with a broader range of stakeholders, such as residents, business owners, and tourists. This may result in the research findings being insufficiently reflective of actual needs and feedback.
4、The case studies are focused on cities in developed countries, lacking a comparative analysis with cities in developing countries. It would be beneficial to consider adding a case study from a city in a developing country.
5、Although the paper cites a large amount of data, the sources and reliability of some data are not explicitly stated. For example:
The population data of Ballyclare, Leiria, and Scottsdale;
The details of urban planning and policy implementation ("Scottsdale’s General Plan; 2005 MAG Pedestrian Area Policies and Guidelines...");
Urban transportation and travel data ("According to the 2023 American Community Survey of the U.S. Census, 68% of working households in Scottsdale drive to work (63% drive alone) and 27% work from home.");
The usage of greenways and public spaces ("The study visits in June 2024 revealed the high utilization of the improved riverine environments for walking and promenading, jogging, bicycling, physical exercising...");
Investment data for urban regeneration projects ("More than an estimated $2 billion in investment in recent years...").
6、When analyzing the three case cities, the description of pedestrian-friendly planning measures for each city is somewhat general, lacking an in-depth comparative analysis. A comparative analysis table could be added to detail the specific measures, implementation effects, and challenges faced by each city in terms of pedestrian-friendly planning. For example, differences among the three cities in greenway construction, pedestrian district renovation, and traffic flow control could be compared.
Author Response
Responses are in the attachment, thank you.
Author Response File: 
Author Response.pdf
Reviewer 2 Report
Comments and Suggestions for Authors1. The article could include qualitative tools such as interviews to verify the degree of satisfaction of the population with the new urban formulas that attempt to make cities more habitable for their residents and visitors. Urban planning or planning related to commercial activities do not in themselves represent an improvement with respect to the previous situation.
2. When studying the changes brought about by the pedestrianization of roads, the improvement of the urban landscape for pedestrians and cyclists and the reduction of private vehicles for access to the central areas of the city, it is necessary to reveal which transport policies have been implemented to allow a balanced access to the central areas, an issue that is barely addressed in the article.
In conclusion, I think that the main idea of the article is adequate and original, that it is well documented and referenced by significant authors and that the conclusions are adequate. However, regarding the methodology, the comments that I made to the authors are missing, that is, the inclusion of qualitative tools such as the survey that allow the work to go from being simply descriptive to an analytical work.
Author Response
Responses are in the attachment, thank you.
Author Response File: Author Response.pdf
Reviewer 3 Report
Comments and Suggestions for AuthorsMuch of the entire article is descriptive text with no scientific assumptions or theoretical reasoning and is not recommended for publication. Here are some of my personal recommendations：
1, L10 Why the concept of streets and greenways should be introduced in the summary
2, L30 should add the necessary reference notes
3, L51, L58 why not put after L92
4. L71 according to [3] modified without such references
5、L93 Why not put it in 2. Analytical mechanism
6、L187 walking and promenading discretionary
7、L204 Why explain the role of greenway here?
8. Paragraphs L216 and L222 could be merged into one paragraph and rewritten. Add a summary paragraph at the end.
9, L237 Why is the description of the cities used in the thesis placed here instead of all of them being placed in Section IV Case Studies
10, L249 The author should focus on the reasons for choosing these three cities.
11、L283 Why not put it in 2.3 riverfront greenways
12、L298 the authors what is the purpose of this sentence
13、What is the function of the passage L303
14、L332 Ballyclare Gazette has been discontinued in 2014, what is the role of this media for this article
15, Figure2, 3, 4 Where is the actual map located in the diagram, which is difficult to read, and should be marked with additional signs
16, L472 and L493 why not explain in section 3 methodology
17, L607 What is the relationship between the article and the Atlantic Ocean
The quality of English writing is good.
Author Response
Responses are in the attachment, thank you.
Author Response File: Author Response.pdf
Round 2
Reviewer 1 Report
Comments and Suggestions for AuthorsI have no comments.
Reviewer 2 Report
Comments and Suggestions for Authors I look forward to seeing how your research evolves towards understanding how citizens perceivethe measures imposed by policy makers.
