Walkability Perceptions and Gender Differences in Urban Fringe New Towns: A Case Study of Shanghai

Abstract

Urban fringe areas, characterized by relatively larger community sizes and lower population densities compared to central areas, may lead to variations in walkability as well as gender differences, such as safety perception. While objective measurements have received considerable attention, further research is needed to comprehensively assess subjective perceptions of walking in the urban periphery. As a case study, we evaluated survey responses of community perceptions of “Imageability”, “Enclosure”, “Human scale”, “Complexity” and “Safety” of Shanghai’s five new towns, comparing these with responses from the central area in terms of gender difference, and analyzed influencing factors and p..