Page 40 - JCAU-5-3

Journal of Chinese
Architecture and Urbanism Walkability evaluation of Beijing Old Town

Table 2. Walkability correlation analysis results
Objective index Subjective index
y1 y2 y3
Sense of security Comfort Aesthetic perception
x1 Street interface Street width (red line width) 0.428** 0.314** 0.291**
x2 Average building height 0.265** 0.150* 0.076
x3 Higher side street aspect ratio −0.383* −0.550** −0.348**
x4 Lower side street aspect ratio −0.304 −0.470** −0.301**
x5 Street wall continuity, more continuity side −0.241* −0.253** −0.197**
x6 Street wall continuity, less continuity side −0.286 −0.241** −0.337**
x7 Street furniture Motorway 0.386** 0.295** 0.243**
x8 Fence 0.418** 0.244** 0.183**
x9 Green barrier 0.148* 0.184** 0.128*
x10 Street sign 0.161* 0.113 0.056
x11 Street style Architectural quality and design aesthetics 0.674** 0.732** 0.417**
x12 The extent of street maintenance management 0.872** 0.539** 0.752**
x13 The degree of preservation of traditional features 0.135* 0.299** 0.801**
Note: **Indicates significant correlation at level 0.01 (two-tailed); *Indicates significant correlation at level 0.05 (two-tailed). Source: Calculation results
by the authors

within the aspect ratio of 3, comfort is mostly above 3
points, which is also related to the height limit in the study
area within the site and the widening of streets forced by
traffic functions. The overhanging of the first floor and
the façade decoration of the buildings along the street also
weaken the feeling of comfort of unilateral walking on the
street with excessively high aspect ratio to some extent.
The street studied is located in the buffer zone of
the Central Axis of the old city of Beijing. The street
beauty perception is mainly correlated with the degree
of protection of traditional features, and the correlation
coefficient is the largest. In the aspect of street interface,
there is a significant negative correlation with street aspect
Figure 10. Normalized scatter plot of the degree of protection of
traditional style and street security. Source: Plot by the authors ratio and street continuity. At the street level, there is no
correlation with street sign; the degree of protection of
street maintenance management is the strongest among the traditional features is the main factor influencing the
13 independent variables, indicating that improving the esthetic perception of the street, that is, improving the
degree of street maintenance management can effectively protection of traditional features on both sides of the
improve the sense of walking security. street can improve the aesthetic perception of the street
more efficiently. The index of the degree of protection of
The index of influencing factors of street comfort has traditional features is a preliminary screening of street
strong correlation mainly at the level of street interface. types. Streets with lower traditional style have no or fewer
The correlation coefficient between the street aspect ratio historic buildings. Therefore, as shown in Figure 12, the
and street comfort is the highest and negatively correlated, level of protection of traditional features starts at around 2,
that is, the higher the aspect ratio, the lower the comfort. and the esthetic perception of the street is mostly above 2.
This is in line with Fang et al. (2021) analysis of the factors
influencing street facilities in Shanghai. Most scholars, 4. Discussion
such as Sitte (1965) and Ashihara (2006), believe that the In this study, by extracting the latest central axis of Beijing
ideal aspect ratio of streets is 1 – 2. According to Figure 11, and the street scene within the buffer zone, using the

Volume 5 Issue 3 (2023) 9 https://doi.org/10.36922/jcau.1033