How does the effect of walkability on walking behavior vary with the time of day? A study of Shenzhen, China

Understanding the relationship between walkability and walking behavior is essential for designing pedestrian-friendly cities. This study examines the spatiotemporal patterns of walkability's effects on walking behavior in Shenzhen, China. To assess temporal aspects, we divided the time of day into five periods: before the AM peak, during the AM peak, between the AM and PM peaks, during the PM peak, and after the PM peak. Walkability was quantified based on four pedestrian needs—safety, convenience, continuity, and attractiveness—and incorporated facility opening hours and pedestrian visual factors derived from street view imagery. Over 1.75 billion walking trips were collected from six months of mobile phone data in 2021. We examined the temporal dynamics of walkability's relative importance and spatial effects on walking trips through machine learning and geospatial models. The results show that convenience was ranked the highest among the four pedestrian needs. Living services were the most important element during the AM peak and between the AM and PM peaks. For the other three periods, leisure services were the highest-ranked factor in relative importance. Based on these results, we propose timing-specific intervention strategies for the building of walkable and inclusive cities.