How Does "Open Community" Policy Impact on Walkability : Case Study in Beijing

Walkability is closely related to residents' life and health. However, walls of gated communities divide urban space into spatially segregated areas, which creates physical barriers and reduces walking accessibility of daily life. If the walls could be demolished with an "Open community" policy, people living around would reach more destinations by walking in a shorter time. To investigate how the policy impacts walkability, this paper develops a new measurement of walkability by a hexagon-based adaptive crystal growth algorithm and examines the impact of gated communities on walkability. Taking three typical communities in Beijing as study cases, the study compare the changes of walkability between gated communities and opening communities. The findings show that removing gates and walls can improve community walkability to some extent. The algorithm provides a new perspective for walkability measurement, and the study offers theoretical support for people-oriented community planning in the future