The Smart City and Healthy Walking: An Environmental Comparison Between Healthy and the Shortest Route Choices

Walking is a means of health promotion, which is one of the main features of smart cities. A smart city’s built environment can help people choose a healthy walking route instead of the shortest one. Our study investigated which environmental factors pedestrians who select healthy routes prefer and favored environmental factors in pedestrian navigation mobile applications. Survey data were collected from 164 residents in Daegu, South Korea, from October 12 to October 25, 2022. t and chi-square tests were used to compare perceptual differences between the healthy route and the shortest route preference groups. The results indicate that 56.7% of respondents preferred a healthy walking route over the shortest route. Pedestrians who chose the healthy route preferred to have less noise and more greenery along their commute and feel safer from traffic accidents and crimes than those who chose the shortest route. Moreover, people who favored healthy routes also considered the following environmental factors in pedestrian navigation mobile applications: (a) greenery and waterfront areas, (b) low traffic volume, and (c) safety from traffic accidents and crimes. The results suggest that urban planning and design policies support healthier and more active walking in smart cities.