Exploring the impact of pandemic fear on visitation to park attractions in urban city: A case study in Seoul, South Korea.

This research explores changes in perceptions and utilization of parks during the COVID-19 pandemic in Seoul, South Korea. It investigates the relationship between fear of the pandemic and individuals' opinions about open spaces and their visiting decisions. The study surveyed 600 adults from February 22-23, 2022, and used structural equation modeling to analyze the data. The findings revealed that increased fear of the pandemic led to more positive park sentiments, resulting in higher park visits and fewer visits to other public spaces. The research highlights the significance of parks during the COVID-19 pandemic and how people's perceptions were influenced by their pandemic-related fear.

Erratum: Do the Walkability and Urban Leisure Amenities of Neighborhoods Affect the Body Mass Index of Individuals? Based on a Case Study in Seoul, South Korea.

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Do the Walkability and Urban Leisure Amenities of Neighborhoods Affect the Body Mass Index of Individuals? Based on a Case Study in Seoul, South Korea.

This study investigates the impact of neighborhood-built environments on obesity in interrelationship with socioeconomic status (SES)-controlling for dietary patterns and physical activities of residents-using structural equation modeling (SEM). A total of 577 samples who are between 19 and 64 years old and reside in Seoul are extracted from Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (KNHNES), 2015. Neighborhood environments are represented as the two latent constructs-walkability and leisure amenities-composited with indicators such as density of intersections, density of mixed-use area, and the area of open spaces and are aggregated by jurisdictional unit in Seoul. We found that greater walkability in a neighborhood explained a lower body mass index (BMI) among residents, whereas more urban leisure amenities in a neighborhood explained a higher BMI. The finding suggests that a walking-friendly environment is more effective than active recreational amenities in inducing people to engage in daily physical activities to the level that reduces obesity rate. SES exerted a negative impact on BMI of a greater magnitude than the impact of either of the environmental living conditions, reinforcing the importance of general wealth and education level in leading to a healthy lifestyle. Our research contributes to growing evidence of a relationship between obesity and the built environment in the context of Asian countries where the prevalence of obesity is becoming a serious issue and requires immediate attention.

Do Silver Zones reduce auto-related elderly pedestrian collisions? Based on a case in Seoul, South Korea.

Inaugurated in 2007, in Seoul, South Korea, the Silver Zone is a designated pedestrian safety zone for the elderly that adopts speed limit measures such as traffic signage and road surface markings. In this study, we empirically investigate the effectiveness of the Silver Zone in two respects: first, whether the establishment of the Silver Zone has lowered the number of elderly pedestrian collisions, and second, whether Silver Zones are established in the appropriate areas, that is, those with the highest frequency of such collisions. From our quasi-experimental statistical analysis, Difference-in-Difference, we learn that the Silver Zone has no effects on reducing elderly pedestrian collisions. From our spatial statistical analyses-Kernel Density mapping and Bivariate Moran's I-we found a spatial mismatch between the frequency of senior pedestrian-vehicular collisions and the location of Silver Zones. For better performance of the Silver Zone system, we suggest additional types of physical measures to be integrated into the Silver Zone system. Municipal-level comprehensive master plan for Silver Zone system is also necessary, under which local governments should use periodic surveys to inventory and prioritise the locations of highest elderly pedestrian-vehicular collisions.