Walking behavior in Istanbul: Individual attributes,

Walking, for both utilitarian and recreational purposes, is one of the most common physical ggest paper with of life that signs nd an veral, types social action ld not alking ch are activities and is an integral part of daily active living. The socio-ecological perspective su that built and social environments act together to influence walking behavior. This examines how neighborhood and micro-environment safety contexts are associated utilitarian and recreational walking. Data for this study were obtained from a large quality study conducted in metro Istanbul (1635 face-to-face interviews). The results show utilitarian and recreational walking are influenced by perceived neighborhood safety and of territorial functioning (maintenance) in the immediate context. In addition, busy places a assessment of the area as a good place to walk encourage both types of walking. Se differences are found, however. The differences between the factors influencing the two of walking behavior relate to a number of individual attributes and neighborhood networks, neighborhood density, number of cars in the household, and the overall satisf with living in the area. Overall, these findings indicate that the concept of “walking ” shou be considered a uni-dimensional construct, but rather there seems to be types of w behavior, with different “causes ” associated with those types. Implications of the resear drawn for possible policy to encourage types of walking behavior