Built Environment Towards Active Transport and Enhancing Physical Activity: A Study of Proposed Smart Cities of Bihar
摘要
The term built environment refers to the man-made surroundings that serve as the background for human activities. The built environment integrates physical components and energy into forms for habitation, employment, and recreation. There are several methods to exercise to the recommended physical activity levels, including sports, working out at a gym, and engaging in active transportation. Active transportation simply deals with walking and cycling and they provide essential solutions for the issue of physical inactivity. For the present study, four cities of Bihar, namely, Patna, Bhagalpur, Muzaffarpur, and Biharsharif, have been taken as study areas. For determining the land use pattern in these cities, land use land cover (LULC) characteristics have been shown through remote sensing and Landsat 8 and 9 (OLI/TIRS) data using ERDAS IMAGINE 2014 software. Built environment spots have been identified through Google Earth and digitisation in ArcGIS 10.7.1. Open Street Map (OSM) has been used to show the road network, which may be used for developing an active transport structure in the study area. It was found that the built environment was showing unplanned growth of urbanisation, which is unfavourable for encouraging physical activity. There is a lack of lanes for active transportation because overall street networking and street channelisation are poor. Although some areas are enjoying a better built environment but most of the areas are lacking it. Hence, planners and policy makers should keep an eye on the need for a well-planned built environment for increasing active transportation and physical activities in the study area.