Exploring Chinese Immigrants' Active Transportation Patterns Through the Lens of Community Planning

Abstract

Active transportation has been widely recognized as a transportation approach with various economic and social benefits. However, most current active transportation plans are developed with focus on completing the municipality-level infrastructure network and overlook the community-level active transportation practices and have rarely taken into account the needs of the immigrant groups. This research fills this gap by showing how Chinese immigrants create their own social space according to their daily active transportation practices within their neighborhoods. Research finding shows that Chinese immigrants were firm supporters of active transportation as walking/biking was a deeply embedded part of social life in their previous living experiences. Shopping, socializing and group recreation-purposed active transportation destinations were their common needs therefore attractive neighborhood destinations with diverse living amenities, small-scale retails and group exercise space would benefit them more than many current government investment on infrastructure.