Investigating the Key Components of Walking Behaviour in Baghdad City

In Iraq, walking is primarily used for short trips despite its importance as a sustainable mode of transportation. To improve walking as a means of transportation, it should be considered in transportation planning. This study aims to investigate the factors influencing walking behaviour in Baghdad City from the perspective of road users. An electronic self-designed questionnaire was utilized to gather information, consisting of two parts. The first part includes demographic questions while the second part includes questions related to walking preferences, timing, destinations, and obstacles. The results indicate that 26.242% of respondents prefer walking while 37.113% may walk if the conditions are favourable and 36.645% prefer other modes of transportation. The key factors influencing walking effectiveness are car ownership, trip distance, weather conditions, and availability of safe walking infrastructure.


Introduction
Walking is a crucial form of physical activity that has been associated with various positive health outcomes [1,2].It has been a primary means of transportation for centuries and was the only mode of transportation for humans in the past.However, with the introduction of public transportation and the increasing popularity of private cars, its significance has decreased in recent years [3][4][5].With the rise of traffic, roads and parking areas have expanded, displacing urban spaces previously designated for pedestrians.This development has had a detrimental impact on public health, contributing to the surge of chronic diseases.Additionally, it has resulted in longer travel times, delays, and increased travel expenses [3,6,7].According to the World Health Organization [8], air pollution affects nine out of ten people and is responsible for the deaths of seven million individuals annually.As a mode of transportation, walking is widely regarded as the most sustainable option, offering numerous benefits, such as enhancing mobility, cost savings, efficient land use, decreased greenhouse gas emissions, improved community well-being, and better public health.Furthermore, pedestrians and walking play a critical role in urban life, contributing significantly to society's prosperity, the economy, and the environment [5,6,9].Factors influencing the rise of walking include road user behavior, land use, proximity to public transportation, sidewalk connectivity, safety, and accessibility [10][11][12][13][14][15][16].Although walkability is an essential component of sustainable urban design, it has not always been fully integrated into urban planning practices.In modern cities, parks, malls, and apartment buildings have been utilized to create pedestrian-friendly spaces [15][16][17][18][19].This study considers the characteristics and behaviors of pedestrians, as well as social norms and cultural influences, given that most individuals use sidewalks and commercial streets for walking due to the scarcity of large parks and designated walking paths.In Iraq, walking is predominantly utilized for short journeys.Walking facilities are restricted to crosswalks, footbridges, and sidewalks.Unfortunately, sidewalks often double as parking spaces, and street vendors and shopkeepers frequently exploit them for their businesses, leading to unsafe and unpredictable pedestrian environments.Furthermore, other amenities that could foster walking, such as dedicated footpaths and barriers, are lacking, reducing the safety and feasibility of walking in these areas.In order to address the factors that impede walking, it is crucial to take into account the distinct cultural and social features of each country.Hence, it is necessary to examine the specific factors that incentivize individuals to use walking as a mode of transportation within each local context.By analyzing the key components of walking behavior, one can develop metrics for safer and more dependable walking infrastructure that caters to the demands of local pedestrians.Additionally, these factors can inform future studies focused on predicting pedestrian flow, creating models for selecting walking as a mode of transportation, and evaluating pedestrian level of service.The objective of this paper is to examine the main indicators of walking behavior in Baghdad City as perceived by road users.The following section will detail the methodology used to achieve this objective, while the subsequent sections will present the results and conclusions.

Methodology
In order to attain the study's objective, data was gathered through an electronic self-designed questionnaire survey.The data collected was then analyzed to identify the main key components of walking behavior.Further sections of this paper detail the primary steps followed.Baghdad City, which has the highest population and number of car ownership in Iraq, was selected as the case study area.The boundaries of the study area are marked with a blue line in Figure 1, which is a map from ArcGIS pro map 2023 The general directorate of traffic in Iraq reported that the total number of vehicles in Baghdad City is 2.5 million, while the capacity of the streets is only 400,000 vehicles.As a result, people tend to rely on walking for short trips due to the lack of facilities and extreme temperatures, which can exceed 50°C in the summer.Despite this, direct observations and reports indicate that many people still prefer using personal vehicles to reach their destinations instead of relying on public transport or walking, due to the absence of metro trains and other walking facilities along the way 3

Data Collection
To gather data, a sample size was determined to represent the number of distributed questionnaires.Afterwards, an electronic questionnaire was designed and distributed for completion.In order to determine the appropriate sample size for the survey, the study population was defined as individuals of varying age groups who reside in Baghdad governorate and use various online social platforms, such as Facebook and community groups.The target sample size was selected based on the estimated population of Baghdad City, which is approximately 8 million people according to the Ministry of Planning [20].An online tool available on the Survey Monkey website [21][22][23] was used to calculate the sample size using Equation 1: 1 + ( ݁ 2 ‫כ‬ ܰ Where: N = population size, e = Margin of error (percentage in decimal form) which is assumed 3%, and z = z-score which is assumed 1.96 when the confidence level is assumed 95%.The survey had a response rate of 0.98, with 1067 people completing the survey.Eleven incomplete forms were excluded due to missing information, resulting in a final sample size of 1067 people.This sample size was determined to be appropriate as the size of the population is unknown, as shown in Table 1 below [22][23].To ensure random sampling, the sample selection was carried out through various online platforms such as community pages, student portals, and QR Code posters distributed in the streets of Baghdad.An electronic survey was conducted using a Google form, which is a survey administration software available as a part of a free webbased service, enabling users to create and edit surveys online while collaborating with other users in real-time.The collected information was automatically entered into Google Docs Editors suite provided by Google.Ethics were considered during this survey, and the respondents were informed about the purpose of the survey and asked for their consent before the interviews were conducted online.The respondents were also assured that their names would not be registered for the survey to maintain confidentiality.Prior to publication online, the electronic form was pretested to prevent missing responses or biased questioning.The form was tailored to align with the walking choices and behavior in Baghdad City, based on the pretested forms.The survey form consisted of two parts of information.The first part included demographic questions aimed at describing the characteristics of the respondents and analyzing the responses in the second part based on those demographics.The second part focused on walking preferences.All quantitative data were analyzed using Microsoft Excel, with the raw data being cleaned prior to analysis.Various statistical methods, such as frequency counts, were employed to evaluate the information gathered from the online survey.Qualitative data, on the other hand, were analyzed using a one-by-one approach to understand and clean the data, with percentages being calculated based on similarities and key qualitative inputs from respondents

A. The Demographic Characteristics of the Respondents.
The first part of the questionnaire focuses on several characteristics of the participants, including age, gender, monthly income, occupation, and car ownership.The following are the characteristics of the respondents: x Age: The age range of the participants was from 13 to 70 years old.The age group with the highest participation percentage was between 23 and 32 years old, while the lowest participation percentage was among those aged 68-4 71 due to the relatively lower number of social media users in that age group.Figure 2 illustrates the distribution of participants according to their age groups.
x Gender: The proportion of female participants was higher, with an average of 54%, compared to 46% for males, as shown in Figure 3.
.  x Regarding monthly income, the survey found that 40% of total respondents had a monthly income of 500,000 to one million Iraqi dinars, while 19% had a monthly income of one million to two million Iraqi dinars.Only 7% of respondents reported a monthly income of more than two million Iraqi dinars, and 15% chose not to disclose their income due to ethical considerations, as depicted in Figure 4.
x Government sector employees constituted the highest proportion of respondents based on occupation, with 616 participants representing 57% of the total respondents.This is not surprising given that Iraq has 3.5 million government employees according to World Bank data [24].Other professions were represented as well, as shown in Figure 5.
x During the analysis of data, the level of academic achievement was considered.A majority of the participants, approximately 70% of the 1,067 respondents, had completed a bachelor's degree, as indicated in Figure 6.With regards to car ownership, the highest percentage of participants, amounting to 626 respondents or approximately 58%, did not own a car, as depicted in Figure 7. Upon reviewing the questionnaire data, it was observed that the highest percentage of participants who did not own a car were students at 88.51%, followed by unemployed individuals at 82.2% within the same category.Wage earners constituted 64.3% of respondents, while government employees accounted for 54.06%.Finally, private sector participants had the lowest percentage of non-car owners at 42.11%, as shown in Figure 8.

Walking preferences
The second part of the survey is dedicated to exploring the walking preferences and behavior of respondents who choose to walk as their mode of transport.The findings reveal that the majority of participants do not view walking as a sustainable means of transportation, primarily because of the lack of proper pedestrian infrastructure.Fig. 9 displays that the same proportion of respondents have selected the "Maybe" option in response to the question of their preference for walking, implying that their walking behavior is influenced by various situational and behavioral factors examined in other sections of the questionnaire.The behavior of road users is considered in this category to diagnose the key factors of walking preference.The demographic characteristics are taken into account to analyze the preference for walking results.

Gender
The distribution of walking preferences based on gender is illustrated in Fig. 10.The figure demonstrates that the proportion of males and females who prefer walking is almost equal, but males show a slightly higher inclination towards walking, which may be attributed to social norms and cultural factors.A deeper investigation is required to identify and understand these factors better to establish effective measures for promoting walking as a sustainable mode of transportation.

Occupation groups
Upon examining job-related information, it was discovered that the wage earners group has the highest percentage of individuals who prefer walking.However, the decision to choose walking as the primary mode of transportation for the unemployed and students is dependent on the availability of walkable infrastructure.As presented in Fig. 12, the majority of individuals employed in the private sector prefer not to walk.When participants were questioned about their reasons for this preference, some mentioned distance as a factor, while others cited time-saving as the primary reason.

Car ownership
According to the findings, owning a car is a significant factor that affects the respondents' inclination to use walking as a sustainable transportation mode.The highest percentage of those willing to use walking, which is 28.91%, is among those who do not possess a private car.Conversely, people who own a car tend to continue not using walking with 47.13% of respondents, and 29.9% of them were hesitant to choose walking, as depicted in Figure 13.Furthermore, 41.05% of respondents were indecisive about their preference for walking, indicating a need for further investigation into the underlying reasons for their hesitancy.

Walking trip purposes
From the responses to a question regarding preferred areas for walking, the most common purposes of walking trips have been determined.According to the analysis of the answers, leisure areas are the most popular with 50% of total respondents, followed by commercial and shopping areas with 38%, as illustrated in Figure 14.

Timing
The survey results indicate that a majority of participants, comprising 80% or 1,067 individuals, prefer walking during the morning and afternoon.Out of these respondents, 59% are female and 41% are male.This preference is largely driven by safety concerns and the inadequate lighting at night, which hinders the use of walking as a mode of transportation, as illustrated in Figure 15.participants, their experiences of difficulties faced when using walking as the main means of transportation were taken into account.According to the results, distance was reported as the most significant challenge faced by pedestrians, accounting for approximately 41% of the responses.Road obstacles were ranked second at 17%, including physical objects such as cabins, shops, electric poles, and trees that obstruct the pedestrian pathway.Of the participants, the age group of 63-72 reported the highest percentage of road obstacles at 75%, followed by the age group of 53-62 at 50%.Other challenges such as weather conditions, road safety issues, and the time of the trip were also identified in the survey and shown in figure 16

Conclusion
This paper investigates the main factors affecting walking behavior based on a self-designed questionnaire.The findings suggest that 26.242% of respondents prefer walking, while 37.113% may consider it depending on the conditions, and 36.645%prefer other modes of transportation.The study also revealed that gender and age were significant determinants of walking preference, although older people tend to prefer walking as they value its health benefits, and young people under 22 may also choose to walk in suitable circumstances.Additionally, the wage earners group showed the highest preference for walking, while unemployed individuals and students tend to base their decision on the walkability conditions.The findings of the study suggest that ownership of a car is a crucial factor that influences the decision to choose walking as a means of transportation.Notably, the majority of individuals who prefer walking do not own a private car.Moreover, trip distance is another critical aspect that determines the mode of transportation, with a shorter distance being more conducive to walking than using a motorized vehicle.Additionally, road obstacles and the absence of proper walking infrastructure are significant challenges that contribute to the difficulty of walking as a preferred mode of transportation.Lastly, the hot weather during the extended summer months in Iraq is a vital factor that affects walking activity, as it makes walking uncomfortable and strenuous for pedestrians.

Recommendations
In order to gain a deeper understanding of walking behavior in Baghdad city, future research could focus on utilizing mode choice models to analyze the factors that influence walking preference.This approach would help to identify the most significant variables that affect people's decision-making when choosing walking as a means of transportation.Furthermore, it would allow for the development of more accurate predictive models to forecast future trends in walking behavior.Another important area of research would be to investigate walking preferences in areas where walking facilities are available.This would enable researchers to study the impact of different types of walking amenities on walking behavior, such as the presence of sidewalks, pedestrian crossings, and other pedestrian-friendly infrastructure.This information could be used to inform urban planners and policymakers in Baghdad about the most effective ways to improve walking infrastructure in the city, and ultimately promote more sustainable and healthier modes of transportation.

Figure 1 .
Figure 1.The ArcGIS pro map of Baghdad City

Figure 2 .
Figure 2. The percentage of participants by AgeGroup.

Figure 3 .
Figure 3.The percentage of participants by Gende

Figure 15 .
Figure 15.Preference for walking by trip time

Table 1
size of the population

groups Yes %Percentag %Car Ownership Figure 10.
Upon examining the survey responses by age group, it was observed that the age group of 63-72 years has the highest percentage of individuals who prefer walking, followed by the age group of 53-62 years.This could indicate the tendency of older individuals to prioritize healthy behaviors.However, it should be noted that these percentages are based on a small sample size of only 4 participants from the age group of 63-72 years and 32 participants from the age group of 53-62 years.If we consider only the age groups with the highest percentages of participants, the percentage of individuals in the age group 23-32 years who prefer walking is only 27%, while the remaining individuals are split between "not preferring to walk" and "maybe using walking."Theresultsfor other age groups are similar, as illustrated in Figure11.Further research is necessary to determine the underlying reasons for these trends and to develop effective strategies to promote walking as a sustainable mode of transportation across all age groups.Preference for walking (According to gender groups)