Walking, as an active transportation method, has been highlighted in research for its numerous benefits to physical and mental health, environmental sustainability, and social connectivity (Ewing & Cervero, 2010; Pucher & Buehler, 2010; Sallis et al., 2016). A multitude of scaled factors in the built environment have been studied for their effects on walkability, but research on how landscape buffers, as a micro-scale variable, impact perceived walkability remains limited (Adkins et al., 2012; Harvey et al., 2015; Hollander & Anderson, 2020; Kweon et al., 2021; Muhammad Mulyadi et al., 2022). This study aims to understand how landscape buffer typologies and surrounding contexts influence pedestrian perception of walkability.This study employed an experimental design to examine the relationships among landscape buffer scenarios (planting design in the buffer), settings (urban or suburban), and pedestrian perception of walkability (measured by pedestrian comfort, sense of safety from cars or crime, aesthetic pleasure, and overall satisfaction), derived from established studies in walkability and environmental psychology (Adkins et al., 2012; De Vos et al., 2023; Fonseca et al., 2021; Harvey et al., 2015; Kweon et al., 2021). A second phase replicated the survey in an immersive environment to explore the influence of media on perceptions of walkability. Data from 95 participants showed significant interaction effects between landscape buffer scenario, setting, and perception of walkability (p < 0.001). Demographic factors, such as age or ethnicity, showed minimal impact and immersive media did not significantly alter perceptions. This research provides additional insight into how built environment features may interact to alter pedestrian perceptions of walkability. Further research is needed to create strategic recommendations for streetscape design principles that are sensitive to the surrounding context.
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