Abstract: In recent years, people's demand for high-quality urban public spaces has grown with the continuous improvement of China's social and economic development level. Commercial blocks are important places for commercial and cultural activities and public leisure services. The pedestrian suitability level of external spaces in commercial blocks directly affects their development potential and the experience of pedestrians. The evaluation and analysis of urban spatial forms via quantitative research methods are conducive to the rationalization of human settlement environment constructions. At present, few domestic and international studies on pedestrian suitability focus on the external spaces of commercial blocks. Moreover, most of the research results reflect overall data, but lack differential quantitative representation of specific spatial environments. A case study based on the Beijing Road commercial block in Guangzhou, China was carried out. An evaluation framework of pedestrian suitability in external spaces under the meso-micro scales was proposed. A comprehensive quantitative analysis of the case was carried out according to spatial distribution and action range of evaluation indexes. Moreover, some optimization strategies were proposed to address problems of external spaces, thus enabling facilitation of human-oriented sustainable development goals in commercial blocks in Guangzhou. Research findings include:
　　Firstly, research progresses on pedestrian suitability at home and abroad were summarized. Pedestrian suitability evaluation and measurement tools have been formed in the western academic circle, which have been extensively applied to relevant studies of neighborhood community and street walking environments. Chinese scholars have also studied pedestrian suitability in first- and second-tier cities, which laid solid theoretical foundations for this study. On this basis, the built environment factors that affect pedestrian suitability, such as the spatial structure, wind and heat environment, interface characteristics, ecological landscape, environmental safety, and daily service facilities, were reclassified and organized in this study. A pedestrian suitability evaluation system for commercial blocks was proposed, which covered five criterion layers (activity, comfort, safety, serviceability, and accessibility) and 20 factor-level indexes. 
　　Secondly, the evaluation system was empirically applied to the Beijing Road commercial block. Data collection, single-factor quantitative evaluation, multi-factor weighted calculation, and importance-performance analysis (IPA) were individually completed. Results show that the pedestrian suitability score of the external space of the Beijing Road commercial block is 3.397. The overall performance of activity, safety, and serviceability is good on the numerical level. On the spatial level, the pedestrian suitability of the Beijing Road Pedestrian Street, Huifu East Road, Yushan Road, and other areas located in the middle of the block is better than that of other branches and streets. In addition, the evaluation results are highly correlated with the distribution of pedestrian activities on the block, proving the reasonability and effectiveness of the evaluation system.
　　Finally, a guide to optimize and improve external spaces based on pedestrian suitability was proposed for the built and planned commercial blocks in Guangzhou according to the obtained empirical research conclusions. Some optimization strategies, such as shaping interactive interfaces, enriching street-side business formats, and revitalizing lost spaces, were proposed for interface spaces and landscape environment levels. The impact of the external space layout of different blocks on pedestrian suitability was discussed in terms of morphological design and spatial layout. Results show that under the same development conditions, the pedestrian suitability of external spaces of the block-type building layout scheme are better than that of the centralized building layout scheme. These research results can provide references to future spatial planning and design of commercial blocks in Guangzhou.

Key words: pedestrian suitability, commercial blocks, external space, quantitative evaluation, Beijing Road

摘要： 随着我国社会经济发展水平不断提高，人们对高品质城市公共空间需求日益增长。商业街区作为承载商业行为和公共活动的重要场所，其外部空间步行适宜性水平直接影响着街区发展潜力与行人活动体验。目前，国内外步行适宜性相关研究较少以商业街区外部空间为研究对象，且缺乏对具体空间环境的差异性量化表征。结合文献综述与广州地域特色，提出一种中微观尺度下外部空间步行适宜性评价方法，选取5个准则层指标和20个因子层指标构建评价体系，以广州北京路商业街区为实证案例，根据评价指标空间分布和作用范围进行综合量化分析，并针对现状问题提出优化设计策略。以期推动商业街区外部空间实现以人为本的高质量发展目标。

关键词: 步行适宜性, 商业街区, 外部空间, 量化评价, 北京路