Desirable streets for pedestrians: Using a street-level index to assess walkability

Although walkability assessments have enjoyed recent popularity, walkability measures usually often omitted microscale attributes and pedestrian perceptions of the built environment. Generally, walkability measures rely on mesoscale attributes because of their ease of measurement. Walkability indices that combine built environment mesoscale and microscale characteristics are relatively new and have not yet been applied to assess the walkability of an entire city. Rather than focusing on the merits of such an index, this article reports the walkability assessment of all street segments in Bogotá (Colombia), highlighting differences in perceptions among pedestrian types and the uneven quality of pedestrian infrastructure throughout the city. The authors' results show significant differences were found according to socioeconomic level and age range. However, that preferences for the subjective factors and observable components of walkability are similar by gender. The authors recommend estimating and adapting indices to represent better local conditions, including microscale attributes and different pedestrian types’ perceptions of the built environment. This methodology is a useful tool for policy-making, as it identifies suitable segments and zones for interventions that improve pedestrian network conditions and also estimates their effect on walkability according to probable changes to the microscale factors according to the pedestrian type.

• Record URL:
  https://doi.org/10.1016/j.trd.2022.103462
• Record URL:
  http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1361920922002887
• Availability:
  • Find a library where document is available. Order URL: http://worldcat.org/issn/13619209
• Supplemental Notes:
  • © 2022 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Ltd. Abstract reprinted with permission of Elsevier.
• Authors:
  • Guzman, Luis A
  • Arellana, Julian
  • Castro, William Felipe
• Publication Date: 2022-10

Language

• English

Media Info

• Media Type: Web
• Features: Appendices; Figures; References; Tables;
• Pagination: 103462
• Serial:
  • Transportation Research Part D: Transport and Environment
  • Volume: 111
  • Issue Number: 0
  • Publisher: Elsevier
  • ISSN: 1361-9209
  • Serial URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/journal/13619209

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Built environment; Evaluation and assessment; Infrastructure; Pedestrians; Walkability
• Geographic Terms: Bogotá (Colombia)
• Subject Areas: Highways; Pedestrians and Bicyclists;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 01861676
• Record Type: Publication
• Files: TRIS
• Created Date: Oct 20 2022 10:23AM