How does walkability change relate to walking behavior change? Effects of a street improvement in pedestrian volumes and walking experience

Abstract

IntroductionPromoting walking has become a policy concern in the public health and transport fields. Street improvement interventions aimed at increasing walking require an assessment of their effectiveness in influencing walking behaviour. There is a current gap in understanding how the magnitude of a change in walkability relates to a change in pedestrian volumes and walking experience. MethodsThis study reports a before-after analysis of the effects of a built environment intervention in the walking behaviour of adults in Lisbon, Portugal. The Eixo Central project aimed at improving walking conditions by changing physical factors in three sites – two avenues connected by a plaza. Each site had particular and distinct improvement approaches. We performed a before-after walkability assessment of the intervention area using a validated methodology, a longitudinal analysis of the pedestrian volumes in the intervention sites and control areas, and a quasi-longitudinal survey on the walking experience of residents, workers and frequent visitors of the area. ResultsThe Eixo Central project improved overall walking conditions. Walkability scores point to changes of different magnitude in the walkability of each of the three sites. The results show a significant change in the sites' pedestrian volumes and walking experience between baseline and follow up, and a non-significant change in the control areas’ pedestrian volumes in the same period. We found higher walkability changes to be associated with a higher increase in pedestrian volumes and to a higher positive influence in walking experience. Conversely, smaller scale walkability changes were associated with a less expressive change in pedestrian volumes and walking experience. ConclusionsThe results suggest that the scale of walkability change of environmental interventions is a significant factor in influencing walking behaviour. In this sense, smaller-scale interventions may be effective in improving the walking experience but not as effective in increasing walking activity.