Walkability, risk perception and safety assessment among urban college pedestrians in Kuwait

Abstract

The aim of this study was to examine what factors worried people as pedestrians in Kuwait. It aimed also to assess the correlation between perceived risk and worry and between worry and walking frequencies. The focus of this study was on urban college pedestrians as one of the most vulnerable population groups that suffered recently from many safety problems related to walking activities. This is relevant since most of the college’s students in Kuwait University are female (almost 90%). To do so, an online questionnaire was conducted to assess how respondents perceived risk and how worried they were when exposed to different hazards (traffic accident, harassment, and theft). Another online questionnaire was used to calculate the walkability index at different areas of Kuwait. From the results, it was shown that worry had influenced the pedestrian’s behavior as walking frequencies had dropped among respondents who had higher levels of worry. Cohen’s d showed a large difference in worry levels between those who walk daily and those who rarely walk. People reporting high levels of worry from experiencing accidents, harassment, and theft during nighttime were around 15 to 20% higher than those during daytime. The results from the second questionnaire showed that the area with the highest walkability index was Sabah Al-Salem as it was rated as the safest, the highest density of interesting businesses, and the best public transit area. These observations showed that major improvements are needed in Kuwait to increase the modal shift from cars to walking. In order to induce healthier lifestyles and improve the pro-environment by reducing the emissions linked to car usage.