Concept Of Walkability Research Articles

Walkability in Riyadh: A Comprehensive Assessment and Implications for Sustainable Community—Al-Falah Case Study

This paper focuses on studying the concept of walkability in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, after the implementation of the Humanizing Neighborhoods Initiative. Al-Falah neighborhood was selected as a case study because it was one of the first neighborhoods to implement walkability strategies. By adopting a qualitative critical approach, this research collected data through a literature review and on-site observation to assess walkability in the neighborhood. Analysis of the observations highlighted the challenges and opportunities of walkability in Riyadh and the wider Gulf cities. Recommendations for promoting walkable communities in Riyadh include enhancing pedestrian infrastructure, incorporating mixed-use developments, integrating green infrastructure, implementing smart urban planning principles, and integrating public transportation systems. This paper emphasizes the importance of community engagement, preserving local identity, and involving various stakeholders to transform Riyadh into a pedestrian-friendly city that prioritizes public health and sustainability.

Analisis Kebutuhan Fasilitas Pedestrian di Kawasan Stasiun

The Ampera LRT Station is located in the center of Palembang City and on the banks of the Musi River. This area is a center of community activity, with the presence of hospitals, offices, restaurants, hotels, and shopping centers. The existence of the Palembang LRT is intended to overcome congestion and accommodate the mobility needs of the community in Palembang, especially in the Ampera area. However, there are several issues related to pedestrian facilities in the Ampera LRT Station area, such as the misuse of sidewalk functions, the presence of many side barriers in the form of street vendors and on-street parking, as well as the lack of safe and comfortable crossing facilities for pedestrians, especially for people with disabilities. This study analyzes the pedestrian facility needs in the Ampera LRT Station area of Palembang. The method used in this study is the calculation of the level of service (LOS) based on the Indonesian Highway Capacity Manual (MKJI) 1997 and the empirical formula calculation of pedestrian conflicts based on the pedestrian flow and vehicle traffic flow (PV2) using quantitative data. The research results show that it is necessary to repair and add pedestrian facilities under the concept of walkability, such as providing sidewalks that can be used according to their function, providing crossing facilities such as pelicans with waiting platforms on Merdeka Street, Sudirman Street, and Tengkuruk Permai Street, while on Masjid Lama Street and Palembang Darussalam Street, zebra crossings or pedestrian platforms are needed. The results of this study are expected to be input for the Palembang City Government to improve the quality of pedestrian facilities in the Ampera LRT Station area so that it can support the station's function as a center of community activity and movement in the area.

Analyzing Walkability in Hyderabad: A Study of Sakhi Sultan Road

The current study aimed to address the critical issue of climate change and the role of urbanization in exacerbating global warming. Urban sprawl and reliance on automobiles have led to the occurrence of significant urban problems. Therefore, the current study focused on the concept of walkability and its potential to foster sustainable urban neighborhoods. Walkability can be referred to as an effective green transport option that reduces congestion, environmental impact, and energy consumption while promoting healthier lifestyles and social cohesion. Moreover, the study also emphasized the necessity of innovative and strategic design and planning of neighborhood streets to enhance walkability. The research methodology comprised a case study of Sakhi Sultan Road in Hyderabad using field observations and visual analysis to assess the current condition and potential for improvement. The visual analysis identifies various environmental features that influence walkability including aesthetics, functionality, and safety. The findings revealed a mixture of present and absent features across different spots on the street. Additionally, the study also identified multiple issues, such as inadequate maintenance, lack of accessibility features, and encroachments on pedestrian pathways. All these issues highlight a need to improve and enhance walkability. Literature review supports the relationship between walkability and sustainability, citing that walkable environments enhance the quality of life, promote environmental sustainability, and reduce urban issues, such as traffic congestion and pollution. The study concluded with recommendations to address the highlighted issues and enhance the environmental features in order to foster a more walkable and sustainable urban environment.

Integrating Perceptions, Physical Features and the Quality of the Walking Route into an Existing Accessibility Tool: The Perceived Environment Walking Index (PEWI)

Perceptions of the environment shape individual mobility decisions and represent the ‘lived reality’ of accessibility and walkability. Yet recent common walkability analyses and instruments try to include perceptions of different population groups without integrating them into practical tools. However, there is a need for a holistic tool as a basis for transport planners and researchers to integrate the various aspects of walkability into one instrument. This paper investigates multiple relations between different walkability concept parameters and presents the development of the Perceived Environment Walking Index (PEWI). To achieve this, we used a multi-method study design and developed and tested the PEWI in two urban neighbourhoods in Hamburg in three steps. First, we calculated the objective walking accessibility using GIS based on the well-known Walk Score®. Second, we integrated 18 indicators representing physical features and the quality of the walking route, alongside subjective perceptions of walking accessibility broken down into the categories of functionality, safety and security as well as pleasantness and attractiveness. Key results imply that integrating these indicators into an existing accessibility tool is a promising, nuanced method for an improved picture of walkability and accessibility whereas indices focusing only on distances or travel times are not sufficient to represent the lived reality. The implications of our results are discussed with regard to future research gaps and policy.

Sociodemographic matters: Analyzing interactions of individuals' characteristics with walkability when modelling walking behavior

The concept of walkability encompasses a multitude of features of the built and social environments that impact walking behavior, leading to the creation of a wide range of walkability indices. While past studies have compared the research outputs from multiple walkability indices, little research has looked at how relevant each index is across sociodemographic groups and how the relationship between sociodemographic characteristics and behavior vary from one index to another. Using trip data from Montréal, Canada, this paper evaluates two commonly used walkability indices at different scales – Walk Score© (meso-scale) and the MAPS-Mini audit tool (micro-scale) – and their interactions with sociodemographic characteristics. Weighted binary logistic regressions are used to model the probability of adults taking a homebased utilitarian walking trip. A total of ten models are generated, including eight models in which one of four socio-demographic variables – gender, age, household income, and presence of children below 13 years old in the household – is interacted with one of the two walkability indices. Sensitivity analyses are then conducted using the interaction variables' outputs by varying the values of the interacted sociodemographic variable. Results show significant interactions for all variables for both indices except from Walk Score©’s interaction with gender. Opposite effects are observed between the two indices in the sensitivity analysis for household income. The differential results observed between the indices and between sociodemographic groups underscore the need to properly test the equity implication of using certain walkability measures in research.

The walkability concept based on pedestrian perceptions in Bandung City Square, Indonesia

The concept of walkability is about the provision of a pedestrian-friendly environmental condition that provides security, comfort and safety, and offers visuals for pedestrians. The Bandung City Square Area has various attractions which all promote walking activities. However, the presence of street vendors, the lack of facilities for the disabled, inadequate vegetation, crossings, and supporting facilities, and also illegal parking have caused problems, which have rendered the pedestrian-friendly environmental aspects not being able to be fulfilled. This study aims to assess the walkability of streets in Bandung City Square Area, using aspect of walkability based on pedestrian perception as users. The research was conducted using the Global Walkability Index and Multicriteria Satisfaction Analysis, based on pedestrian perception surveys. The results showed that, the existing conditions of streets’ walkability in Bandung City Square Area is Waiting to Walk, which is adequate for walking. For example, five parameters, namely the availability of crossings, security against crime, disabled infrastructure, grade safety of crossing, and motorist behavior were found to be below average. It can also be concluded that, three parameters, namely crossing safety, security against crime, and disabled infrastructure require immediate attentions. The overall results of the study suggested that, improvement of streets’ walkability is needed by focusing on parameters that are below-average, thus requiring immediate attentions. Further research is recommended to find effective improvements for streets’ walkability, based on the pedestrian perception to have a pedestrian-friendly environment in Bandung City Square Area.

Evaluating Walkability in Budapest through Space Syntax Analysis

Walking is a fundamental and intuitive means of transportation both on an individual and urban scale, offering social and personal benefits like improved health, equity, and reduced greenhouse gas emissions. Despite these benefits, urban sprawl and increased car dependency remain significant challenges. To combat this trend, urban planners have emphasized walking as a way to reduce vehicle travel and emissions, while public health researchers recognize its potential to improve general health.This study explores the concept of walkability and its relationship to urban design, with a specific focus on two recently renovated areas in Budapest, namely Egyetem Square and Corvin Promenade. Utilizing space syntax analysis, a promising approach to developing a walkability index, this research investigates the functional aspects of these urban spaces and their impact on walkability.The study aims to demonstrate the potential of space syntax analysis in enhancing urban planning efforts aimed at promoting walkability. By analyzing the spatial configuration, visibility, and accessibility of the case studies, this research examines how the design and layout of these areas influence pedestrian movement patterns and the overall walkability experience.By demonstrating the potential of space syntax analysis in informing urban planning decisions, this study provides insights into the relationship between spatial configuration and walkability. The findings highlight the importance of well-connected street networks, clear pathways, and visually appealing urban elements in creating walkable environments. The results of the analysis contribute to the understanding of how urban design factors can be leveraged to enhance walkability and create sustainable, livable cities.

Generating walkability concept for basuki rahmat corridor: a content analysis

Walkable City is a term for a city that has good pedestrian paths by considering 6 aspects such as connectivity, linkage with other modes of transportation, sound land use patterns, safety, quality of pedestrian paths, and the condition/atmosphere of pedestrian paths (Southworth, 2005). This study focuses on the Tunjungan area, specifically the Jalan Basuki Rahmat corridor, as it is crucial for accessibility to the trade and service area of Surabaya City. The objective of this study is to evaluate the environment of the Basuki Rahmat Street corridor and assess the current condition of pedestrian pathways. The research inquiries are as follows: 1. Identifying Basuki Rahmat sidewalk condition; 2. Generating Walkability concept through Content Analysis. Before determining the corridor segment for survey purposes, field observations are carried out as a whole. Based on these observations, 2 significant intersections divide the study area into 3 equal sizes. In addition, the existence of bridges as pedestrian crossing facilities and bus stops as pedestrian transit points is an important consideration. The Narrative process is carried out to formulate the concept of developing a walkable city. Based on the analysis results, appropriate development concepts are divided into 2, namely macro and micro development concepts. This is because the analysis of the previous target measures general and specific/detailed things, so it is necessary to distinguish between overall concepts and specific/complex concepts.

Quality of Life Prediction on Walking Scenes Using Deep Neural Networks and Performance Improvement Using Knowledge Distillation

The well-being of residents is a top priority for megacities, which is why urban design and sustainable development are crucial topics. Quality of Life (QoL) is used as an effective key performance index (KPI) to measure the efficiency of a city plan’s quantity and quality factors. For city dwellers, QoL for pedestrians is also significant. The walkability concept evaluates and analyzes the QoL in a walking scene. However, the traditional questionnaire survey approach is costly, time-consuming, and limited in its evaluation area. To overcome these limitations, the paper proposes using artificial intelligence (AI) technology to evaluate walkability data collected through a questionnaire survey using virtual reality (VR) tools. The proposed method involves knowledge extraction using deep convolutional neural networks (DCNNs) for information extraction and deep learning (DL) models to infer QoL scores. Knowledge distillation (KD) is also applied to reduce the model size and improve real-time performance. The experiment results demonstrate that the proposed approach is practical and can be considered an alternative method for acquiring QoL.

An Assessment of the Walkability of Square Corridors in Developing Countries: A Case Study of Saadatabad, Tehran, Iran

Walkability is an interdisciplinary concept that is increasingly attracting researchers worldwide. With the advances in transportation technology and the resultant development of automobile-oriented cities, many urban areas have degraded significantly. In many developing countries like Iran, pedestrians often fail to meet international standards in terms of the level of service and spatial attributes. Tehran, the capital of Iran, is among the most polluted cities in the world, primarily because of its heavy vehicular traffic. Nonetheless, limited measures were taken to enhance the quality of pedestrian areas that would stimulate individuals to walk, that is, a green mode of transport. This novel approach is significant for increasing public awareness of the concept of walkability and addressing some issues to the city officials. This study assesses the quality of corridors of two squares in the Saadatabad district. The research methodology involves the combination of an agency policy survey, field observations using the objective method, and subjective analysis, including the direct interviews and the questionnaires filled in the sites. Data is collected using the Global Walkability Index (GWI), which provides a step-by-step guideline for data collection. The walkability score resulting from the objective analysis turned out to be 54, indicating a moderate walkability level, which was consistent with the convenience level, 2 out of 5, derived from the pilot study. Ultimately, the article offers some solutions regarding the identified shortcomings of the selected sites, which also apply to other areas.

Green-Walkable Infrastructure for Sustainable Development

As a part of implementing a green and sustainable campus, this paper proposes a concept of walkability where the campus’ infrastructure, including buildings and pedestrian paths, must provide walking facilities for students and staff who use pedestrian paths for walking daily. The concept starts by analyzing students’ perceptions of walkability and the basic principle of pedestrian path design. This analysis is developed into a concept named connectedness. It aims to connect buildings and spaces all over the campus so the whole area becomes accessible with the minimum distance of walking. By designing shortcuts, new pedestrian paths, and space for communal activities, the connectedness accommodates students’ needs to walk and socialize safely, comfortably, and attractively as well.

Walkability Concept Toward Sustainable City: Comparative Insights of Brisbane and Bogor Urban Areas

A successful sustainable city prioritizes humans by integrating the transportation system with urban development. One of which is considering walkability. The walkability concept is important since walking reduces congestion, promotes low environmental impacts, and possesses social and economic values. Land use integration with walkable pedestrian facilities is a challenge for stakeholders in creating policies to actualize a sustainable city. This paper reviews the walkability condition and policies concerning pedestrian facilities in Brisbane, Australia and Bogor, Indonesia. Bogor was selected due to its strategic location as Jakarta’s satellite city. Method used was literature review with comparative analysis, analyzing similarities, differences, advantages, and disadvantages of urban policies in prioritizing humans to achieve walkable and sustainable city in Australia and Indonesia. The indicators determining Brisbane community’s behavior to walk are distance to destination (59%), travel time (14%), hot weather (19%), roads with various altitudes (4%), lack of paths (3%), and lack of green areas (1%). In Bogor, Indonesia, pedestrian facilities are lacked for people with special needs, elderlies, children, and pregnant women (16.5%), unsafe crossing facilities (19.8%), and unsafe rider behaviors (15.8%). Policies related to walkability can be used as a basis to influence the behavior of urban communities in walking, to achieve the shared goal: a sustainable city.

Assessing the Walkability Index in the City of Vadodara, Gujarat. The study of factors affecting walkability in the urban context

Walkability provides a foundation for a sustainable city (Bhattacharyya & Mitra, 2013). Walking is measured as one of the most sustainable & democratic ways of traveling within the city—the advantages of applying the walkability concept and the factors related to making cities more pedestrian-friendly (TUROŃ et al., 2017). Walkability provides travel safety, security, and comfort for city dwellers (Bhattacharyya & Mitra, 2013). Pedestrian paths must be well planned in width, paving, landscaping, signing, and lighting. A walkable neighborhood or city has a controllable pattern of events to serve daily wants. Pedestrian-friendly transportation is essential for any local area as it increases social gatherings, improves peoples' safety, and improves public health and the overall urban environment. Thus, there is a need to address walkability as an essential transport mode as a revised perspective of sustainable transportation. A walking environment is one of the essential needs to take a step toward sustainable transportation. This research is based primarily on qualitative and qualitative evidence sequentially collected in three phases based on the research objective. In the first phase of research, there are two segments. The first is the footpath mapping done with the help of QGIS software, which helps identify the availability of the footpath in three areas of Vadodara city. The second is to take a pedestrian perception survey based on the MoUD framework of the walking index based on the IRC Guidelines. The second phase investigated the gap between the existing situation of road sections based on elements affecting the walkability of the proposed road section in the IRC Guidelines. It is a comparative analysis between standard & existing conditions. The last phase was to prepare guidelines & design needs to revise in IRC guidelines after examining the second phase's result. The research concludes by redesigning the existing roads for pedestrian, non-motorized transport vehicles & motorized transport vehicles with wide footpaths and spaces for vendors on the streets & roads that will enhance the walkability in the urban area.

Planning Pedestrian Paths for Trade and Service Areas of Balikpapan City with the Walkability Concept

Corridor of the commercial area of Jalan MT. Haryono Balikpapan City specifically from the MT. Haryono Bridge to the Traffic Light Beruang Madu Monument has the characteristics of high mobility by motorized vehicles. Under these conditions, efforts are needed to encourage non-motorized movements. One of the efforts that have been made in the provision of pedestrian paths in the trade and service area. However, the lane has several problems, such as damaged sidewalks, motorized vehicles that often park around the sidewalks, and there are no guiding blocks for disabled users. Therefore, this study aims to plan a pedestrian path in the commercial area in the corridor of Jalan MT. Haryono uses the concept of walkability. This research uses walkability suitability analysis, community satisfaction level analysis, and Photo Mapping analysis. The results of the suitability analysis showed that segment 1 of the research area was not following the walkability and it was necessary to improve the pedestrian path infrastructure and add supporting facilities such as chairs, trash cans, CCTV, and shade plants, to guide blocks. While in segment 2, almost all of the variables are appropriate and require maintenance of several pedestrian path facilities. In the analysis of the level of community satisfaction using the Multicriteria Satisfaction Analysis, the planning priorities of the 4 walkability indicators are obtained. The results of this analysis show that segment 1 requires planning for the development of safety and comfort indicators, while segment 2 requires planning related to the development of safety and beauty indicators. The results of Photo Mapping show that it is necessary to add road barrier facilities, guiding blocks, parking ban signs, resting chairs, green lanes, repairing pedestrian lane infrastructure, and improving zebra crossing in segment 1. Segment 2 requires additional parking ban markers, speed bumps, chairs, trash cans, green paths, and care for weeds growing along the walkways

Reading of Yas Island 2020 Master Plan in Terms of Accessibility and Walkability by Using Space Syntax

The concept of walkability in cities has been spreading wider with time and even more rapidly during the past decade. Due to several factors, including climate change and human wellbeing, expanding the walkability within cities as a substitute for vehicular means of transportation has become a very noticeable change in cities around the world, and in Abu Dhabi city in specific. When it comes to entertainment and tourist destinations, walkability plays as a main factor in enhancing the experience of the users in that area of the city. Yas Island has become one of the main focal points in Abu Dhabi city, and the various and important landmarks, mostly recreational, are placed on the island adjacently and very close to each other, with the hospitality facilities, in a way that encourages the factor of walkability to be added, and therefore enhancing the overall experience of the visitors within the island. The most common Axial Map analysis methods of a street network that were used are Integration, Choice, Mean Depth, and Connectivity, and space syntax is based on four those basic conceptions of space. Using a program named 'DepthmapX,' that was built on mathematical methods and geographical computer technology, we ran different simulations on Yas Island 2020 street network map to get the four main axial maps. In the context of the island being an urban and dynamic system, the study focuses on simulations of street networks as well as spatial integration for urban walkable regions of different areas of the island. The analysis, at the beginning, aimed to read the simulations to translate the findings, then went in depth on highlighted areas on the street network maps that had critical information that identifies zones for improvement related walkability and spatial integration. The outcome of the analysis, the streets that circulate and revolve around Yas Island's major tourist attractions become extremely segregated and less interconnected. To reach the surrounding closeted tourist attraction it is easy to reach by foot, yet difficult across the island with such hot weather in Abu Dhabi. It also calls for the revision of currently vacant property and the reconsideration of high-connectivity regions, which were originally intended to be solely residential neighborhoods, into more public and communal spaces. This paper demonstrates the usability of space syntax in defining/assessing the accessibility of spaces, its role and importance in mobility and urban planning for the case of Abu Dhabi.

Problematizing the concept of walkability in Johannesburg

ABSTRACT Walkability is generally defined by the extent to which the built environment supports and encourages walking by promoting pedestrian comfort, connectivity and convenience. This paper scrutinizes the steps taken in Johannesburg to develop walkability policies and projects. It draws on empirical evidence from the pedestrian policies (e.g., the Corridors of Freedom) and pedestrian projects (e.g., the Grayston Pedestrian Bridge) recently introduced. Rather than focusing on the merits of walkability or the ease of its application, this paper highlights the misunderstandings of introducing walkability in Johannesburg. The concept is particularly problematic in Johannesburg, where the “unpleasantness of walking” and “walkability-with-people” is insufficiently considered. In a broader sense, this discussion aims to first understand urban planning in an African/Global South city, and then to decolonize transport planning by bringing the experiences in Johannesburg to the forefront. Such a critical reading of the intertwined and overlapping practices of policymaking provides additional insights into the processes of urban planning and transport in Johannesburg and beyond.

Development and validation of automated microscale walkability audit method

Measuring microscale factors of walkability has been labor-intensive and expensive. To reduce the cost, various efforts have been made including virtual audits (i.e., manual audits using street view images) and the introduction of computer vision techniques. Although studies have shown that virtual audits (i.e., manual audits using street view images) can reliably replicate in-person audits, they are still prohibitively expensive to be applied to a large geographic area. Past studies used computer vision techniques to help automate the audit process, but off-the-shelf models cannot detect some of the important microscale walkability characteristics, falling short of fully capturing the multi-facetted concept of walkability. This study is one of the earliest attempts to use the combination of custom-trained computer vision models, geographic information systems, and street view images to automatically audit a complete set of items of a validated microscale walkability audit tool. This study validates the reliability of the automated audit with virtual audit results. The automated audit results show high reliability, indicating automated audit can be a highly scalable and reliable replacement of virtual audit.

Understanding Walkability in Central Makkah City from the Pedestrian Perception and Behavior in the Context of Comfort

Walkability is a concept widely used in walking behaviour studies to describe how equipped an environment is to accommodate walking. The term has had widescale acceptance in Western academic literature. In many rapidly developing countries, however, the term is little recognised, and the contemporary value of walking is still fully recognised. Moreover, there is a dearth of data on this critical mode of transportation exists. This research investigates the notion of walkability in the context of one of the holiest places in the Islamic world. Many scholars have examined walkability at the micro-scale level of city centres; however, a Western-centric perspective dominates. Too few studies have explored walkability in regions with hot climates, and no specific examination has been made to study walkability issues associated with hot, arid weather during a religious event on the scale of Hajj and Umrah. To understand walkability, it is essential to examine the issue at the micro-scale of the street. This article examines the pedestrian perception of walking and the walking behaviour of pilgrims and residents in the central area of Makkah. The data of this study were collected using both qualitative and quantitative approaches. The current condition of the study area is examined through observations, interviews, and face-to-face questionnaires. The findings show ’comfort’ attributes, in particular, influence walking choices for the visitors where certain experiences and behaviours occur in response to the physical environment in the central Makkah area. Therefore, it seems that those attributes associated with comfort should dominate the concept of walkability in hot, arid climates, and this emphasis should guide urban planners in their decision-making.

A study of walkability in Surabaya urban park utilizing the space syntax

The urban parks are open spaces that accommodate people to do various activities. One of the most popular activities is walking. Human experience essentially leads pedestrians to have specific spatial dimensions and configurations in a park. Space syntax exists as a tool to explore the characteristics of the spatial configuration and the influence of the visitors on their activities through their perceptions. Space syntax has been widely applied in urban and human movement studies, despite rarely applied within the scope of urban parks. This study aims to address the debate and offers a new technique in applying the space syntax method. This research employed quantitative methods in interpreting the concept of Walkability and evaluated the design of urban parks by spatial exploration. The result determined the scope of research within the park, the configurational relationships between spaces as well as the visual connection and continuity of the human line of sight. This principle was developed and illustrated based on the three urban parks in Surabaya.

A caminhabilidade como indicador de qualidade de vida: Estudo de caso de Santana do Araguaia-PA

O deslocamento é uma das principais formas de interação com o espaço público, e com a ideia mais recente de humanizar as cidades o conceito de caminhabilidade começou a ser amplamente pesquisado, na tentativa de minimizar os efeitos nocivos do excesso de veículos no meio urbano. Nesse sentido, o principal objetivo deste trabalho é diagnosticar a caminhabilidade do núcleo urbano de Santana do Araguaia, no Estado do Pará, assim como perceber como a população da cidade enxerga o espaço, como propício ou não para que a vida urbana aconteça. Para isto, foi aplicado questionário on-line para 406 respondentes, onde as respostas indicaram que falhas na infraestrutura pública são prejuízos em potencial para a acessibilidade, e consequentemente afetam outras condições como a segurança pública e viária, assim como as interações entre a comunidade.