Publication: Qualitative and Quantitative Methods for Assessing Urban Walkability At City-Wide and Intersection-Level Scales
Date
2023-08-03
Authors
Black, Adam Logan
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Abstract
Cities are opting to pursue various smart growth strategies which include the process of
integrating more walkable environments. WalkScore.com offers users the ability to
measure the alleged level of walkability at a given location. The problem with the
website’s tool is that while it does consider nearby amenities for its calculation of
walkability, it does not consider other equally important factors. In his book, city planner
Jeff Speck presents the case that to be walkable an urban environment must be safe,
useful, comfortable, and interesting for pedestrians. This thesis explores these four
walkable categories with qualitative and quantitative approaches. The scale of the
analysis is set to a macro city-wide analysis which uses collected GIS data from online
sources, as well as manually digitized data. There is also a micro intersection-focused
analysis that utilizes a direct observation method of collecting and operationalizing data.
Description
Keywords
walkability, direct observation, GIS, streetscape, density, walkable features