Tanja Congiu

Evaluating walkability: a capability-wise planning and design support system

We present a methodology and a planning and design support software tool for evaluating walkability and pedestrian accessibility of places which are relevant for people’s capabilities, and thus an important component of quality of life in cities. A multicriteria evaluation model, at the core of the decision support system, is used to assign walkability scores to points in urban space. Walkability scores are obtained through algorithms which process spatial data and run the evaluation model in order to derive potential pedestrian routes along the street network, taking into account the quality of urban space on several attributes relevant for walkability. One of its notable characteristics is a certain reversal of perspective in evaluating walkability: the walkability score of a place does not reflect how that place is per se walkable, but instead how and where to can one walk from there, that is to say, what is the walkability the place is endowed with. This evaluation incorporates three intertwined elements: the number of destinations/opportunities reachable by foot, their walking distances, and the quality of the paths to these destinations. In this article, we furthermore demonstrate possible uses of the support system by reporting and discussing the results of a case-study assessment of a project for the Lisbon’s Segunda Circular (Second Ring Road). The software tool is made freely available for download.

Walkability explorer: An evaluation and design support tool for walkability

Walkability Explorer is a software tool for the evaluation of urban walkability which, we argue, is an important aspect of the quality of life in cities. Many conventional approaches to the assessment of quality of life measure the distribution, density and distances of different opportunities in space. But distance is not all there is. To reason in terms of urban capabilities of people we should also take into account the quality of pedestrian accessibility and of urban opportunities offered by the city. The software tool we present in this paper is an user-friendly implementation of such an evaluation approach to walkability. It includes several GIS and analysis features, and is interoperable with other standard GIS and data-analysis tools.

A Design and Planning Support System for Walkability and Pedestrian Accessibility

We present a methodology and a tool for evaluating the quality of life in cities based on walkability and pedestrian accessibility of places which are relevant for people’s capabilities. The evaluation model uses the actual pedestrian routes along the street network and considers their quality on several attributes important for their walkability. We furthermore demonstrate possible uses of the support system by reporting and discussing the results of a case-study assessment of a project for the Lisbon Segunda Circular (Second Rind Road).

Factors of perceived walkability: A pilot empirical study

We present preliminary results of a pilot empirical study designed to examine factors associated with pedestrians’ perception of walkability, i.e. the perception of the quality, comfort and pleasantness of streets, and their conductivity to walk. Through a contingent field survey we collected 18 observable street attributes (independent variables), and a synthetic subjective perception of walkability (dependent variable), for the entire street network (408 street segments) of the city of Alghero in Italy. Regression analysis yields high goodness of fit (R-squared = 0.60 using all 18 variables), and points at 9 out of 18 as the most significant factors of perceived walkability (“useful sidewalk width”; “architectural, urban and environmental attractions”; “density of shops, bars, services, economic activities”; “vehicles-pedestrians separation”; “cyclability”; “opportunities to sit”; “shelters and shades”; “car roadway width”; “street lighting”; R-squared = 0.59). Among those, the first five factors in particular show as jointly most important as predictors of perceived walkability.

Walkability Explorer: Application to a Case-Study

In a few recent papers we presented a methodology and the related planning and design support tool, Walkability Explorer, for the evaluation of walkability of places which are relevant for people’s capabilities. The method is an attempt to move beyond the known approaches to evaluating walkability based on the analysis of proximity to urban places and on macro urban and socioeconomic factors, because it conceptualises walkability as the effective capability to walk offered by the environment thanks to micro-urban characteristics. It evaluates how the urban environment is conducive to walk by combining three elements: the destinations/opportunities reachable by foot, their walking distance and the quality of the path to these destinations. Following this approach, here we present and discuss an example assessment of walkability for the city of Alghero (Italy).

Walkability Explorer. An Evaluation and Design Support Tool for Walkability

Walkability Explorer is a software tool for the evaluation of urban walkability which, we argue, is an important aspect of the quality of life in cities. Many conventional approaches to the assessment of quality of life measure the distribution, density and distances of different opportunities in space. But distance is not all there is. To reason in terms of urban capabilities of people we should also take into account the quality of pedestrian accessibility and of urban opportunities offered by the city. The software tool we present in this paper is an user-friendly implementation of such an evaluation approach to walkability. It includes several GIS and analysis features, and is interoperable with other standard GIS and data-analysis tools.

Evaluating the Effect of Urban Intersections on Walkability

This study proposes an analytical and evaluative method of the performances of urban intersections from the perspective of pedestrians. We further present a case study assessment of walkability of crossings and their conduciveness to walk. Implications in integrated urban and transport planning practice are emphasized as the method is suited to support decision makers involved in urban roads management to identify major spatial and operational problems and to prioritize improvement interventions.

Coupling Surveys with GPS Tracking to Explore Tourists’ Spatio-Temporal Behaviour

Position tracking technologies developed in the last decade are a valuable addition to the traditional toolbox for data collection, as they offer the opportunity to gather a great amount of unprecedented information on tourists behaviour. In particular, they allow to collect detailed information on spatial and temporal behaviour with respect to different categories/profiles of tourists. We present the results of a survey of tourists’ spatial behaviour coupling GPS movement tracking and questionnaires, and furthermore discuss how this kind of studies may prove useful in providing guidelines for territorial, tourist and transportation policies.

A Spatial Multi-criteria Analysis Method for the Assessment of Walkability to Guide the Design of Interventions in Urban Crossings

In last decades, we assist to a constant, growing attention on urban walkability. Despite copious studies analyse the components of pedestrian spaces, little attention is given to road intersections, elements of interruption and obstacle of the walking paths. This study proposes a multi-criteria spatial analysis method of road intersections aimed to classify and prioritise actions for the implementation of pedestrian-oriented mobility policies. The method reveals the spatial elements to improve for enhancing walkability. An application to the city of Alghero revealed safety and comfort as the main factors that limit the propensity to walk and therefore need to be tackled through specific policies and interventions.

Il processo di diffusione urbana nel contesto sassarese. I conflitti tra città e campagna

La diffusione urbana rappresenta un carattere comune della condizione insediativa attuale. Il processo investe quelle parti di territorio prossime alla citta compatta ormai disponibili a usi alternativi a quelli agricoli. I conflitti tra la dimensione ambientale e quella insediativa che ne derivano pongono la necessita di ripensare la pianificazione di queste aree specie ma non solo negli spazi di confine. Il contributo descrive il caso del territorio a ridosso di Sassari ripercorrendo i tratti distintivi del fenomeno della diffusione nel contesto locale, gli input e i fattori che ne alimentano il processo, le posizioni degli strumenti di governo alle diverse scale e le possibili azioni di intervento.