Walkability Compass—A Space Syntax Solution for Comparative Studies
Sustainability
; 14(4):2033, 2022.
Article
in English
| ProQuest Central | ID: covidwho-1715678
ABSTRACT
The ongoing discourse on air quality and climate changes positions walkability as a pivotal point of sustainable urban planning. Urban studies examine a city’s walkability in terms of pedestrian flows, design qualities, and street network topology, leaving walkability comparative frameworks under development. Building on the space syntax theory, this research introduces a “walkability compass”, a four spatial indicator-designed tool for city walkability assessment and comparison. The tools are being tested on eight Baltic region cities Vilnius, Kaunas (LT), Malmö (SE), Riga (LV), Tallinn (ES), Gdansk, Bialystok, Lublin (PL). The nine-step method framework integrates four indexes Gravity (Gr), Reach (Re), Straightness (St), and Population density (Pop). The “walkability compass” results reveal significant Re and St correlations;thus, visual and cultural aspects become the main factors in pedestrian-friendly cities. The spatial pattern typology has matched similar cities (Malmö and Kaunas) to work closely on sustainable urban planning development. In all case studies, specific walkability zones were mapped, but the Gr zones turned out to be the most compact ones (the Z-score of Gr was ranged from 355.4 to 584;other indexes oscillated between 209.4 and 542.6). The walkability mapping results are publicly shared via WebMap to stimulate the participatory discussion on case studies cities further development.
Environmental Studies; walkability; space syntax; comparative analysis; Baltic region; Vilnius; Kaunas; Malmö; Riga; Tallinn; Gdansk; Bialystok; Lublin; Urban planning; Population density; Air quality; Cities; Climate change; Visual aspects; Cultural factors; Network topologies; Pedestrian traffic flow; COVID-19; Comparative studies; Pedestrian safety; Research methodology; Case studies; Topology; Syntax; Walking; Sustainability; Data collection; Land use; Connectivity; Literature reviews; Sustainable development; Coronaviruses; Neighborhoods; Typology
Full text:
Available
Collection:
Databases of international organizations
Database:
ProQuest Central
Language:
English
Journal:
Sustainability
Year:
2022
Document Type:
Article
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