Is walkability equally distributed among downtowners? Evaluating the pedestrian streetscapes of eight European capitals using a micro-scale audit approach

Bartzokas-Tsiompras, Alexandros; Tampouraki, Eleftheria Maria; Photis, Yorgos N.

doi:10.2495/tdi-v4-n1-75-92

Cited by 22 publications

(26 citation statements)

References 33 publications

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“…In essence, we opted to apply the brief version of the Microscale Audit of Pedestrian Streetscapes (MAPS-mini) [2] for three reasons. Firstly, it is quick and suitable for massive data collections [3] secondly, it has been previously validated as an acceptable method for physical activity and walkability studies [ 2 , 3 , 5 ] and thirdly, it is a reliable method for virtual assessments by auditors who are not familiar with the specific study area [ 3 , 4 ]. For the purpose of our research and in order to match our approach, certain items in the original MAPS-mini list have been slightly modified while we have also added two extra features related to the sidewalk's width and the road's traffic levels.…”

Section: Experimental Design Materials and Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Thus, these tools are considered as suitable performance indicators when planning and promoting public health and transport strategies [1] . Type of data Aggregated tables & aggregated geospatial vector files How data were acquired We used a brief and validated street observation instrument [2] , [3] , [4] to assess 17 micro-level walkability indicators for 59 European central urban areas. The complete audit item list is presented in Table A-1 in the Appendix.…”

Section: Specifications Tablementioning

confidence: 99%

“…Namely, sidewalk width and number of traffic lanes. We opted to use the specific audit tool since it is both a validated instrument [2] , [3] , [4] , [5] as well as commonly used in physical activity and walkability studies. In essence, it is considered as a brief but robust tool suitable for massive data collection.…”

Section: Specifications Tablementioning

confidence: 99%

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Microscale walkability indicators for fifty-nine European central urban areas: An open-access tabular dataset and a geospatial web-based platform

et al. 2021

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A growing body of empirical findings suggests that more satisfactory, compact, and traversable built environments can positively influence active travel, physical activity, and the walking experience. To this end, planning for better and more walkable places has been identified as a hot topic in urban studies and public health research, since. However, European-level indicators assessing aspects of pedestrian-friendly urban environments are largely lacking. This article introduces spatial and tabular data files of 17 pre-processed and microscale walkability indicators. The dataset presents relevant to the pedestrian environment information for 59 central urban areas from 26 European countries and aims to support policy analysis and assessment related to healthy and low-carbon transportation systems as well as sustainable communities. Methodologically, we applied a virtual (i.e., Google Street View) street audit tool, block-by-block and on both sides of each street and crossing segment separately. To this end, we digitized in polyline features observations and evaluations for a total of 112.577 street- and/or crossing-segments. The data collection process was a demanding and challenging process, which lasted for 21 months and involved 46 trained observers. The data tables in this paper present processed data of each audited item topic as a total share of street segments or crossings length by city. More specifically, the data tables contain indicators that describe the following seventeen themes: percent of segments with predominant commercial or/and entertainment buildings (active uses), percent of segments with access to park/plaza, percent of segments with transit stop(s), percent of segments with available public seats, percent of segments according to their street lighting conditions, percent of segments with well-maintained buildings, percent of segments where graffiti is not present, percent of segments where a bike lane is present, percent of segments where a sidewalk is present, percent of segments with well-maintained sidewalks, percent of segments with sidewalk buffers, percent of segments according to shading levels, percent of segments with wider sidewalks, percent of segments according to the number of road traffic lanes, percent of crossings with a pedestrian walk signal, percent of crossings with curb(s) ramp and percent of crossings with a marked pedestrian crosswalk. Additionally, a dedicated web-GIS platform has been designed and developed to visualize and disseminate collected data in openly available density maps of high spatial resolution (50 m × 50 m). The above data can be utilized to both raise awareness of unsatisfactory pedestrian environments and appoint them as a key health and environmental issue, as well as to assist European policy-makers to apply urban mobility strategies and monitor progress in urban sustainability and public health goals.

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Section: Experimental Design Materials and Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Specifications Tablementioning

confidence: 99%

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Microscale walkability indicators for fifty-nine European central urban areas: An open-access tabular dataset and a geospatial web-based platform

et al. 2021

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“…A North American study (Thornton et al, 2016) found that the association of microscale walkability features with diversity and deprivation varied: more diverse and deprived areas tended to have more crossings and footways, but poorer aesthetic characteristics and more signs of disrepair such as litter or broken glass. A recent study of eight capital cities across Europe (Bartzokas-Tsiompras et al, 2020) found that the highest quality pedestrian environments were in affluent central areas, with far lower quality environments in surrounding more deprived areas.…”

Section: Equity and Active Travel Environmentsmentioning

confidence: 98%

Equity in new active travel infrastructure: a spatial analysis of London’s new Low Traffic Neighbourhoods

Aldred¹,

Verlinghieri²,

Sharkey³

et al. 2021

Preprint

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In this article we examine equity in new active travel infrastructure in London, UK. We focus on Low Traffic Neighbourhood schemes (LTNs) introduced during Covid-19. These mainly involve ‘modal filters’ that restrict through motor traffic from residential streets. Such approaches to traffic management are traditional in the Netherlands, but relatively new in London and other global cities such as Barcelona. LTNs are often controversial, with one criticism being that they are implemented in affluent areas and hence benefit richer residents. London represents an excellent opportunity to investigate the extent to which these rapidly introduced schemes have so far been equitably distributed.We focused on LTNs introduced between March and September 2020 and still present at the end of October 2020. Having generated datasets representing these new LTN locations and their boundary roads, we matched these to Output Areas (OAs, administrative areas containing around 300 residents). We then examined the extent to which LTN implementation was associated with age, ethnicity, disability, employment and car ownership (Census 2011) and small-area deprivation (Index of Multiple Deprivation 2019). We estimated that 3.7% of all Londoners live inside a new LTN, and 8.8% live within 500m walking distance of a new modal filter. Across London as a whole, people in the most deprived quarter of OAs were 2.7 times more likely to live in or near a new LTN, compared to Londoners in the least deprived quarter. While overall Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) people were slightly more likely than White Londoners to live in a new LTN, this varied by ethnic group. Specifically, Black Londoners were somewhat more likely, and Asian Londoners somewhat less likely than White people to live in or near a new LTN. Car-free households were more likely to live in or near a new LTN. Within London’s districts – which lead the implementation of LTNs - there was wide variation, with people in more deprived areas and/or ethnic minorities more likely to live in an LTN in some districts, less likely in others. In the median (‘typical’) district, people in more deprived areas were more likely to live in an LTN than people in less deprived areas, suggesting that, on average, individual districts have prioritised their more deprived areas. However, in the median district, BAME residents were slightly less likely to live in an LTN than White residents. Finally, at the micro level, residents living in LTNs were demographically similar to neighbours living in OAs that touched an LTN boundary road. We conclude that LTN implementation has been broadly equitable at the city level and at the micro level, but not always at the district level. Such metrics should be used in policy and research to monitor and improve the equity of active travel interventions.

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“…In recent decades, a number of decision support tools have been developed by private and public initiatives to help the involved parties to monitor and assess the performance of urban areas (Bartzokas-Tsiompras et al, 2020;2021;Bartzokas & Photis, 2019). Among the European Union Initiatives, the Urban Data Platform plus is the most updated.…”

Section: Decision-making Gapmentioning

confidence: 99%

Visiting Index: Supporting decision-making on Open Urban Spaces

CHONDROGIANNI¹,

STEPHANEDES²

2021

EJG

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This Open urban space functions as the stage of the city where public life unfolds. These spaces, which provide traffic networks, communication nodes and common spaces for play and relaxation and play a key factor in shaping cities and enhancing urban resilience. Forming and planning urban spaces is a complex and demanding process and, in many cases, the final approved proposal lies upon city decision-makers. Supporting stakeholders to approve plans and regeneration actions creating desirable open spaces, corresponding to urban living needs, seems crucial. In this framework, the research focuses on identifying the priorities of the decision-making prosses and citizens’ preferences on open urban spaces. In addition, the way in which citizens’ preferences define the number of their visits to an urban space is investigated in order to develop a model estimating Demand side on open urban spaces. As the parameter of Supply of open urban areas should not be ignored in this process, the Visiting Index is developed as the key performance indicator to be under study by stakeholders. At last, considering that urban areas are complex, dynamic systems evolving rapidly, the dynamic relationships among the parameters of Visiting Index are described in Casula Loop Diagram to contribute to making open urban spaces effectively manageable.

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Is walkability equally distributed among downtowners? Evaluating the pedestrian streetscapes of eight European capitals using a micro-scale audit approach

Cited by 22 publications

References 33 publications

Microscale walkability indicators for fifty-nine European central urban areas: An open-access tabular dataset and a geospatial web-based platform

Microscale walkability indicators for fifty-nine European central urban areas: An open-access tabular dataset and a geospatial web-based platform

Equity in new active travel infrastructure: a spatial analysis of London’s new Low Traffic Neighbourhoods

Visiting Index: Supporting decision-making on Open Urban Spaces

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