Levels and Characteristics of Utilitarian Walking in the Central Areas of the Cities of Bologna and Porto

Abstract

Walking is a mode of transport that offers many environmental and health benefits. Utilitarian walking refers to walking trips undertaken to fulfil routine purposes. The aim of this paper is to examine the extent to which walking is used as a transport mode for short urban trips in the city centers of Bologna and Porto and the barriers preventing utilitarian walking. Based on a questionnaire (n = 1117) administered in the two cities, results indicated that 21% of the individuals travel by foot, while 47% combine walking with other modes. This means that 68% of the daily trips to these city centers involve walking activity. From the overall trips, 84% were made to reach work and school/university. Statistical tests showed that utilitarian walkers were more likely to be females (p < 0.001) and undergraduates (p < 0.001). People from Bologna were more likely to engage in utilitarian walking than people from Porto (p < 0.001). Travel distance and time were the main barriers preventing people from engaging in utilitarian walking. The findings described in this paper provide a better understanding of utilitarian walking in the central areas of both cities, which can guide policies to promote healthier lifestyles and sustainable mobility.

Non-linear Relationships Between the Built Environment and Walking Frequency Among Older Adults in Zhongshan, China

“…The walking frequency of older adults in Zhongshan averages 1.42 trips per day, covering 55% of all utilitarian trips. Utilitarian walking refers to walking trips undertaken to fulfill common purposes (e.g., accomplishing errands or getting to work) (23,24).…”

Use and Perceptions of Pedestrian Navigation Apps: Findings from Bologna and Porto

“…However, we found that females were more likely to use the apps for finding locations, while males were more likely to use them for collecting useful walking data. This could be explained by the fact that women generally walk more, but for shorter periods of times, because they have more time restrictions than men [56]. Similarly, previous research also suggested that transportation apps were more likely to be used by higher educated people than by their undergraduate counterparts [50,65], showing that the higher the education level, the more such a person is likely to use apps.…”

“…Relationships between the variables were confirmed through Chi-square tests, Pearson correlations, and T-tests. These statistical tests have been widely used in transport studies to compare variables and groups [41,55,56]. Chi-square tests were conducted to test associations between individual and geographic variables and the use of PNAs, the reasons for using PNAs, as well as to test associations between the individual and geographic variables and the barriers for not using PNAs.…”

“…Furthermore, T-tests and Pearson correlations were computed to test the association between specific individual variables and app ratings. The conventional level of p ≤ 0.05 was taken to represent statistical significance [55,56,58]. The analyzed data were finally used to produce charts, tables, and other supports that helped us to understand the extent to which PNAs are used in Bologna and Porto to assist people to walk.…”

“…As tourists generally have less spatial knowledge of cities, using navigation tools can be useful for them to define routes and to find specific places, such as monuments, museums, stations, restaurants, etc. In turn, commuters are usually engaged in utilitarian walking associated to mandatory and fixed activities, controlled by relatively rigid schedules [56]. For that reason, they make repeated trips using the same routes between two locations, which may explain the low regular use of PNAs among these users [62].…”