Older People’s Perceptions of Pedestrian Friendliness and Traffic Safety: An Experiment Using Computer-Simulated Walking Environments

Abstract

Traffic safety and pedestrian friendliness are considered to be important conditions for older people’s motivation to walk through their environment. This study uses an experimental study design with computer-simulated living environments to investigate the effect of micro-scale environmental factors (parking spaces and green verges with trees) on older people’s perceptions of both motivational antecedents (dependent variables). Seventy-four consecutively recruited older people were randomly assigned watching one of two scenarios (independent variable) on a computer screen. The scenarios simulated a stroll on a sidewalk, as it is ‘typical’ for a German city. In version ‘A,’ the subjects take a fictive walk on a sidewalk where a number of cars are parked partially on it. In version ‘B’, cars are in parking spaces separated from the sidewalk by grass verges and trees. Subjects assessed their impressions of both dependent variables. A multivariate analysis of covariance showed that subjects’ ratings on perceived traffic safety and pedestrian friendliness were higher for Version ‘B’ compared to version ‘A’. Cohen’s d indicates medium (d = 0.73) and large (d = 1.23) effect sizes for traffic safety and pedestrian friendliness, respectively. The study suggests that elements of the built environment might affect motivational antecedents of older people’s walking behavior.

Dimensions of Community Assets for Health. A Systematised Review and Meta-Synthesis

“…The data show that people who live in safe and friendly environments are more active and make use of resources [ 82 , 92 ].…”

The utilization of immersive virtual environments for the investigation of environmental preferences

“…Video and audio recordings have proven to be valuable supplements to the traditional word and picture-based representations of situations of interest. More recently, computer-based visualizations of environments have been increasingly used in research, and have sometimes even enabled interaction between the participant and the virtual objects and/or environment depicted (Borgers, Brouwer, Kunen, Jessurun Joran, & Janssen Ingrid, 2010;Dijkstra, van Leeuwen, & Timmermans, 2003;Kahlert & Schlicht, 2015). These technologies are often called virtual reality (VR) in the literature as they increase realism and participant engagement.…”

Walking for Transport among Older Adults: A Cross-Sectional Study on the Role of the Built Environment in Less Densely Populated Areas in Northern Germany

“…Both moving and parked motorized traffic have a large amount of space at their disposal in cities and municipalities, which should urgently be questioned in terms of equal opportunities for all road users. Instead of stirring up competition between environmentally-friendly means of transport in shared spaces, space should be taken away from the space-taking motorized traffic, which can also improve feelings of safety [ 58 ].…”