A Literature Review of Parameter-Based Models for Walkability Evaluation

Abstract

Many scientific papers that deal with the topic of the pedestrian environment use a predefined form for assessing or evaluating its quality as a basic methodological instrument. The aim of this research is to emphasize the dimension of the available audit tools or methodologies in order to develop a full-scale database of indices that can be used for the measurement and evaluation of the pedestrian environment. By analyzing 115 research papers selected according to predefined selection criteria, the basic methodological apparatus or the evaluation instrument was observed. Based on the analysis carried out in this way, a number of 40 valid instruments were identified by which it was possible to evaluate the pedestrian environment. The observed instruments have a high level of reliability according to the high values of the ICC coefficient, IRR test, or Kappa value. There are 193 items for the evaluation of the pedestrian environment that were derived from the observed instruments. The items were arranged over seven groups regarding the quality of the pedestrian environment, namely, Functionality, Safety, Comfort, Mobility, Environment, Connectivity, and Aesthetics. On average, the items distributed over those seven groups are in use throughout the entire pool of instruments at the level of 47.41% across all groups. There are 30 instruments or methodologies that are objectively based, 4 subjectively oriented, and 6 with elements of both approaches. Of the instruments, 14 measure and assess the pedestrian environment through a quantitative data set, while 20 are designed for qualitative assessment. Only six of the instruments contain both qualitative and quantitative measuring items. A large percentage of analyzed papers that use a predefined methodology or instrument indicate the need to deepen the field of research and to include additional aspects that would give more authoritative results.