ANALYSIS OF PEDESTRIAN MOBILITY IN THE COMMERCIAL AREA OF IBAGUE, COLOMBIA

Abstract

Walkability refers to the ease and comfort with which people can move around on foot quickly and fluidly in an urban environment. To analyze this aspect, the walkability index is used, an indicator that relates public space to the infrastructure and conditions that the city offers for pedestrians to move from one place to another in a safe, comfortable, and efficient manner. Planning walkable cities provides benefits for their inhabitants, including improved health, well-being, efficiency, and inclusion. This work constructs a walkability index for Carrera Tercera between Calles 10 and 19 in Ibagué, Colombia. A four-phase methodology was used: contextualization of the area, data collection and categorization, construction of the indicator, and application of the index. A score of 3.27 was obtained on a scale of 1 to 5. Although the infrastructure received high scores, the socio-environmental variables influenced the final result, underscoring the need to create spaces that promote social interaction and community living.