ANTECEDENTS OF URBAN TREES TO WALKABILITY: AN EXPLORATORY STUDY IN BRAZIL

Abstract

Objective: This study investigates if living in a household surrounded by trees stimulates walking in the Brazilian context, We searched for the correlation between the Tree Cover Index (TCI) surrounding the participant's household and the weekly walking trips undertaken, Also, we analyzed the correlation between the participant's perception of neighborhood walkability and TCI in five dimensions: Walking facilities, crime safety, pedestrian/traffic safety, street connectivity, and access to services, Methodology: Nine neighborhoods were selected; 3042 participants responded to a face-to-face questionnaire, "Neighborhood Environment Walkability Scale" (NEWS), Geoprocessing tools calculated individualized environment characteristics for each participant's household surroundings, Originality/Relevance: Promoting active urban mobility reduces greenhouse gas emissions in the cities, which in turn contributes to climate change mitigation effects, A forested city may create a more walkable environment, an association that lacks empirical evidence in South America, Main Results: The results indicate that the socio-economic characteristics of the neighborhood exert a significant influence on TCI predictions on the perception of Walkability, Notably, the presence of trees made participants living in formal neighborhoods perceive their environment as safer against crime, Also, higher levels of TCI decrease the perception of services available in low- and high-income neighborhoods due to the more inaccessible green areas, Contributions: Ultimately, it is pertinent that urban planning agencies recognize the contribution of trees to the quality of life in general, extending the concept of "urban afforestation" to contemplate the social and economic impact of urban greening.