Refining The Grain: Using Resident-Based Walkability Audits To Better Understand Walkable Urban Form.
Researchers use measures of street connectivity to assess neighborhood walkability and many studies show a relationship between neighborhood design and walking activity. Yet, the core of those connectivity measures are based on constructs designed for analyzing automobile mobility - the street network - not pedestrian movement. This paper examines the effect of a finer grained characterization of street connectivity and illustrates the idea using parent ratings of street and intersection walkability for children throughout a suburban school district in Oregon. Several policy and practice recommendations are presented, including a discussion that extends Michael Southworth's (1993; 2005) foundational representation of streets and the walkable city using a refined, more pedestrian-centered approach to visualizing connectivity and walkable urban form.
Associate Professor, Planning, Public Policy and Management, University of Oregon, 1209 University of Oregon, Eugene, OR 97403-1209, 541-346-2046.
Marc
M
Schlossberg
Associate Research Scientist, Oregon Research Institute, 1776 Millrace Drive, Eugene, OR 97403, (541) 484-2123.
Deb
D
Johnson-Shelton
Data Analyst, Oregon Research Institute, 1776 Millrace Drive, Eugene, OR 97403, (541) 484-2123.
Cody
C
Evers
Senior Researcher, Oregon Research Institute, 1776 Millrace Drive, Eugene, OR 97403, (541) 484-2123.
Geraldine
G
Moreno
active transportation; participatory GIS; safe routes to school; urban form; walkability
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