Walkability Dr Lorraine D Arcy School of Civil and Structural Engineering Dublin Institute of Technology (PhD work undertaken in DCU) @LorraineFitzsim Lorraine.darcy@dit.ie
The Concept What is Walkability? Why does it matter? Lorraine D Arcy
How do we define Health? Health is a state of complete physical, mental and social wellbeing, not merely the absence of disease or infirmity (WHO, 1946)
What is Health? Health as a continuum -1 0 +1 Ill-health Well-being
Well-Being Subjective feelings of mood or level of happiness feeling great. Dynamic process that give people a sense of how their lives are going, through the interaction between their circumstances, the activities they pursue and their mental capital True well-being involves and reflects a qualityempowerment
Physical Social Mental
Walking and health: a growing evidence base Diabetes and depression walking can be as effective as prescription drugs CVD Risk50% BP and Cholesterol Walk England has been established to encourage and support more people to choose to walk in England as a way to be healthy, to travel and to relax
there is irrefutable evidence of the effectiveness of regular physical activity in the primary and secondary prevention of several chronic diseases and premature death Warburton, Whitney Nicol and Bredin (2006)
Difficult to convince people that walking is a true exercise (Bird 2005)
But it is not just Health
What is Walkability Lorraine Fitzsimons D Arcy
Method 16 Neighbourhoods Response Rate 47% N=1061, 37% Male, Average Age 46.9yrs (+ 16.1)
Who s Responsible? Spatial Planners Transport Planners Urban Designers Architects Landscape Architects Public Representatives Engineers Public Health Professionals Advocates Lorraine Fitzsimons D Arcy
Inner City Map with markers Greater City Map with Markers
Neighbourhood Category High Walkable (HW) High Walkable Poor (HWP) Description Middle class or affluent neighbourhoods or villages close to the city or very accessible by rail from the city centre Traditional working class or poor neighbourhoods or villages close to the city centre Low Walkable (LW) Low Walkable Poor (LWP) New suburban developments on the city fringes that are primarily occupied by the middle class and affluent Outer city social housing developments mainly for the poor or working class built between the 1950 s and 1980 s
High Walkable Deprived (N=278) Behaviours High Walkable Not Deprived (N=279) Low Walkable Deprived (N=262) Low Walkable Not Deprived (N=242) ** ** 0.8 0.6 0.6 Standardised mean score (z) 0.4 0.2 0-0.2-0.4 Standardised mean score (z) 0.4 0.2 0-0.2-0.4-0.6-0.6 ** <.01, * <.05 ** ** Cars per Adult Individual Fuel Spend
Carbon Emission Values by Area gco2/week High Walkability Low Walkability Deprived 2,800 5,142 Not Deprived 6,917 9,084 (Unpublished data)
Behaviours High Walkable Deprived (N=278) High Walkable Not Deprived (N=279) Low Walkable Deprived (N=262) Low Walkable Not Deprived (N=242) ** 0.6 0.4 Scoring: Active = 3 Public Transport = 2 Motorised = 1 ** <.01, * <.05 Standardised mean score (z) 0.2 0-0.2-0.4-0.6-0.8-1 -1.2 ** Average Mode Score
High Walkable Deprived (N=278) Behaviours High Walkable Not Deprived (N=279) Low Walkable Deprived (N=262) Low Walkable Not Deprived (N=242) 0.4 ** 0.25 * 0.3 0.2 0.15 Standardised mean score (z) 0.2 0.1 0-0.1-0.2 Standardised mean score (z) 0.1 0.05 0-0.05-0.1-0.3-0.4 ** Active Travel Minutes 1 Recreational Walking Minutes 1-0.15-0.2 ** ** <.01, * <.05 1 minutes per week
Walkability means different things to different people and it also means different things to the same person under different circumstances [Spatial Planner] Lorraine D Arcy
Contextual: Trip purpose If I am going to work I want to be sure of that direct route, if I am going for a walk on a Sunday afternoon I want to meander, I don t necessarily want to get to somewhere [Spatial Planner] Time of day and perception of safety Mood Lorraine D Arcy
Neighbourhood Perceptions High Walkable Deprived (N=278) High Walkable Not Deprived (N=279) Low Walkable Deprived (N=262) Low Walkable Not Deprived (N=242) ** 0.8 0.6 Standardised mean score (z) 0.4 0.2 0-0.2-0.4-0.6 Human Scale -0.8-1 ** <.01, * <.05 ** Scale Carchitecture
Scale human scale is a perception of relative size or distance to the human body (Ewing, et al. 2006, Gehl 2010). Lorraine Fitzsimons D Arcy
Escapism Lorraine D Arcy
Human Scale Lorraine D Arcy
Carchitecture Lorraine D Arcy
The Village Lorraine Fitzsimons D Arcy
Permeability Ease of movement through an Lorraine D Arcy area
Neighbourhood Perceptions ** High Walkable Deprived (N=278) High Walkable Not Deprived (N=279) Low Walkable Deprived (N=262) Low Walkable Not Deprived (N=242) ** 0.8 0.8 0.6 0.6 0.4 0.4 Standardised mean score (z) 0.2 0-0.2-0.4-0.6 Standardised mean score (z) 0.2 0-0.2-0.4-0.6-0.8-0.8-1 -1 ** <.01, * <.05 ** Permeability ** Public Transport
Lorraine Fitzsimons D Arcy
Connectivity Two distinct community designs (Saelens, Sallis and Frank 2003)
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Walking time waiting time Copenhagen Denmark
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Lorraine Fitzsimons D Arcy
M50/N2 Junction by csd75 on Flickr
Jay walking and pedestrian tunnels 101 pedestrians (23 %) 336 pedestrians (77 %)
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Streetscape Lorraine Fitzsimons D Arcy
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Lorraine Fitzsimons D Arcy
Neighbourhood Perceptions ** High Walkable Deprived (N=278) High Walkable Not Deprived (N=279) Low Walkable Deprived (N=262) Low Walkable Not Deprived (N=242) 0.8 0.6 0.4 Standardised mean score (z) 0.2 0-0.2-0.4-0.6-0.8-1 ** <.01, * <.05 ** Crime and Disorder
permeable, legible and easy to move through. high connectivity appropriately designed road crossings reflect pedestrian desire lines. good public transport Streets are designedtoslowtrafficto walking speed Lorraine Fitzsimons D Arcy
Conclusions Profession does influence view of walkability Movement and Place Scale Connectivity and Permeability Role of perceptions and context - Design for everybody Engage with users
Acknowledgements Prof Catherine Woods Health Research Institute, University of Limerick Prof. Kevin Leyden Whitaker Institute, National College of Ireland, Galway Prof. James Wickham Employment Research Centre, Trinity College Dublin Environmental Protection Agency Participants Data collectors