Methods to enable walkability

Abstract

© Janette Hartz-Karp and Dora Marinova 2017. All rights reserved. The term walkability relates to people’s use of public spaces, such as streets, squares, green parks and plazas. This chapter discusses some of the empirical tools and methods applied by urban designers and planners to determine walkability, which is a fundamental aspect of sustainable cities. The focus is on empirical, substantive methods allowing to study how the city is deriving information from direct observation. Three groups of methods are discussed, namely: (1) predominantly observational methods which look at use of an area; (2) methods which ask people about how they use an area, such as interviews; and (3) methods which examine the existing built form and infrastructure provision of an area. As none of the described methods is holistic in and of themselves, the chapter encourages users to combine their application to enable a more complete picture of the walkability of an area.