Walkability Compass-A Space Syntax Solution for Comparative Studies

Kęstutis Zaleckis

doi:10.3390/su14042033

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Walkability Compass-A Space Syntax Solution for Comparative Studies

2022-02-11

Kęstutis Zaleckis

Szymon Chmielewski *

Jūratė Kamičaitytė

Indrė Gražulevičiūtė–Vileniškė

Halina Lipińska

DOI：10.3390/su14042033

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Abstract

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The ongoing discourse on air quality and climate changes positions walkability as a pivotal point of sustainable urban planning. Urban studies examine a city's walkability in terms of pedestrian flows, design qualities, and street network topology, leaving walkability comparative frameworks under development. Building on the space syntax theory, this research introduces a walkability compass, a four spatial indicator-designed tool for city walkability assessment and comparison. The tools are being tested on eight Baltic region cities: Vilnius, Kaunas (LT), Malmo (SE), Riga (LV), Tallinn (ES), Gdansk, Bialystok, Lublin (PL). The nine-step method framework integrates four indexes: Gravity (Gr), Reach (Re), Straightness (St), and Population density (Pop). The walkability compass results reveal significant Re and St correlations; thus, visual and cultural aspects become the main factors in pedestrian-friendly cities. The spatial pattern typology has matched similar cities (Malmo and Kaunas) to work closely on sustainable urban planning development. In all case studies, specific walkability zones were mapped, but the Gr zones turned out to be the most compact ones (the Z-score of Gr was ranged from 355.4 to 584; other indexes oscillated between 209.4 and 542.6). The walkability mapping results are publicly shared via WebMap to stimulate the participatory discussion on case studies cities further development.

Keywords:

walkability

space syntax

comparative analysis

Baltic region

Vilnius

Kaunas

Malmo

Riga

Tallinn

Gdansk

Bialystok