Accessibility and Connectivity Criteria for Assessing Walkability: An Application in Qazvin, Iran

Mona Jabbari, Fernando Fonseca and Rui Ramos
Additional contact information
Mona Jabbari: CTAC (Centre for Territory, Environment and Construction), University of Minho, Guimarães, 4710-057 Braga, Portugal
Fernando Fonseca: CTAC (Centre for Territory, Environment and Construction), University of Minho, Guimarães, 4710-057 Braga, Portugal
Rui Ramos: CTAC (Centre for Territory, Environment and Construction), University of Minho, Guimarães, 4710-057 Braga, Portugal

Sustainability, 2021, vol. 13, issue 7, 1-18

Abstract: Distance is a recognized key determinant of walking. Pedestrians tend to choose the shortest route between two points. Shortest routes can be spatially described in terms of distances between two points or topologically described as the number of turns/directional changes between these points. This paper presents a methodology to evaluate the conditions provided by a street network to pedestrians, by using two space syntax measures. Accessibility was calculated through Angular Segment Analysis by Metric Distance (ASAMeD), a measure of street integration and choice strongly correlated with pedestrian movement pattern. Street Connectivity was calculated by using the space syntax measure of connectivity, which shows the direct connection of street nodes to each individual nodes. The streets criterion values of both approaches were normalized by using fuzzy logic linear functions. The method was applied in the city center of Qazvin, Iran. Results showed that the urban structure of Qazvin has a strong impact on the performance of the network. The old neighborhood centers widespread in the city center presented a high topological accessibility, while the most connected street are those streets crossing and surrounding the neighborhood areas. The method can be used to evaluate and improve pedestrian networks, as it can distinguish the most and least attractive streets according to the criteria used. These findings can be used to guide policies towards improving walkability and to create more walkable and sustainable cities.

Keywords: pedestrian network; pedestrian movement pattern; space syntax; urban morphology (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (3)

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/13/7/3648/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/13/7/3648/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:13:y:2021:i:7:p:3648-:d:523955

Access Statistics for this article

Sustainability is currently edited by Ms. Alexandra Wu

More articles in Sustainability from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().