Walkability Compass—A Space Syntax Solution for Comparative Studies

Kestutis Zaleckis, Szymon Chmielewski, Jūratė Kamičaitytė, Indre Grazuleviciute-Vileniske and Halina Lipińska
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Kestutis Zaleckis: Faculty of Civil Engineering and Architecture, Kaunas University of Technology, 48-413 Kaunas, Lithuania
Szymon Chmielewski: Department of Grassland and Landscape Studies, University of Life Sciences in Lublin, 20-950 Lublin, Poland
Jūratė Kamičaitytė: Faculty of Civil Engineering and Architecture, Kaunas University of Technology, 48-413 Kaunas, Lithuania
Indre Grazuleviciute-Vileniske: Faculty of Civil Engineering and Architecture, Kaunas University of Technology, 48-413 Kaunas, Lithuania
Halina Lipińska: Department of Grassland and Landscape Studies, University of Life Sciences in Lublin, 20-950 Lublin, Poland

Sustainability, 2022, vol. 14, issue 4, 1-25

Abstract: 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), Malmö (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 (Malmö 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; Malmö; Riga; Tallinn; Gdansk; Bialystok; Lublin (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

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