How accessible are cities for visually impaired pedestrians? A case of Greater London

Achituv Cohen, Sagi Dalyot, Asya Natapov and Trisalyn Nelson

Environment and Planning B, 2024, vol. 51, issue 7, 1614-1631

Abstract: Urban planning and design aim to encourage active mobility by promoting various models that assess a city’s transportability and accessibility. In practice, these models are not attuned to a huge part of the population that have mobility impairments, therefore they uphold a flawed city design and prevent these populations from being an equal part of the inclusive city vision. We suggest an approach to develop new visually impaired mobility accessibility indices of urban space using open-source geospatial data and showcase them across different wards and boroughs in Greater London. Results show the various urban accessibility levels for visually impaired pedestrians, pointing to existing problems this community faces when navigating the city, such as challenging street network connectivity and dangerous walking areas. These indices can be used for more inclusive city planning and design, enhancing urban mobility and walkability equality, and improving this community’s quality of life.

Keywords: Accessibility; geospatial data; inclusive city planning; visually impaired pedestrians (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2024
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:sae:envirb:v:51:y:2024:i:7:p:1614-1631

DOI: 10.1177/23998083241256402

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