Analysis of Variables That Influence the Walkability of School Environments Based on the Delphi Method

Abstract

Walkability is determined the presence or absence of factors such as quality sidewalks, pedestrian crossings, traffic, etc. The ability to walk to the school environment may be one of the variables that promotes active commuting levels. The aim of this study was to examine the walkability of school environments using the Delphi method. This study used the Delphi method to measure the walkability. A total of 18 experts were selected. First, a list of variables was designed by the control group and sent three times to the experts. Later, the items were analyzed qualitatively and quantitatively to test the consensus of the experts. The list of variables that influence walkability showed a good consensus among the experts at the end of the process. This list was formed by 48 items and organized in six factors: traffic and safety (eleven items), signage (eight items), sidewalk (ten items), transport consistency (five items), activity (five items), and finally, urban planning (nine items). The experts agreed on the need to analyze the environments of educational centers and measure the variables that affect walkability. This study has identified the most important barriers. In the future, a measurement instrument should be developed that allows centers to be compared with others in terms of their levels of walkability. Moreover, it might be a resource for more policies to be developed with the aim to promote active commuting to school.

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“…The Delphi method is a technique applied upon the opinions collected repeatedly from experts to formulate reliable data to use under a specific objective of a study [38]. The method is constructed as an iterative systematic process [39] to obtain a group opinion from the experts [40] while the assessment of the consensus is varied, without a reference to any specific model. Nowadays, the Delphi method is generally deployed [41] with a group of experts, selected upon their expertise and qualification to the topic of study [42], where the selected experts answer only the questions in which they are proficient [43].…”