Development of a Neighbourhood Walkability Index for Porto Metropolitan Area. How Strongly Is Walkability Associated with Walking for Transport?

Abstract

The creation of walkable communities constitutes a cost-effective health promotion strategy, as walking is an accessible and free intervention for increasing physical activity and health. In this cross-sectional ecological study, we developed a walkability index for the Porto Metropolitan Area and we validated it by assessing its association with walking for transportation. Neighborhood walkability was measured using a geographic information system and resulted from the weighted sum of residential density, street connectivity, and a destination-based entropy index. The index was categorized into quintiles of increasing walkability. Among the 1,112,555 individuals living in the study area, 28.1% resided in neighborhoods in the upper quintile of walkability and 15.8% resided in the least walkable neighborhoods. Adjusted regression models revealed that individuals residing in the most walkable neighborhoods are 81% more likely to report walking for transportation, compared with those from the least walkable neighborhoods (odds ratio: 1.81; 95% confidence intervals: 1.76–1.87). These results suggest that community design strategies to improve walkability may promote walking behavior.

Comfort and Time-Based Walkability Index Design: A GIS-Based Proposal

“…There is wide evidence [1,2] to show that when the urban population takes up walking as a daily activity there is a positive impact on health [3,4], transportation [5,6], economy [7], and air quality [8]. Walking can be promoted as a regular activity [9] and as a means of transport [10,11] when specific infrastructure features are available [7,12,13].…”

Neighborhood Walkability Is Not Associated with Adults’ Sedentary Behavior in the Residential Setting: Evidence from Breda, The Netherlands

“…For example, prior studies on walkability found that adults living in highly walkable neighborhoods walk significantly more than their counterparts in low-walkable neighborhoods [20]. This is primarily true for walking for transport [21], while findings for recreational walking are less clear [22]. Others found no link between residential density and the total amount of walking [23].…”

Pengaruh Tingkat Keramahan Lingkungan Perumahan Bagi Pejalan Kaki Terhadap Aktivitas Fisik Dan Kesehatan Masyarakat Kasus: Perumahan Margahayu Raya, Bandung

“…Demikian juga dengan kepadatan, keragaman, desain, dan jarak (Zhao et al 2019). Variabel kepadatan populasi atau hunian, keragaman, desain, konektivitas, aksesibilitas, jarak ke sistem transportasi umum dan penggunaan lahan campuran mendorong aktivitas fisik berjalan kaki dan bersepeda (Ribeiro dan Hoffimann 2018;Kang 2018).…”

“…Demikian juga penelitian ini menunjukkan bahwa tingkat keramahan lingkungan perumahan untuk berjalan kaki tidak cukup berpengaruh pada dorongan untuk melakukan aktivitas fisik, baik untuk berjalan kaki, bersepeda maupun berolah raga. Temuan ini berbeda dengan apa yang ditemukan oleh penelitian-penelitian yang mencoba melihat hubungan antara aktivitas fisik dengan lingkungan yang ramah untuk pejalan kaki (lihat Saelens, Sallis, dan Frank 2003;Ribeiro dan Hoffimann 2018;Kang 2017;2018). Penelitian ini menunjukkan bahwa faktor diluar desain lingkungan perumahan lebih berpengaruh terhadap dorongan untuk melakukan aktivitas fisik.…”