This research has three objectives; 1) describe the distribution of footpaths in the outer suburbs of Ottawa, 2) quantify the impact footpaths have on network connectivity in the outer western suburban neighborhoods of Ottawa, 3) quantify the impact of footpaths on destination-based walkability measures in the outer western suburban neighborhoods of Ottawa. The distribution of footpaths is assessed using a principal component analysis on 86 observations (footpaths) and 11 variables (land usage, transit connection, income, population density). Network connectivity is measured using the link-node ratio, the gamma index, and the alpha index, as well a node betweenness centrality. Walkability is measured in ArcGIS through an origin-destination cost matrix. The results show that the distribution of footpaths cannot be explained by the selected variables. Footpaths slightly decrease overall network connectivity and re-work node betweenness centrality. Footpaths have no impact on destination-based walkability. And so, footpaths may serve as better pedestrian routes but not necessarily as faster routes through the outer western suburbs of Ottawa.

Walking is the most popular physical activity reported by adults, and the benefits of walking are well documented in the literature (Fox & Hillsdon, 2007). Walkability refers to the friendliness of neighbourhood characteristics the enables pedestrian walking (Grant, Edwards, Sveistrup, Andrew, & Egan, 2010). A well-known and validated perceived walkability scale, the “Neighborhood Environment Walkability Scale” (NEWS; Saelens, Sallis, Black, et al., 2003) was developed in San Diego, California. Several adapted versions of the NEWS have been previously constructed for continued use in warm climates; however, adaptations of the NEWS for climates with winter walkability have not been developed. The main objective of this dissertation was to adapt the NEWS for colder climates and to assess the reliability and validity of the adapted measure, the NEWS-North, by conducting three studies. The first study consisted of two phases. For the first phase, three focus groups reviewed the NEWS questionnaire in a Canadian context and provided feedback on how to adapt the NEWS for use in Canada and other northern climates. The inclusion of a winter walkability section as well as the removal of American spellings and measurements were among some of the suggestions from the focus groups. An initial draft of the NEWS-North was created based on the results from the focus group. For the second phase, this initial draft was sent to a panel of walkability experts to assess content validation. All of the nine subscales were evaluated as highly important during the content validation. In addition, the experts renamed several section titles to improve precision. In the second study and third study, data from an online pilot test in Ottawa, Canada of the NEWS-North was used. The validity based on the internal structure of the questionnaire (i.e., factorial validity) and reliability (i.e., and internal consistency and test-retest reliability) of the NEWS-North was examined in Study Two. In this study, only subscales with the same Likert scale were examined (i.e., seven subscales) following the instructions of the adaptation protocol. Our results suggested a 7-factor model structure based on a multilevel exploratory factor analyses (MEFA). In addition, the 7-factor MEFA model had good test-retest reliability (ICC = 0.85 to 0.93) as well as adequate internal consistency (α = 0.53 to 0.75). In Study Three, the same seven subscales identified by the MEFA were included. In this study, a two-level Hierarchical Linear Modeling (HLM) with spatial dependency analyses was used to examine the convergent validity in the NEWS-North across 64 Ottawa neighbourhoods. The HLM analyses examined each subscale of the NEWS-North with and without any control variables. More specifically, they determined how each subscale of the NEWS-North predicted walking behaviour in the last two weeks at each level. The individual level (Level One) was comprised of the seven subscales of the NEWS-North from self-reported data along with three control variables (i.e., dog ownership, season, and gender). The neighbourhood level (Level Two) was comprised of the six equivalent subscales measured objectively with one control variable. At the time of this study, unfortunately, an equivalent winter subscale was not available at the neighbourhood level. At the individual level without any control variables, only the sidewalk subscale was a marginally significant predictor of walking. However, the sidewalk subscale reached significance while controlling for dog ownership, season, and gender. At the neighbourhood level without controlling for resident median income after tax, two NEWS-North equivalent subscales were found to predict walking behaviours. The sidewalk subscale was marginally significant and the land-use access subscale (via Franks walkability index Frank et al., 2010) was significant. While controlling for neighbourhood resident median income after- tax, both the land-use access subscale and sidewalk subscale were significant predictors of walking over the past two weeks. Overall, this dissertation supports the development for a perceived walkability questionnaire for seasonal climates. In addition, the preliminary results overall provide initial evidence for the reliability and validity of the NEWS-North. Overall implications, limitations, and future applied uses of the NEWS-North are discussed.

Class of 2006 Abstract / Objectives: To assess the walkability of neighborhoods surrounding six elementary schools in Nogales, Arizona. Methods: This descriptive study used a walkability tool to assess the walkability of the six neighborhoods in Nogales, Arizona. Evaluators used the tool to rank the following variables: high importance (pedestrian facilities, pedestrian conflicts, crosswalks), medium importance (maintenance, path size, buffer, universal accessibility, aesthetics), and low importance (shade). A mean and standard deviation for the total score from all schools was calculated and compared to a standard walkability score for good neighborhood walkability using a one sample t-test. Results: Walkability scores for each neighborhood ranged between 44.5 (Vasquez de Coronado Francisco) and 83 (Lincoln). There was no significant difference found for mean scores for high and low importance items. The mean score for buffer was significantly lower than other medium importance items (p<0.05). The total walkability score (67.4) for all schools was not significantly different from the standard walkability score (70). Conclusions: The neighborhoods surrounding elementary schools in Nogales, Arizona met walkability standards. Interestingly, the neighborhoods around older schools scored higher than those around newer schools.

No description available.

Promoting physical exercise is necessary to combat childhood obesity. Walking to school is an encouraged physical activity, but the feasibility of walking to school depends on the walkability of the environment. During the last 40 years, the number of U.S. schoolchildren who walk to school has declined. The purpose of this evidence-based practice project was to perform a walkability assessment of the 2 largest communities in Wilson County Kansas to identify and address walkability issues. Frameworks for this practice initiative were social cognitive theory and the Health Promotion model. Questions for the project addressed whether sidewalks along the main pedestrian routes leading to the schools were in good enough condition to allow children to walk safely to and from school. Using an adapted tool from the Pedestrian Safety and Mobility Audit Guide, assessment of the condition of the sidewalks was completed using the key characteristics of the sidewalks such as width, evenness, surface, and condition in the 2 major school routes. Results indicated no safe walk route in Fredonia. In Neodesha, only the sidewalks on the west side of 8th Street were in excellent condition. Safety issues identified during the assessment led to recommendation of safe pedestrian travel on only one route to school. Findings may be used to promote daily physical exercise for children, which may reduce the risk for obesity and promote social change for the community.

This thesis is an investigation of how to achieve walkability over steep urban topography greater than Americans with Disabilities Act accessible 8.33% standard. I studied how landscape architects and architects have overcome challenging topography in a variety of international cities and how to increase connectivity in the steep terrain of Washington D.C.'s Anacostia neighborhood. Specifically, this thesis explores the roles of staircases in the city and how staircases can enhance the experience of moving through the city. Topographic changes can be an obstacle to walk on: the steeper the path the harder it is to move through it, which in turn may encourage a person to use a car to travel between low and high points in the city. My hypothesis is that steep topography can be an enhancement to walkability in the city. The experience of traveling through steep terrain is unique as it can provide visually engaging environment of walking, including expansive views of the city, engaging architecture, and physical exercise. To test this hypothesis, I designed two distinct routes over steep topography to connect the Frederick Douglass National Historic Site, the Smithsonian's Anacostia Community Museum, a sports field, and the Fort Stanton Recreation Center. The paths respond to L'Enfant's method for laying out the city in "diagonal avenues superimposed over a grid system" (Nps.gov, 2018) and the very steep terrain of Anacostia, which seems to defy in places the orthagonal and axial relationships underlying L'Enfant's plan. Drawing on both L'Enfant's ordering scheme of the city and the given form of the two hundred foot escarpment above Anacostia, the design demonstrates that paths through steep terrain can be a great asset, revealing the larger order of the city through views to the monumental core, bringing people through the native forest, making more direct connections between the civic infrastructure, including the Frederick Douglass National Historic Site and the Smithsonian's Anacostia Community Museum. It shows that expanding the notion of walkability to include terrain that is not ADA accessible is important, and can be the impetus for the strategic inclusion of accessible paths where the topography permits. / Master of Landscape Architecture / This thesis is an investigation of how to create walkable spaces over steep topography in Washington, D.C. By steep topography, I concentrated on grade changes that are greater than the steepest slopes allowed in construction so that anyone can access the site. I studied how landscape architects and architects have overcome challenging topography in a variety of international cities and how to increase connectivity in the steep terrain of Washington D.C.’s Anacostia neighborhood. Specifically, this thesis explores the roles of staircases in the city and how staircases can enhance the experience of moving through the city. Walkscore’s walkability map presents a unique view of the city where walkable parts follow the topography of the city. Topographic changes can be an obstacle to walk on: the steeper the path the harder it is to move through it, which in turn may encourage a person to use a car to travel between low and high points in the city. My hypothesis is that steep topography can be an enhancement to walkability in the city. The experience of traveling through steep terrain is unique as it can provide visually engaging environment of walking, including expansive views of the city, engaging architecture, and physical exercise. To test this hypothesis, I designed two distinct routes over steep topography to connect the Frederick Douglass National Historic Site, the Smithsonian’s Anacostia Community Museum, a sports field, and the Fort Stanton Recreation Center. The paths respond to the method for laying out the city in “diagonal avenues superimposed over a grid system” (Nps.gov, 2018) established by Pierre L’Enfant, the designer of Washington, D.C., over the steep terrain of Anacostia, which seems to defy in places the orthagonal and axial relationships underlying L’Enfant’s plan. Drawing on both L’Enfant’s ordering scheme of the city and the given form of the two hundred foot escarpment above Anacostia, the design demonstrates that paths through steep terrain can be a great asset, revealing the larger order of the city through views to the monumental core, bringing people through the native forest, making more direct connections between the civic infrastructure, including the Frederick Douglass National Historic Site and the Smithsonian’s Anacostia Community Museum. It shows that expanding the notion of walkability to include terrain that is not universally accessible is important, and can be the impetus for the strategic inclusion of accessible paths where the topography permits.

Poster exhibited at GPSC Student Showcase, November 7th, 2014, University of Arizona. Winner of the Arid Land Resource Science Award.

Master of Regional and Community Planning / Department of Landscape Architecture/Regional and Community Planning / Hyung Jin Kim / This study seeks to investigate the impact of inner-city highways on walkability in urban downtowns in the United States, using Greater Downtown Kansas City as a case study. This study used the web-based online survey method to assess if inner-city highways impede the flow of pedestrians among residents and visitor of the Greater Downtown Kansas City, Missouri. The results showed that there were differences in the perception of the pedestrian environment between residents and visitors of the downtown area. Downtown residents generally had a more favorable view of the pedestrian environment than visitors of Greater Downtown. Additionally, the inner-city highways did not appear to be barriers to pedestrian mobility, which differs from the hypothesis of this study. However, although the pedestrian overpasses over the highways did have an impact on pedestrians’ perceptions and walking behaviors, newer overpasses with wider sidewalks mitigated barrier effects of highways more than older overpasses with narrow sidewalks. The study also found that walking was the most common travel mode for all trips in Greater Downtown Kansas City, despite potential barriers.

Neighborhood design affects lifestyle physical activity, and ultimately human wellbeing. There are, however, a limited number of studies that examine neighborhood design types. In this research, we examine four types of neighborhood designs: traditional development, suburban development, enclosed community, and cluster housing development, and assess their level of walkability and their effects on physical activity and wellbeing. We examine significant associations through a questionnaire (n = 486) distributed in Tucson, Arizona using the Walkability Model. Among the tested neighborhood design types, traditional development showed significant associations and the highest value for walkability, as well as for each of the two types of walking (recreation and transportation) representing physical activity. Suburban development showed significant associations and the highest mean values for mental health and wellbeing. Cluster housing showed significant associations and the highest mean value for social interactions with neighbors and for perceived safety from crime. Enclosed community did not obtain the highest means for any wellbeing benefit. The Walkability Model proved useful in identifying the walkability categories associated with physical activity and perceived crime. For example, the experience category was strongly and inversely associated with perceived crime. This study provides empirical evidence of the importance of including vegetation, particularly trees, throughout neighborhoods in order to increase physical activity and wellbeing. Likewise, the results suggest that regular maintenance is an important strategy to improve mental health and overall wellbeing in cities.

Walking to transit stations is proposed as one of the strategies to increase the use of transit. Urban planners, transportation planners, environmentalists, and health professionals encourage and support environmental interventions that can reduce the use of cars for all kinds of trips and use alternative modes of travel such as walking, biking, and mass-transit. This study investigates the influence of the built-environment on walking to transit stations. Transit-oriented communities at quarter and half-mile distances from the Dallas Area Rapid Transit (DART) station in Dallas, Texas, were analyzed to identify the relation of various constructs of built-environment on walking to the DART stations. Twenty-one pedestrian indices were reviewed to develop a comprehensive list of 73 built-environment variables used to measure the suitability to walk. This study aims to objectively measure built-environment using spatial data. Based on this criterion the total number of variables was narrowed to 32. Walking to transit, calculated as a percentage of transit users who walk to the DART LRT stations, was used as the dependent variable. The number of stations in operation and used for analysis in this study is 20(n). Therefore, bootstrapping was used to perform the statistical analysis for this study. The final pattern of variable grouping for the quarter-mile and the half-mile analysis revealed four principal components: Vehicle-Oriented Design, Density, Diversity, and Walking-Oriented Design. Bootstrap regression revealed that density ( = -0.767) was the only principal component that significantly (p<0.05) explained walking to transit station at quarter-mile distance from the station. At half-mile distance built-environment variables did not report any significant relation to walking to transit. The present study revealed that mere increase of density should not be taken as a proxy of increase in walking. Environmental interventions that can promote walking should be identified even at locations with high density. Further studies should use advanced statistical techniques such as Hierarchical Linear Modeling or Structural Equation Modeling to test the relationship of both the principal components and the individual variables that define the principal component to clearly understand the relationship of built-environment with walking to transit station.