Geographic identity and perceptions of walkable space

Walkability can be broadly conceived of as an evaluation of the suitability of a built environment for pedestrian locomotion and has recently become a popular concept across a multitude of disciplines. This seemingly simple concept has expanded over the years, and now operates on a multitude of scales and utilizes a variety of measurement techniques. This sprawling field now faces a challenge, with several studies concluding that walkability is becoming conceptually incoherent as it is applied in more situations-a challenge exacerbated by a lack of standardization in methodologies or definitions. Further confounding concerns of conceptual incoherence is the variability of human experience across the globe, acknowledging that different groups of people may have different values for what makes space walkable. This study explores these challenges through a comparison of two groups' perceptions of walkable space, namely one in Montreal, Canada and one in Pune, India. By having participants from both locations rate large numbers of streetscape images based on their perceived walkability, and by comparing such ratings with machine-learning image segmentation results, aspects of the built environment that constituted walkable space for each group were evaluated. We found that while there is a difference in how walkability is conceived of in terms of elements of the built environment, a common conception of general walkability exists between the two groups. This scalar difference has important implications for future walkability work, implying that further research is needed to delineate universal walkability from contextualized walkability.

Automated summary

Walkability, a popular concept across disciplines, faces challenges due to its conceptual incoherence and lack of standardization. This study explores the perceptions of walkable space in two groups in Canada and India, finding that while there are differences in the conception of walkability in terms of built environment elements, a common understanding of general walkability exists between the two groups.