The Walkability of the Cities

Abstract

The issue of city walkability is nowadays a theme in evidence. The chapter proposes a two-level reasoning. At the city level, the goal is to recognize the parts where actions aimed at improving walkability can be more effective. The second level is more detailed: lacking pedestrian paths' specific graphs, the urban space is modeled through a raster with 1x1 m. cells. Considering a series of criteria, an impedance has been assigned to each cell (i.e., the cost of travelling the cell on foot). This approach is applied to the city of Torino (Italy), but it is largely generalizable. To calculate this impedance, inter alia, the Torino geo-topographic database was used. The elaborations described in this chapter are seen as an aid to stakeholders to reason on city walkability and to compare different points of view in an explicit and articulated way.