Walkability App
A free tool that invites citizens to share their walking experiences linked to the quality of public space, so that they can be spatially analysed by authorities to ensure targeted interventions make walking safer, easier and more enjoyable.
A participatory mapping tool
The Walkability App is a participatory mapping tool, developed by WALK21, that enables pedestrians to share their positive and negative walking experiences while identifying the environmental factors influencing them. Users can provide additional information such as age, gender, purpose of the walk, and their familiarity with the area. Each observation includes details such as time, date, location, and weather conditions.
Designed to support walkability research and policy-making, the app offers valuable insights into how public spaces affect pedestrian experiences. The fine-grained, geolocated data generated allows for up-to-date assessments of walkability, identifying pedestrian-friendly areas and understanding the reasons behind positive experiences.
This information aids policymakers in promoting and replicating successful areas while identifying and prioritizing locations in need of specific interventions and improvements. Furthermore, the app enables segmentation of data by age, gender, and individual abilities, fostering a deeper understanding of the unique needs and barriers faced by different population groups.
By adopting this inclusive approach, policymakers can design and manage public space interventions that cater to diverse groups. The app's systematic data collection, analysis, and presentation methods, tailored to the specific population and location, make it a valuable tool for walkability case studies and reassessing the impact of walkability interventions.
The Walkability App is available for free in the Apple and Google Play Store to benefit communities anywhere in the world where there is a demand for the walking experience to be improved and an interest from the relevant authority to improve the safety, accessibility and welcome for citizens.
How does it work?
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Plan the data collection
Train the interview team
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Conduct the interviews
Analyse by stratified samples
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Identify place-based results
Plan responsive interventions
CASE STUDY
Lusaka, Zambia
The Walkability App was applied in ten study areas of Lusaka, Zambia, in a project led by the Zambia Road Safety Trust.
Ten surveyors were trained by Walk21, who interviewed 1,137 people walking in the streets of the capital over a 5-day period and captured 4,791 reports of environmental determinants affecting their experience.
Pedestrian crossings
were citied the most frequently as a determinant that influenced walking
Overall, a third of experiences were positive (green) and two thirds negative (amber or red).
The study highlighted that children, older people and those with disabilities had more negative experiences walking in Lusaka.
CASE STUDY
Kigali, Rwanda
The Walkability App was applied in fifteen study areas of Kigali, Rwanda, in a project led by the University of Rwanda in partnership with the City of Kigali.
Seven surveyors were trained by Walk21. They interviewed 1,339 people walking in the streets of the capital over a 4-day period and captured 5,833 reports of environmental determinants affecting their experience.
Overall, more than a third of experiences were positive (green) and about 60% negative (amber or red).
The study highlighted that school zones in particular offer safer crossings, and wider footpaths are needed to improve the safety of children walking in Kigali.
The Safe Systems Approach
The experience of pedestrians is at the very centre of designing a safe system. The Walkability App invites users to identify a dozen pre-determined categories of factors that are influencing their experience providing a geo-coded insight into the interventions required to make the system safer. This includes actions to:
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Support and encourage people to walk: coordinating events and campaigns targeting driver behaviour etc.
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Create safe, easy and enjoyable places to walk: creating walking networks to public transport and other everyday destinations, reallocating road space to prioritise people, slowing vehicular traffic etc
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Embed walking into the policy process: setting the regulatory framework, securing finance and monitoring satisfaction of pedestrians etc.
