Perception of Urban Environments and Walkability: The Case of Six Neighbourhoods in Santiago, Chile

Marie Geraldine Herrmann-Lunecke (Universidad Diego Portales)

Promoting walkability should be a key policy to encourage sustainable urban environments and healthier urban living. Walking is not only a sustainable transport mode, it also facilitates social interaction and urban vitality and several studies show that walking improves the physical and mental health of people. In this context, the concepts of “walkability” and “walkable environments” have gained increasing attention worldwide, including New Urban Agendas. In fact, in Chile, the recent National Urban Development Policy (2014) sets out the promotion of walking as an important urban policy and sustainable development goal.

This research analyses how pedestrian environments are perceived by different urban communities, in order to understand which features of the built environment promote walking, and, contrarily, which features inhibit pedestrian movement. The study cases are six pericentral neighbourhoods in Santiago (Chile), a metropolis of almost seven million people, with growing traffic and pollution problems. Through “walking interviews” with 120 local residents realized during September, October and November 2018, this research analyses in detail how different people and communities perceive their urban environments in terms of walkability, and what attributes of the urban environment promote or inhibit walking. Findings show that features which promote walkability are active uses, wide sidewalks, lack of traffic noise, and presence of trees. On the contrary, motorized traffic, presence of garbage and difficult street crossings clearly discourage pedestrian movement. Finally, this research reflects on how to involve affected communities through more participatory planning approaches in the design of pedestrian friendly streets, in order to promote more walkable urban environments and sustainable cities.

This research has been supported by Conicyt Fondecyt Project N°1170292.