Description

Proportion of road network dedicated to pedestrians and/or bicyclists (% of network)

Increase in pedestrian and bicycle traffic is regarded beneficial for its economic, environmental, health and life quality effects. Availability of pedestrian paths and bicycle lanes can decrease the dependency on automobile ownership and use and related costs, free space from automobile traffic and congestion, reduce air pollution, increase physical activity and related health benefits and improve social activity and interaction within communities.

Scale as linked to D2.2 framework

• City
• Neighborhood
• Street

Data source [ link to data framework]

• Satellite

Data needs

• Length of pedestrian and/or bicycling paths (e.g., from a map) Length of the entire road network

Expected Outputs

• Quantitative output

Calculation methods

• The proportion of road network dedicated to pedestrians and/or bicyclists is calculated as the total pedestrian/bicycle path length measured as a percentage of the total road network in the whole urban community in question. The pedestrian/bicycle paths are roads or lanes designated and marked for use by pedestrians and/or bicycles. The calculation can be performed from a map with adequate markings of path types and lengths, from which pedestrian/bicycle paths are summed. Pedestrian paths and bicycle routes can be considered together or separately, depending on the specific metric desired.
• 

Links and references

• Van den Bosch et al (2015) Autonomic Nervous System Responses to Viewing Green and Built Settings: Differentiating Between Sympathetic and Parasympathetic Activity. Int J Environ Res Public Health; 12(12): 15860–15874
• Berto (2014) The role of nature in coping with psycho-physiological stress: a literature review on restorativeness. Behav Sci (Basel). 2014 Oct 21;4(4):394-409
• Bratman et al (2012) The impacts of nature experience on human cognitive function and mental health. Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences; 1249(1): 118-136
• Abkar et al (2010) Influences of viewing nature through windows. Australian Journal of Basic and Applied Sciences; 4(10): 5346-5351