Walkability in Amsterdam: A research investigating the most suitable walkability index for predicting walking behavior in Amsterdam.

Abstract

This research investigates the most suitable walkability index for predicting walking behavior in Amsterdam. While walkability has already been widely researched, there is no one-size-fits-all model to predict walkability. Variables that are used in North American and Australian Walkability Indices (WIs) may not be directly applicable to a European context. To find the most suitable walkability index for Amsterdam, this study uses a review of related work, a comparison of the three chosen walkability indices, two types of sensitivity analysis, a regression analysis, and a correlation analysis. The regression analysis pointed out that the Urban Walkability Index has the largest share of explained variance out of all three existing Walkability Index models that were compared; the Graz Walkability Index and Frank’s Walkability Index were found to be less suitable. In this study, a walkability index is constructed especially for the context of Amsterdam. This Amsterdam Walkability Index turns out to be the most suitable walkability index for predicting walking behavior in Amsterdam, since 30.6% of variance in mean walking distance per postal code area can be ascribed to the index.