The purpose of this project is three-fold: 1) to evaluate neighborhood walkability near middle schools in terms of infrastructure amenities that enhance pedestrian safety; 2) to evaluate walkability using streetscape characteristics to augment neighborhood scale variables; and 3) to compare student transportation behavior with the walkability safety characteristics identified for four neighborhoods in Springfield and Bend, Oregon.
Using a pedestrian environment audit instrument with mobile GIS technology and a household transportation survey of middle school students, the results presented in this paper provide a micro- as well as macro-scale analysis of neighborhood walkability and pedestrian safety. GIS software was used to evaluate the spatial distribution of land-use types, street and intersection densities and characteristics, and student routes to school.
