Investigating Built Environment Indicators to Develop a Local Walkability Index

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.25034/ijcua.2021.v5n2-7

Keywords:

Local Walkability Index, Pedestrian Walking Behaviour, Urban Design, Mixed-use Street, Cairo

Abstract

Many studies have been conducted over the last 20 years to determine and measure factors that affect the walkability of city streets. Walkability is an essential factor in deciding whether a city is green or sustainable. This paper creates a comprehensive walkability index by analysing built environmental indicators that affect walkability. This research was conducted on mixed land use streets in Cairo, Egypt, combining the results from an online survey and a walkability assessment model developed by multi-criteria decision analysis techniques. The results were based on a three-pillar approach starting with the theoretical background to frame the walkability indicator, numerical assessment over the Egyptian cases using a multi-criteria decision-making (MCDM) technique and a qualitative user perception survey. Our results confirm that determining to what extent Cairo’s streets are walkable is crucial to enhancing pedestrians’ perceptions of the walking environment. Furthermore, the results illustrated the essential factors within the built environment indicators that influence pedestrian walking behaviour.

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Author Biographies

B.Sc. Menna Tarek, Ain Shams University, Faculty of Engineering, Cairo, Egypt

Tarek is an experienced Teaching Assistant with a demonstrated history of working in the higher education industry for 4 years. She is skilled in Architectural Programs, Manual Rendering, Urban Planning, and Communication. She is currently working on her Master of Science from the postgraduate program in Ain shams university faculty of Engineering. She also participated in an international cooperation project and workshop with Eötvös Loránd University in Hungary in the field of Architecture, Urban Design and Landscape. She is a strong research professional with a bachelor’s degree focused in Landscape Architecture from Ain Shams University. She can be reached at: menna.tarek@eng.asu.edu.eg

Honours And Awards: 2018 Third Prize in the competition of the National Organization of Urban Harmony, NOUH about Landscaping of the New Capital Squares, 2018.

Prof. Dr. Ghada Farouk Hassan, Ain Shams University, Faculty of Engineering, Cairo, Egypt

Academic Rank

Since April 2012 she is a Professor of Urban Design and Planning at Ain Shams University and head of the department of urban planning and design and member of the Higher Committee of Promoting Professors. She was formerly Head of the Department of Architecture at the Faculty of engineering, French University of Egypt. In addition, she had been General Manager of the Technical Office at the General Organization of physical planning, GOPP, Ministry of Housing Utilities and Urban Community for 6 years since 2006

Teaching and Training Activities: She is Responsible for the following courses: Urban ecology, and Environmental Planning for the ungraduated level, Eco Urban design, and Landscape planning for the Post Graduate level at the IUSD. She has been conducting and preparing TOT courses in urban planning, participatory process, and experiences, strategic planning in urban development to Iraqi relatives through the Iraq program sponsored by UN-HABITAT, and she was Trainer for Slum Upgrading and gender issues for Iraqis technical staff (localities) in June 2005 conducted by UN and ministry of housing and urban settlements and infrastructure

Professional Experience: She was leading the National Project for Mapping Needs as a new approach for integrating social, economic, and environmental dimensions in demarcating unplanned areas in the Cities of Egypt. Also participating in the inventory and the surveys and the classification for unsafe areas in Egypt as a consultant at ISDF (Informal Settlement Development Funds). Moreover, she was Participating in several development projects in Saudi Arabia such as the coastal development of Half Moon Beach and the landscape of the KAND project as a leading consultant at BECT firm. In Addition, she was the leader of teams in the following responsibility: Participating in the preparation of the strategic urban development plan (SUP) of 50 cities, managed by UN-Habitat as a team leader and urban planner; Evaluating (recruited by UNDP) the project of Participatory Slum Upgrading in El-Hallous and El-Bahtini, Governorate of Ismailia – Ismailia City and Markaz – El-Hallous and El-Bahtini and in assessing experience, extract best practice and lesson learned; Managing a research action-oriented project titled “the National Program for the Development of Rural Strategic Plans" sponsored by the General Organization for Physical Planning with technical cooperation from UN-HABITAT in over 500 Egyptian villages as a contribution to the implementation of the United Nations Millennium Development Goals (MDGs); and adapting of the UN-HABITAT Urban Sector Profile Study tools to be used in the context of the Egyptian village as the expert to the GOPP. This included the development of tools for the implementation of the study at the village level. As a team member in the program

Honours And Awards: 2018 First Prize in the competition of the National Organization of Urban Harmony, NOUH about Landscaping of the New Capital Squares, 2018

Publications are mainly the field of Urban Ecology, Landscaping, Housing, Slum Upgrading, Regenerative Approach and Strategic Planning, She has more than 10 articles published in scientific journals, and she had been organized and participate in more than 14 conferences, either local or international, and she had published one book. H-Index 3, Citation 34 (Scopus May 2021) H-index 5 citation 158 (google scholar May 2021).  https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7528-3178

Prof. Dr. Abeer Elshater, Ain Shams University, Faculty of Engineering, Cairo, Egypt

topics in the ideology of urban design. She is a personal investigator to a funded research project (STDF Basic & Applied Research Grants (STDF-BARG 37234) by Science, Technology, and Innovation Funding Authority (STDF) about urban heat islands and urban forms. Elshater has also worked on some international research projects with international universities. She also is co-editor, author and co-author of several books and scientific manuscripts. Currently, Elshater acts as an ambassador of the Regional Studies Association, United Kingdom (UK). She can be reached at: abeer.elshater@eng.asu.edu.eg

Dr. Mohamed Elfayoumi, Ain Shams University, Faculty of Engineering, Cairo, Egypt

Dr. Fayoumi has a major interest in Architecture, urban design and landscaping design approaches, added to it the interactions between the urban field and that of traffic, transportation, and roads design. Dr. Fayoumi has been teaching and supervising multidisciplinary topics, both undergraduate and postgraduate, at Ain Shams University since 1999 and is currently an Associate Professor at the Department of Urban Design and Planning. Also, he has many positions upon the faculty as Assistant of Vice Dean, Unit Head & Academic Coordinator of Landscape Architecture Program, was the Manager of Consultancy Unit for Planning & Urban Design and is a member in its board committee. He is the academic coordinator of Ezbet Research Project from ASU (Ain Shams University)- With Stuttgart University. Additionally, he has participated in and coordinated several international cooperation projects and workshops with Universities in Germany, Italy, Sweden, Belgium, Hungary, and France in the field of Architecture, Landscape, urban design, transportation and traffic.

Fields of Interests:

  • Architecture, Urban Design and Landscaping.
  • Informal Settlement Development.
  • Participatory planning.
  • Urban dynamics & Development.
  • Participatory Needs Assessment
  • Sustainable Urban Transportation and Mobility.

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Urban planning, Spatial planning, Urban Design, Urban, Sustainability, Globalization, Pandemic and Urban Public Spaces, Conflict and Divided Territories, Emerging Cities, Morphology, Infra Habitation, Slums, Affordable Houses, Gated Communities, Revitalization, Regeneration and Urban renewal, Quality of Life, Rapid Urbanization, Urban Sprawl, Journal of Contemporary urban affairs.

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Published

2021-12-16

How to Cite

Tarek, M., Hassan, G. F., Elshater, A., & Elfayoumi, M. (2021). Investigating Built Environment Indicators to Develop a Local Walkability Index. Journal of Contemporary Urban Affairs, 5(2), 235–251. https://doi.org/10.25034/ijcua.2021.v5n2-7

Issue

Vol. 5 No. 2 (2021): Journal of Contemporary Urban Affairs

Section

Citizenship Rights and Responsibilities

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Copyright (c) 2021 B.Sc. Menna Tarek, Prof. Dr. Ghada Farouk Hassan, Prof. Dr. Abeer Elshater, Dr. Mohamed Elfayoumi

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This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

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