A Participatory Assessment of Perceived Neighbourhood Walkability in a Small Urban Environment

Walkability has become a research topic of great concern for preserving public health, especially in the era COVID-19 outbreak. Today more than ever, urban and transport policies, constrained by social distancing measures travel restrictions, must be conceptualized implemented with particular emphasis on sustainable walkability. Most walkability models apply observation subjective methods to measure walkability, whereas few studies address based sense perception. To fill this gap, we aim at investigating perceived neighbourhood (PNW) perception Brussels. We designed survey that integrates 22 items grouped into 5 dimensions (cleanness, visual aesthetics, landscape nature, feeling pressure, safety), as well socio-demographic attributes participants. Using various statistical methods, show socio-demographics have almost no effects Nonetheless, found significant differences between groups different educational backgrounds. Furthermore, using binomial regression model, strong associations PNW least one item from each grouping dimension. Finally, deep neural network classification, good predictive capabilities (78% classification accuracy). These findings can help integrate objective measurement walkable environments. Additionally, policy recommendations should targeted across groups.