Avaliação da caminhabilidade em área urbana utilizando análise multicritério

Abstract

To assess the quality of the environment for walking, there are several evaluation methods, however, walkability can be highlighted, as walkability is the measure of how much the built environment supports and encourages walking, providing comfort and safety for pedestrians, connecting people to varied destinations within a reasonable period of time and effort and offering an attractive visual. The present research seeks to develop a procedure to assess the walkability of Brazilian cities using Multicriteria Assessment. The methodology used for the development of the research consists of: (1) Identification of indicators that can be used to assess walkability, (2) Attribution of weights to indicators through the application of questionnaires for specialists in transport planning, (3) ) Data collection from selected study areas, (4) Data normalization through fuzzy logic, (5) Indicator integration through Weighted Linear Combination and (6) Analysis of the results obtained. As a result, it was possible to identify the indicators to carry out a walkability assessment. Data were collected in three study areas referring to each of the indicators and an evaluation was carried out with the normalized scores through fuzzy functions for each of the indicators. The application was carried out in three different areas of the city of Ribeirão Preto to verify the effectiveness of the method and compare the level of walkability between a central area and two peripheral areas. Through the results obtained in the research areas, it was possible to identify that the level of walkability of the municipality is different between the neighborhoods, identifying that the central area and the peripheral area occupied by a population of middle/high class have a level of walkability superior to the area peripheral area occupied by a middle/lower class population. The application of this research can be used as a model to analyze the walkability of urban areas, and can be used as a tool to define improvements to increase the safety conditions of pedestrian spaces, increase the attractiveness of this mode of transport and establish more accessible routes. , with better displacement conditions. The results of the application of this tool may also serve as an aid in decision-making on investments in urban infrastructure for pedestrians.