Design and maintain a healthy urban environment for walking

This doctoral project aims to increase our understanding of how specific groups of pedestrians perceive their surroundings and of the planning barriers that affect their ability to walk.

The overarching research question is:
“How can we create, design, and maintain a healthy urban environment for walking as a mode of transportation based on the needs and requirements of specific groups of pedestrians?”

Walking is rarely systematically integrated into transportation planning. It is often taken for granted, based on the assumption that pedestrians can move anywhere, which means that walking receives limited attention in planning. In many countries, transportation planning prioritizes motorized vehicles and, more recently, cycling. At the same time, walking is often overlooked, even though it is a fundamental part of the urban transportation system that connects all other modes of transport.

The research examines the following questions:

• What does the current scientific literature say about walking as a mode of transportation?
• What barriers prevent walking from being prioritized as a mode of transportation in different countries?
• How do older residents in the Swedish Arctic region experience and use their local environment, and which features of the local environment are most important in their daily lives?
• Do older adults want to go out more often? Who would like to do so—and what prevents them?