Thematic work packages

Six interdisciplinary categories have been identified where knowledge is lacking, or where existing knowledge has traditionally not yet been consolidated but still belongs to separate scientific disciplines:

Data and Indicators for Monitoring

Whether concerning exposure data, injury data, safety perception data, or forward-looking indicators related to pedestrians, there are deficiencies in data quality and definitions. The lack of flow and exposure data is particularly critical, as it hampers the interpretation of other data on pedestrian traffic.

Responsibility, Organisation, and Working Methods

Questions of responsibility are complex within the transport system—and even more so when it comes to pedestrians. The needs of pedestrians, whether related to maintenance, planning, or safety, are distributed among many societal actors. At present, there is no coordinating organisation or actor that brings these perspectives together. Instead, responsibilities are divided among different municipal departments, regions, national authorities, property owners, and individuals.

Social Sustainability Perspectives and Gender Equality

There is a lack of knowledge about socio-economic risk and protective factors. Knowledge about who is affected by accidents is limited, apart from rudimentary factors such as age and gender. Since socio-economic factors are central to understanding and explaining risk, exposure, and behavioural patterns, this lack of knowledge is problematic.

Socioeconomic Effects

The effects of walking as a mode of transport are underestimated in society. Consequently, significant societal costs—such as health and medical care expenses associated with walking—are excluded, which disadvantages measures to improve conditions for pedestrians. Likewise, other socially related aspects are overlooked, such as the effects of interventions that positively or negatively influence walking, and how these in turn affect the economy. To fully understand walking’s overall impact on individuals and society, a more comprehensive understanding is needed of the social costs and benefits associated with walking.

Societal and Spatial Analysis and Planning

This work package deals with planning in a broad sense—from the street level up to the urban and regional levels. It includes both physical/spatial aspects and the planning process itself. From design, safety, and experiential perspectives, soft values such as perceptions, security, and aesthetics are important components in relation to physical and spatial planning. The approach is therefore that research is needed which integrates societal and spatial planning to support planning for walking, including quantitative geographic accessibility analyses and urban design analyses as tools.

Traffic Safety, with a Focus on Fall Prevention

Traffic safety for pedestrians (types of accidents, types of injuries, risks, different groups, etc.) is a concern across all the aforementioned work packages. One specific type of accident is the single pedestrian accident, often defined as a fall accident. Such incidents are frequently classified as medical or geriatric issues rather than traffic accidents, which results in inadequate problem descriptions. The lack of data in turn makes it difficult to evaluate interventions.