Accessible City
“Walking is a crucial condition for sustainable urban development”
The GoodWalk Project Phase 1, under the support of the THPF, has the objective to study the landscape of knowledge, experience, and framework to inform advocacy for the development of walkable cities in Thailand. This project Which developed a measure of the potential for access to urban facilities on foot and led to the creation of a spatial database system and an open platform for the city, with dissemination of knowledge and information from research to the public.
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Walking is an important condition for sustainable urban development. On a personal level, walking increases physical activity in a way that enhances the health of people on a daily basis that is also easy and free. On the societal level, walking helps to distribute income, resulting in economic development at the local level as well as promoting equality and horizontal relationships among people in society. It can be observed that cities around the world have embraced these rinciples and are developing walkable cities where most people use walking, bicycles and Mass transportation as the main means of transportation.
Study and analysis of accessibility on foot is considered the first step in understanding the basic potential of a GoodWalk city. This project is considered to be the first of its kind in Thailand that collected pedestrian behavior data at the city level in Thailand. Together with using the spatial database of the city, the key product is the GoodWalk (i.e., Walkability) Index, which reflects the capability to support access by pedestrian-friendly footpaths.
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More than that, this index can be used as a scientific tool for evaluating the efficiency of area and city planning in urban areas around the country. The project promotes the exchange and critical analysis from interdisciplinary perspectives at both national and international levels. All of this information is made public via the GoodWalk website, which is considered Thailand's first open-space database.
PROJECT FACT
Project Name : A project to study the potential of access to public facilities/amenities that promote walking and the project to study the Walkability Index Phase 1
Client : Thai Health Promotion Foundation
Year : 2015
Status : Studies and Research
Program / Role : Research