Externalities in the Urban Economy
October 31, 2025Walkable streets: Pedestrian behavior, perceptions and attitudes
October 31, 2025Research Article
Measuring the Unmeasurable: Urban Design Qualities Related to Walkability
By Ewing, R., & Handy, S.
Full Citation
Ewing, R., & Handy, S. (2009). Measuring the unmeasurable: Urban design qualities related to walkability. Journal of Urban Design, 14(1), 65-84.
Key Findings
This study offers measurements of subjective qualities of the urban street environment that support pedestrian behavior. Using ratings from an expert panel, it was possible to measure five urban design qualities in terms of physical characteristics of streets and their edges: imageability, enclosure, human scale, transparency and complexity.
