An Application of the Walkability Index for Elderly Health-WIEH. The Case of the UNESCO Historic Centre of Porto, Portugal

Abstract

This work provides a follow-up to the article Walkability Index for Elderly Health: A Proposal, published in 2020. Previous research linked the quality of public spaces, walkability characteristics relevant to older people, and the direct health benefits of walking for the same target group. The present article, on the other hand, aims to validate the conceptual design of the walkability index for elderly health (WIEH), developed by the authors in the previous study, by applying it to a study area located in the historic center of Porto, Portugal. Therefore, public spaces and the pedestrian network are analyzed according to their suitability for older people's walkability. Presented in a visual format, the results show that only a few paths within the study area were strongly suited to older people, and emphasize the impact of existing steep slopes on the quality of the pedestrian network.