Assessing Walkability in Urban Neighborhoods by Using Walk Score Method Case study: Pirsara and Golsar neighborhoods of Rasht

Introduction: Sustainable transportation systems improve the quality of urban life, but today, excessive dependence on cars and lack of attention to walkability have caused problems in achieving sustainable development. Also, car dependency, endangers individual and social life, while the use of sustainable transportation systems improves the quality of life. Therefore, one of the sustainable transportation methods that interest urban planners and designers today is walkability. Walking is the most basic type of urban transportation, and also, it is the safest and most comfortable one. But in the last few decades, most of the cities have been car-oriented and walking has been neglected. In order to study the walkability in the cities the neighborhoods are the most important spaces. The main goal of the current research is to measure the walkability in two neighborhoods of Rasht using the walk score method. Although this method is known worldwide, very few researchers in Iran have used this method. Therefore, the innovation of the current research is the use of the walk score method to measure the walkability of Pirsara and Golsar neighborhoods of Rasht City, which are different in terms of structure, texture, and economic, cultural, and social characteristics.
Methodology: Walk score is one of the practical methods of analyzing the amount of walkability that has met with great popularity in the world. It should be noted that this method is used in various fields such as urban planning, health, transportation, and real estate. The walk score algorithm is based on the distance of the residential unit to the nearest amenities. These amenities include grocery stores, restaurants, coffee shops, cafes, cinemas, schools, parks, libraries, bookstores, sports clubs, pharmacies, digital stores, clothing, and music stores. Scoring is based on the shortness of the distance, and the shorter the distance, the better, and receives more points. This score indicates the walkability of the neighborhood. To perform the walk score method, three categories of information including network and walkability distances, street quantitative indicators (including the number of intersections and the average length of blocks), and the score of specific group users are required.
Results: The findings show that both Pirsara and Golsar neighborhoods of Rasht city, despite their differences in terms of age, physical structure, and socio-economic status of the residents, have good walking ability and most of the trips can be done on foot. The short distance between the blocks, high permeability, and also the presence of many retail stores in the Pirsara neighborhood have made it easy for the people of this neighborhood to access daily services on foot. The checkered and regular texture, high permeability, and the commercial edge of the main street of the Golsar neighborhood have also facilitated the access of the residents of this neighborhood to urban facilities and services. Therefore, the amount of walk score can be directly related to the environmental and physical characteristics of the neighborhoods.
Discussion: The high walk score in the two mentioned neighborhoods has different origins. Due to the short distance between the blocks, Pirsara has a high level of permeability, and at the same time, the presence of scattered commercial retail shops in the texture has made it easy for the people of this neighborhood to access daily services on foot. On the other hand, the checkered and regular texture of Golsar is the reason for the high permeability of this neighborhood and the commercial edge of its main street has facilitated the residents' access. Therefore, the walk score of these neighborhoods is directly related to the environmental characteristics related to walking. On the other hand, due to the lack of separation between pedestrians and vehicle way, the lack of proper flooring and attractions along the route, the walkability of Pirsara neighborhood is lower compared to its level of Golsar neighborhood. As a result, more attention should be paid to Pirsara neighborhood compared to Golsar district.
CONCLUSION: Although the Walk Score method pays attention to important quantitative indicators such as access to attractive uses for walkability, the number of intersections, and the average length of the block, many qualitative indicators of walkability such as the quality of footpath flooring, security and safety, street lighting and legibility of the environment are disregarded.  It ignores localities. Therefore, it is necessary to use other methods of walkability evaluation besides this method in order to get favorable results.Some indicators that the walk score method does not consider are the existence of a separate walking path with flooring and curbs, the quality of the walking path when it rains, the cleanliness of the walking paths at the alleys, the lighting of the neighborhood accesses at night, the safety of walkability during the day and night, the absence of obstacles, and the legibility of the environment.