A new assessment model to evaluate the microscale sidewalk design factors at the neighbourhood level

- We used micro-scale design factors to assess the sidewalks at the neighbourhood level.
- The tool involves people in examining process.
- The internal consistency of the tool is high for the majority of assessment items.
- The output of the proposed tool is usable for prioritizing the investments to the walking facilities that need improvements.

To date, several assessment tools have been developed to evaluate the pedestrian environments and sidewalks at the street and neighbourhood level. While the existing tools that assess sidewalks at the street level consider the microscale sidewalk factors, the assessment tools at the neighbourhood level neglected the importance of microlevel factors for the assessment purpose. In addition, the important role of residents in neighbourhoods in the examination and review procedure of neighbourhood facilities is overlooked. In contrast with previous assessment methods that considered macro and mesoscale factors for assessment purpose, this research has developed an assessment method to evaluate the neighbourhood sidewalks using the microscale factors. This tool has been developed in the form of a questionnaire to assess the sidewalk conditions within the neighbourhoods. The proposed tool has been tested in three neighbourhoods within Johor Bahru District in Malaysia. Most sidewalk factors in these surveys showed moderate to high reliability. The results of using the proposed tool indicate that the tool is capable of identifying the drawbacks of neighbourhood sidewalks. In addition, this tool allows the residents to convey their needs to city planners and ask for improving existing sidewalks. Lastly, the tool appears ready to be used by urban planners and researchers.