Application of Walkability Index for Older Adults’ Health in the Brazilian Context: The Case of Vitória-ES, Brazil
This study follows up on the article ‘Walkability Index for Elderly Health: A Proposal’, published in 2020, as well its validation in the Historic Center of Porto, published in 2021. The 2020 article presented the theoretical and methodological bases relating qualities of public spaces, the walkabil...
Autores principales: | , |
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Formato: | Online Artículo Texto |
Lenguaje: | English |
Publicado: |
MDPI
2022
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Materias: | |
Acceso en línea: | https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8835329/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/35162505 http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/ijerph19031483 |
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author | Bonatto, Daniella do Amaral Mello Alves, Fernando Brandão |
author_facet | Bonatto, Daniella do Amaral Mello Alves, Fernando Brandão |
author_sort | Bonatto, Daniella do Amaral Mello |
collection | PubMed |
description | This study follows up on the article ‘Walkability Index for Elderly Health: A Proposal’, published in 2020, as well its validation in the Historic Center of Porto, published in 2021. The 2020 article presented the theoretical and methodological bases relating qualities of public spaces, the walkability of older adults, and the direct benefits on health. The 2021 article validated the applicability of the index in the Historic Center of Porto, Portugal. Both articles incorporated the factor ‘slope’, solving a criticism evidenced in related literature about the slope being ignored in older adults’ walking conditions studies. The present study, however, aims to validate the conceptual design of the Walkability Index for Elderly Health (WIEH) in the Brazilian context at the historic center of Vitória. The methodology included the analysis and evaluation of public spaces regarding the pedestrian network—urban fabric, urban scene, and safety—and the presence of slopes and/or stairways. Subsequently, these spaces were classified according to the WIEH, ascertaining their level of adequacy for older adults’ walkability. The results show that paths friendly to older adults are rare and that the problems encountered focus primarily on the low quality of the pedestrian network and not on the existence of slopes and stairways. |
format | Online Article Text |
id | pubmed-8835329 |
institution | National Center for Biotechnology Information |
language | English |
publishDate | 2022 |
publisher | MDPI |
record_format | MEDLINE/PubMed |
spelling | pubmed-88353292022-02-12 Application of Walkability Index for Older Adults’ Health in the Brazilian Context: The Case of Vitória-ES, Brazil Bonatto, Daniella do Amaral Mello Alves, Fernando Brandão Int J Environ Res Public Health Article This study follows up on the article ‘Walkability Index for Elderly Health: A Proposal’, published in 2020, as well its validation in the Historic Center of Porto, published in 2021. The 2020 article presented the theoretical and methodological bases relating qualities of public spaces, the walkability of older adults, and the direct benefits on health. The 2021 article validated the applicability of the index in the Historic Center of Porto, Portugal. Both articles incorporated the factor ‘slope’, solving a criticism evidenced in related literature about the slope being ignored in older adults’ walking conditions studies. The present study, however, aims to validate the conceptual design of the Walkability Index for Elderly Health (WIEH) in the Brazilian context at the historic center of Vitória. The methodology included the analysis and evaluation of public spaces regarding the pedestrian network—urban fabric, urban scene, and safety—and the presence of slopes and/or stairways. Subsequently, these spaces were classified according to the WIEH, ascertaining their level of adequacy for older adults’ walkability. The results show that paths friendly to older adults are rare and that the problems encountered focus primarily on the low quality of the pedestrian network and not on the existence of slopes and stairways. MDPI 2022-01-28 /pmc/articles/PMC8835329/ /pubmed/35162505 http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/ijerph19031483 Text en © 2022 by the authors. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). |
spellingShingle | Article Bonatto, Daniella do Amaral Mello Alves, Fernando Brandão Application of Walkability Index for Older Adults’ Health in the Brazilian Context: The Case of Vitória-ES, Brazil |
title | Application of Walkability Index for Older Adults’ Health in the Brazilian Context: The Case of Vitória-ES, Brazil |
title_full | Application of Walkability Index for Older Adults’ Health in the Brazilian Context: The Case of Vitória-ES, Brazil |
title_fullStr | Application of Walkability Index for Older Adults’ Health in the Brazilian Context: The Case of Vitória-ES, Brazil |
title_full_unstemmed | Application of Walkability Index for Older Adults’ Health in the Brazilian Context: The Case of Vitória-ES, Brazil |
title_short | Application of Walkability Index for Older Adults’ Health in the Brazilian Context: The Case of Vitória-ES, Brazil |
title_sort | application of walkability index for older adults’ health in the brazilian context: the case of vitória-es, brazil |
topic | Article |
url | https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8835329/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/35162505 http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/ijerph19031483 |
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