Reliability of T-WSI to Evaluate Neighborhoods Walkability and Its Changes over Time

Abstract

More walkable neighborhoods are linked to increased physical activity. The Walking Suitability Index of the territory (T-WSI) is an easy method to evaluate walkability on the basis of direct observation. T-WSI provides 12 indicators divided into 4 categories (practicability, safety, urbanity, pleasantness); the weighted analysis of these indicators gives an overall score of the actual usability of the neighborhood. The aim of the study is to evaluate the ability of T-WSI’ indicators to measure, in a reliable way, any street’s walkability variations occurred over time. The investigation was performed in 2018 in nine urban neighborhoods of Rieti city. Cronbach’s α is used to evaluate internal consistency of T-WSI; Intraclass Correlation Coefficient (ICC) is used to evaluate the reproducibility of measurements (or ratings) made by different investigators. Cronbach’s α is 0.89 (± 0.02); ICC is also good (ICC = 0.89; 95% CI: 0.84–0.92). The results of the 2018 investigation are also compared with those collected in 2016 in the same districts. The results show that T-WSI is a reliable and easy to use tool, useful to measure the effectiveness of the interventions already realized at local level, but it could also contribute to making decisions to develop regeneration projects.