Applicazione di strumenti GIS-based per la qualità del camminare

Nowadays, walkability is considered as an essential requirement for urban planning, related to economic environmental and social aspects. After the COVID-19 pandemic, it has become a prerequisite for fostering walkable neighborhoods and cities. The analysis of the international scientific literature has identified about 80 indexes for its evaluation, related to the characteristics of the urban built environment that affect the quality of walkability. To evaluate the quality of the urban environment. The paper proposes an user-oriented approach to evaluate the quality of the urban environment, also by associating walkability requirements and the related technical specifications of urban route elements with the specific needs of the different pedestrian targets. Starting from the state of the art regarding to the use of GIS-based tools applied to walkability, the purpose is to offer an use of them aimed to provide "customizable" pedestrian path maps selected according to the human diversity. The target group considered is the elderly, for whom the literature suggests relevant aspects of the connection between health and walkability, as walking plays a fundamental role in active and healthy ageing, and in general, in a healthy lifestyle. The results obtained allowed, on the one hand, the development of an operational methodology based on a set of selected parameters, which allows the mapping of pedestrian routes that meet the different needs of users, and, on the other hand, the application of this methodology to a case study.