Relationship between the estimates of the Walkable Built Environment Index - ACC and Walk Score® index in Brazilian cities: case of Niterói, RJ

Abstract

Policies to encourage walkability have been used to increase the urban vitality, achieved through interventions in the urban environment, These conditions can increase the potential sustainable modalities trips, directly reflecting over the quality of life. In order to observe such influence, this article intends to apply two walkability indexes, the ACC Index and the Walk Score, in the city of Niterói, Brazil, and to verify if the estimates of these two indexes are adherent to local standards of mobility. As a result, the ACC Index performed better, signaling that certain local specificities were not understood by the Walk Score®.

Keywords:
Built environment; Walkability index; Sustainable mobility; Niterói