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Sunday, December 9, 2012

GPS in pedestrian and spatial behaviour surveys

by Thomas S. Nielsen and Henrik Harder Hovgesen

The planning of the environment for pedestrian can be improved by using the newest gps tools for monitoring changes in human activity patters in time and space.
Using a personal GPS-device the locations and movements of respondents can be followed through a longer period of time. It will be possible to analyse how the use of urban spaces are embedded in a wider context of activity patterns (work, school etc.). The general patterning of everyday itineraries, including route choice and time spent at different locations “on the way” can also be analysed. If the personal GPS-device is combined with an electronic questionnaire, FX. in the shape of a Personal Digital Assistant (PDA) or cell phone, a whole new array of survey-possibilities comes into being. Respondents can be asked to register their activities, evaluate – or in other ways describe the attractiveness of places – based on their actual position in the urban area. Thus a new form of integration between research into activity patterns and urban places will be possible.
The paper presents the possibilities in spatial behaviour and pedestrian-surveys with GPS and electronic questionnaires. Demonstrative mapping of test data from passive GPS-registration of Copenhagen respondents is presented. The different survey-possibilities given a combination of GPS and PDA-based electronic questionnaire are presented – together with its possible applications in the context of pedestrian surveys.
more about pedestrian travels:

Perceptions of Accessibility to Neighborhood Retail and Other Public Services

Walking and cycling for sustainable mobility in Singapore

Residents’ perceptions of walkability attributes in objectively different neighbourhoods: a pilot study

Validating walkability indices: How do different households respond to the walkability of their neighbourhood?

Environmental Correlates of Walking and Cycling: Findings From the Transportation, Urban Design, and Planning Literatures

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