How to Study Walkability: A Multiscale Analytical Framework

Source abstract

Walkability has traditionally been assessed through physical indicators and objective metrics of the built environment; however, persistent methodological fragmentation limits its interpretive capacity in complex urban contexts. This article proposes an operational analytical framework for the analysis of walkability in Latin American intermediate commercial cities, understood as a relational and multiscale urban condition. The study adopts a qualitative–analytical design based on a systematic literature review and the comparative analysis of seven international walkability assessment methodologies. Through this critical synthesis, a framework is constructed that integrates macro, meso and micro scales, differentiated analytical domains, and a sequential interpretative procedure. The main contribution lies in providing an analytical structure that enables coherent interpretation of the tensions between urban structure, socio-economic functioning and pedestrian experience, avoiding reductive or decontextualized readings of walking in intermediate commercial cities.