Producing a ‘Walkability’ Index for Bellingham Neighborhoods Using Municipal Spatial Data

Pedestrians have been somewhat overlooked in the United States’ automobile dominant transportation paradigm. The ability to be able to walk anywhere in an urban setting is very important for accessibility, agency, and community health. One goal of Bellingham planning is to create a more bike friendly and walkable place. Producing an index, which rates one’s ability to navigate an area by foot, allows for smarter planning and directing of city planning resources to improve pedestrian agency in different parts of the city. In this study, I applied geographic information systems (GIS) and statistical methods to calculate a ‘walkability’ index using publicly available data from the city of Bellingham. Each variable was given a specific weight based on its importance to pedestrians and then compiled into one formula. The results show interesting patterns in the overall ‘walkability’ of different neighborhoods in Bellingham. Tighter spatial distribution and higher density of street intersections tends to return the greatest levels of ‘walkability’. Because of this, population centers such as the downtown neighborhood end up allowing pedestrians higher levels of ‘walkability’. These patterns suggest that increasing ‘walkability’ is more dependent on projects that increase density and connecting areas of higher density