Measuring pedestrian accessibility and urban perception: a visually perceived approach to pedestrian space analysis within the 15-minute city framework

RGS-IBG Annual International Conference 2025 Birmingham, 26-29 August 2025 Measuring pedestrian accessibility and urban perception: a visually perceived approach to pedestrian space analysis within the 15-minute city framework Tong Chen1, Asya Natapov2 and Taimaz Larimian3 1School of Architecture, Building and Civil Engineering, Loughborough University Abstract Pedestrian accessibility is increasingly recognized as fundamental to sustainable urban development due to its potential to deliver environmental benefits, enhance public health, and foster vibrant urban communities. This research is situated within the context of the 15-minute city, an urban planning model designed to enable residents to conveniently access essential services through short walks or cycling trips from their homes. However, traditional methods of assessing pedestrian accessibility have predominantly relied on GIS-based spatial network analysis, often overlooking critical aspects of human perception and the experiential qualities of urban environments. To address this gap, this study emphasizes the importance of visual perception and visually perceived urban environments in influencing pedestrian movements and experiences. It proposes a pedestrian-centred framework integrating these visual perception elements. The combination of street view imagery with advanced spatial analysis techniques represents a significant methodological advancement, enabling detailed evaluations based on visually perceived characteristics of urban spaces. Specifically, this study quantifies visually perceived pedestrian accessibility and investigates its relationship with diverse urban environmental attributes. The research utilizes data collected from street view imagery, GIS databases, and demographic datasets. Additionally, a deep learning approach employing the YOLO object detection model is applied to systematically identify and analyse visual obstacles within pedestrian spaces. Ultimately, the study provides actionable insights for urban planners and policymakers aiming to create more pedestrian-friendly urban environments. References Bhellar, M.G. et al. (2023) ‘Visualizing Travel Accessibility in a Congested City Center: A GIS-Based Isochrone Model and Trip Rate Analysis Considering Sustainable Transportation Solutions’, Sustainability (Switzerland), 15(23). Available at: https://doi.org/10.3390/su152316499. Cheng, T. et al. (2024) ‘YOLO-world: real-time open-vocabulary object detection’. arXiv. Available at: https://doi.org/10.48550/arXiv.2401.17270. 1 [email protected] 2 [email protected] 3 [email protected] RGS-IBG Annual International Conference 2025 Birmingham, 26-29 August 2025 Li, Z. et al. (2024) ‘From open vocabulary to open world: teaching vision language models to detect novel objects’. arXiv. Available at: https://doi.org/10.48550/arXiv.2411.18207. Liang, J. et al. (2020) ‘GSV2SVF-an interactive GIS tool for sky, tree and building view factor estimation from street view photographs’, Building and Environment, 168, p. 106475. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.buildenv.2019.106475. Svennerberg, G. (2010) Beginning google maps API 3. Apress.