Measurability of walkability at sustainable neighborhood scale in turkey by Walkscore® index: The case of Konya

Neighborhood scale is the smallest socio-spatial planning unit in achieving sustainable development goals. The most basic indicator of sustainability at the neighborhood scale is to ensure walkability. Ensuring walkability in neighborhoods with zoning plans, urban design practices and urban policies is of great importance for goals such as improving public health and achieving sustainability goals. The first step to be taken in the improvment of the walkability attributes of neighborhoods is to develop and improve criteria that will provide objective assessments in this regard. In this study, two main methods developed in this context and accepted by scholars from different disciplines all over the world were evaluated. The methods and principles of the WalkScore® Index, which is more accessible one of these methods and the more convenient for researchers from different disciplines, are examined in detail and validation studies carried out in different countries are discussed. The WalkScore® Index is a common indicator used to measure walkability in achieving sustainable development all over the world. However, due to cultural differences between countries and different planning and design approaches, it is necessary to verify its usability in different countries. A validation study of the model has not yet been conducted in Turkey or in a Muslim country with a similar population density. In this study, by sticking to the original method, a comprehensive application was carried out manually with 2,295 participants in six different neighborhoods in the city center of Konya, and the consistency of the method in Turkey was examined. The data obtained showed that the WalkScore® Index is a convenient tool for the assessment of walkability in Turkey for all population groups, especially adult women, and the WalkScore® Index data has significant correlations with many indicators. However, it has been determined that the degree of consistency of the index and the number of categories it is consistent with are lower than the applications in the USA, EU, Australia, Japan and Canada, and it will be necessary to customize the index according to different population groups and socio-cultural structures. Keywords: Sustainable Neighborhood Design, Walkability at Neighborhood Scale, Sustainable Urban Renewal, Walkability, WalkScore®