Multi-user walkability route planning

Transform Transport presents a methodology for #pedestrian #routing tailored to distinct user groups, derived from clustering survey respondents by their preferences among 33 #walkability indicators. The result is an #OSM- and indicator-based routing approach that generates optimal walking routes personalised to health-conscious, safety-conscious, and other user groups.
Author

Ralph Straumann

Published

June 20, 2026

This is neat (and in a similar vein to the ZuReach project higlighted last week): Transform Transport1 presents2 an interesting approach to create pedestrian routing solution tailored to the needs of various user groups. To that end, the team first took walkability indicators conceived by the Walk21 Foundation for their Walkability App. These indicators encompass, among others, footpath width, surface, and slope, street furniture, greenery, noise, and air quality. The article has the full list of 33 indicators.

Next, respondents to a survey where asked to weigh the importance of the various indicators for pedestrian mobility, from their subjective perspective. The users where then clustered into four user groups based on their preferences.

The user groups found in the case study (source: Transform Transport)

A network with incorporation of 12 indicators as network weights was computed from OSM3 data and other geodata sources using GIS. The indicators were standardised and scaled in the process. The indicators4 were:

One of the walkability indicators: Sidewalk width (source: Transform Transport)

Finally, the research team implemented a Python-based routing app to create user-group specific optimal routing paths in a Milan. Unfortunately, I couldn’t find this application7 among the set of (many interesting) Transform Transport apps. At least, the article features some (clever) visualisations of the results that show the values for the various indicators along the route (some also show direct comparisons of paths):

Route comparison: shortest path, health-conscious route, and refined balanced solutions with iterative application of time constraints (source: Transform Transport)

Footnotes

  1. Transform Transport is a non-profit research foundation focused on innovation in transport planning located in Milan, Italy.↩︎

  2. The article is roughly a year old.↩︎

  3. OpenStreetMap, a collaborative, open-licensed map of the world.↩︎

  4. Small disclaimer here: From the article, the precise definition of some of the indicators, for example traffic speed, remains a bit vague.↩︎

  5. Physiological Equivalent Temperature (PET) is a thermal comfort index that expresses the physiological effect of outdoor thermal conditions in terms of the equivalent temperature in a standardized indoor setting.↩︎

  6. Points-of-interest.↩︎

  7. Pointers welcome.↩︎