Study of Correlation between Urban Physical Environment and Walkability for Cities of “Y” Category in Indian Context using Analytical Hierarchy Process and Simple Additive Weighing Methods of Multi Criteria Decision Making

This paper intends to study the correlation between urban physical environment and walkability with a view to develop a correlation model between the two which shall help the decision making authorities at local level working for the urban development in their endeavor to encourage walkability in urban pockets through urban design interventions. This paper talks about one of the commercial pockets called “Sayajigunj”. Firstly the physical environment is analyzed like a conventional urban design study and the inferences are enlisted with the help of graphical illustrations and text. A theoretical frame work is prepared to enlist the parameters affecting the walkability of urban pocket based on the Global Walkability Index developed by Holly Virginia Krambeck. AHP method is used for assigning weights and determining scores for the indices and SAW method is used for final decision making. The data was collected using manual method and separate questionnaires were prepared for the experts and respondents respectively. The result is enlisted in a tabular format. The result reveals that the availability of amenities is the most important factor affecting the walkability of an urban pocket. However each criterion plays its role in holistically influencing the walkability.