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A Theoretical Model for Urban Walking Among People With Disabilities

Marcheschi, Elizabeth ; Ståhl, Agneta LU ; Almén, Mai and Johansson, Maria LU orcid (2020) In Frontiers in Psychology 11.
Abstract

This paper is an attempt to advance research on walking at a neighborhood level of analysis for people with disabilities by proposing a theoretical model that combines the knowledge of two disciplines: traffic planning and environmental psychology. The aim is to provide guidance for a discussion and a plan for future interdisciplinary investigations by proposing a model that accounts for the dynamic interaction between environmental characteristics, human processes, and walking experience among individuals with a disability. For this purpose, traffic planners, and environmental psychologists came together to discuss theories, concepts, and thematic relevance in a series of focus group meetings. These meetings led to the selection of the... (More)

This paper is an attempt to advance research on walking at a neighborhood level of analysis for people with disabilities by proposing a theoretical model that combines the knowledge of two disciplines: traffic planning and environmental psychology. The aim is to provide guidance for a discussion and a plan for future interdisciplinary investigations by proposing a model that accounts for the dynamic interaction between environmental characteristics, human processes, and walking experience among individuals with a disability. For this purpose, traffic planners, and environmental psychologists came together to discuss theories, concepts, and thematic relevance in a series of focus group meetings. These meetings led to the selection of the Human Environment Interaction (HEI) model, originally developed from the field of environmental psychology and operationalized to describe how walking experiences result from the interplay between individual abilities, emotional processes, and the physical and social characteristics of the environment (Küller, 1991). The proposed model aims to sustain interdisciplinary discussion and research planning around the topic of neighborhood walking for people with disabilities. By operationalizing each dimension in the model, a good fit between groups with disabilities and individual differences associated with walking experiences is assumed, which, in turn, will have the potential to provide a more conscious analysis of wellbeing-related outcomes, such as usability of the environment, frequency of mobility, and quality of life. However, to improve understanding of urban walking at a neighborhood level for people with disabilities, empirical studies must be carried out to test the proposed model.

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Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
author
; ; and
organization
publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
published
subject
keywords
environmental psychology, people with disabilities, theoretical model, traffic planning, urban walking
in
Frontiers in Psychology
volume
11
article number
156
publisher
Frontiers Media S. A.
external identifiers
  • scopus:85081255535
  • pmid:32116952
ISSN
1664-1078
DOI
10.3389/fpsyg.2020.00156
language
English
LU publication?
yes
additional info
Funding Information: This study was conducted within the context of the Centre for Ageing and Supportive Environments (CASE) at Lund University, funded by the Swedish Council for Working Life and Social Research (FORTE). Publisher Copyright: © Copyright © 2020 Marcheschi, Ståhl, Almén and Johansson. Copyright: Copyright 2021 Elsevier B.V., All rights reserved.
id
f3b236e6-0242-4525-92d8-584f8c97abd9
date added to LUP
2021-08-06 08:51:49
date last changed
2024-05-04 09:52:21
@article{f3b236e6-0242-4525-92d8-584f8c97abd9,
  abstract     = {{<p>This paper is an attempt to advance research on walking at a neighborhood level of analysis for people with disabilities by proposing a theoretical model that combines the knowledge of two disciplines: traffic planning and environmental psychology. The aim is to provide guidance for a discussion and a plan for future interdisciplinary investigations by proposing a model that accounts for the dynamic interaction between environmental characteristics, human processes, and walking experience among individuals with a disability. For this purpose, traffic planners, and environmental psychologists came together to discuss theories, concepts, and thematic relevance in a series of focus group meetings. These meetings led to the selection of the Human Environment Interaction (HEI) model, originally developed from the field of environmental psychology and operationalized to describe how walking experiences result from the interplay between individual abilities, emotional processes, and the physical and social characteristics of the environment (Küller, 1991). The proposed model aims to sustain interdisciplinary discussion and research planning around the topic of neighborhood walking for people with disabilities. By operationalizing each dimension in the model, a good fit between groups with disabilities and individual differences associated with walking experiences is assumed, which, in turn, will have the potential to provide a more conscious analysis of wellbeing-related outcomes, such as usability of the environment, frequency of mobility, and quality of life. However, to improve understanding of urban walking at a neighborhood level for people with disabilities, empirical studies must be carried out to test the proposed model.</p>}},
  author       = {{Marcheschi, Elizabeth and Ståhl, Agneta and Almén, Mai and Johansson, Maria}},
  issn         = {{1664-1078}},
  keywords     = {{environmental psychology; people with disabilities; theoretical model; traffic planning; urban walking}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  month        = {{02}},
  publisher    = {{Frontiers Media S. A.}},
  series       = {{Frontiers in Psychology}},
  title        = {{A Theoretical Model for Urban Walking Among People With Disabilities}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2020.00156}},
  doi          = {{10.3389/fpsyg.2020.00156}},
  volume       = {{11}},
  year         = {{2020}},
}