An Analysis of
Neighborhood Walkability
Justin Priola, Senior GIS Analyst
City of Baton Rouge and
Parish of East Baton Rouge, Louisiana
City-Parish Planning Commission
1100 Laurel Street, Suite 104
Baton Rouge, Louisiana
(225) 389-3144
Presentation Outline

Background

Methodology

Analysis

Results

Next steps

Conclusion
City-Parish Planning Commission
1100 Laurel Street, Suite 104
Baton Rouge, Louisiana
(225) 389-3144
Background
Comprehensive Planning

1992
The EBR Parish Plan of Government
mandates the development and
implementation of a 20 Year
Comprehensive Land Use and
Development Plan

The Horizon Plan was the first
Comprehensive Plan, adopted in 1992

FUTUREBR was adopted as a
Comprehensive Plan update in
September 2011
City-Parish Planning Commission
1100 Laurel Street, Suite 104
2011
Baton Rouge, Louisiana
(225) 389-3144
Background
FUTUREBR Neighborhood Planning

Central principle of neighborhood planning for the FUTUREBR Plan is the
walkable, “20 minute” neighborhood

Accommodates non-motorized and pedestrian travel modes

Requires quantitative analysis performed by utilizing resources of the
City-Parish Enterprise GIS database
City-Parish Planning Commission
1100 Laurel Street, Suite 104
Baton Rouge, Louisiana
(225) 389-3144
Methodology
Walkability Defined

Walkability is considered, for analysis
purposes, to be based on proximity to
essential services including, but not limited to:
•
•
•
•
•
•
•

Grocery Stores
Retail
Banks
Restaurants and Coffee Shops
Schools
Parks
Other Services
GIS Analysts developed scoring methodology
based on an algorithm utilized for
Walkscore.com Web site
City-Parish Planning Commission
1100 Laurel Street, Suite 104
Baton Rouge, Louisiana
(225) 389-3144
Methodology
Walkscore.com

Walkscore.com is a Web site which utilizes a patent pending “Street Smart”
algorithm to calculate walkability

Created by Professor Larry Frank, Urban Design 4 Health, and The Walk Score
Advisory Board

The Street Smart Walk Score® Algorithm is a combination of:
1) Walking routes and distances to amenities
2) Road connectivity metrics such as intersection density and block length
3) Scores for individual amenity categories

The algorithm calculates a score based on the walking distance to amenities
where shorter distances = higher scores
City-Parish Planning Commission
1100 Laurel Street, Suite 104
Baton Rouge, Louisiana
(225) 389-3144
Analysis
Walkability in
Baton Rouge

The average Walk Score®
for Baton Rouge is 47,
rating the city as
“auto dependent”

Some Baton Rouge
neighborhoods score
higher based on density
and proximity to services
City-Parish Planning Commission
1100 Laurel Street, Suite 104
Baton Rouge, Louisiana
(225) 389-3144
Analysis
Walk Score® Shortcomings

The Walk Score® algorithm is useful for calculating overall community walkability,
but the geographic scope used by walkscore.com is based on ZIP code areas,
which are too large to determine walkability at the neighborhood level.
City-Parish Planning Commission
1100 Laurel Street, Suite 104
Baton Rouge, Louisiana
(225) 389-3144
Analysis
Improvements to Analysis

To rectify the scaling issue, this project adapted the Walk Score® scoring
algorithm to calculate walkability down to the 2010 U.S. Census block group
level for the urbanized area

A new personal services category was added to include essential businesses not
measured by the algorithm

The score calculation incorporated street and sidewalk data; a lack of sidewalks
was treated as a penalty for scoring purposes

For greater precision, Intergraph® GeoMedia Professional Grid software was
utilized to provide a proximity analysis for business locations by utilizing
“hotspot” detection
City-Parish Planning Commission
1100 Laurel Street, Suite 104
Baton Rouge, Louisiana
(225) 389-3144
Results
Block Group
Analysis
City-Parish Planning Commission
1100 Laurel Street, Suite 104
Baton Rouge, Louisiana
(225) 389-3144
Results
Grid Hotspot
Analysis
City-Parish Planning Commission
1100 Laurel Street, Suite 104
Baton Rouge, Louisiana
(225) 389-3144
Results
Walkable
Core
Potential
Neighborhood
Centers
City-Parish Planning Commission
1100 Laurel Street, Suite 104
Baton Rouge, Louisiana
(225) 389-3144
Next Steps
Improvement Opportunities

Incorporate linear reference system (LRS) data to calculate intersection density

Continue to improve the quality of base data (businesses) used to develop
walkability model

Integrate these changes into block group and Grid analyses
City-Parish Planning Commission
1100 Laurel Street, Suite 104
Baton Rouge, Louisiana
(225) 389-3144
Conclusion
Final Product

Utilize results of analysis for additional planning
work:
• Small Area/Neighborhood Planning
• Urban Design
• Complete Streets Implementation

Develop policies to improve walkability in “autooriented” neighborhoods

Develop policies to preserve and enhance
walkability in pedestrian
friendly neighborhoods
City-Parish Planning Commission
1100 Laurel Street, Suite 104
Baton Rouge, Louisiana
(225) 389-3144
Questions and Comments?
City of Baton Rouge and
Parish of East Baton Rouge
Planning Commission
GIS Division
Justin Priola
Senior GIS Analyst
Mapping and Analysis Section
jpriola@brgov.com
http://www.brgov.com/dept/planning
http://ebrmap.brgov.com
City-Parish Planning Commission
1100 Laurel Street, Suite 104
Baton Rouge, Louisiana
(225) 389-3144