Methodological framework for evaluating liveability of urban spaces through a human centred approach

The quality of urban spaces is fundamental to the liveability of cities. In past decades, many studies at different scales have developed methodologies to evaluate comfort conditions in public spaces, as this aspect is essential for making cities more walkable. In this context, the present study develops a methodology for evaluating quality of cities through a dataset that collects millions of anonymous pedestrian trajectories through smartphone applications. This data, which includes about 1 million trips in the Boston area of over 60,000 anonymous users from May 2014 - May 2015, estimates human walking activities. Presence is used as an indicator for walkability by relating it to additional layers to provide an accurate model of the urban morphology. The aim of this paper is to present a case study on how human walking activities can be sensed, quantified and applied to determine the impact of the urban morphology and its effects on climate at a micro-scale. This study also reveals how people flows react to highly fluctuating microclimatic conditions and how pedestrians respond to the variability of the urban environment. Together, these approaches will affect multiple aspects of human life including health and wellness, infrastructure and quality of life in cities to create liveable and healthier cities.