Project Number:
07-21
Research Project:
Pedestrian Safety of School Children: Toward Improving
Walkability of Inner City Neighborhoods
P.I. Name & Address:
Tridib Banerjee
School of Policy, Planning, and Development
RGL 312, University of Southern California
Los Angeles, CA 90089-0626
Email: tbanerje@usc.edu
Website: http://www.usc.edu/schools/sppd/faculty/detail.php?id=2
Phone: (213) 740-4724
Fax: (213) 740-5379
Project Objective:
This proposal focuses on the pedestrian travel and safety of a critical user group – children. The objective of this project is to identify and examine the major factors affecting the safety of children, especially on their journey to school. Based on a proposed conceptual model the project investigates the relative role of the built environment and social milieu in mitigating the risk to children walking to school. Environmental-behavioral approach to school travel suggested in this study promises not only a greater understanding of how to improve the safety of walking children by identifying relevant pedestrian safety issues, but also to identify measures that would promote more walking to school. Specifically, the focus of this study is on the safety of the children in the inner city, who are also more dependent on walking to school. The method will involve documenting children’s walking experience and their perception of risks and hazards, supplemented by parent perceptions of the built and social environments of their neighborhood. The methodology will also include interviews with school authorities and neighborhood organizations that now exist to mitigate the risks associated with walking to school. Risk and modifying elements associated with child pedestrians will be identified through comparing objective data on the neighborhood built environment and its social milieu. Thus the study will involve both quantitative and qualitative methods, the latter in particular being child-centered. Children are not only the subjects in this study, but they are also active participants. The findings of this project are expected to better inform current programs and future interventions in improving the safety of child pedestrians in general, and of children walking to school in particular.
Task Descriptions:
Task 1: Collect and analyze built environment characteristics in four
school communities
Task 2: Observe children’s walking activities during school commuting hours
Task 3: Administer parents survey and analyze survey results
Task 4: Conduct focus group interviews
Task 5: Conduct children-centered research – photo journal, travel diary, mapping, and interviews
Task 6: Conduct interviews with school principals
Task 7: Develop a child pedestrian risk map by incorporating data achieved from 1-5
Task 8: Validate the proposed model and analyze potential directions for safety enhancement
Task 9: Develop neighborhood-level safe and active travel indicator for child pedestrians
Task 10: Prepare draft report
Task 11: Present final report
Milestones, Dates:
September 1, 2006 – August 31, 2007
Total Budget:
$119,597
Student Involvement:
One Student @ 75% effort, 12 months
One Student @ 50% effort, 2 months
Relationship to Other Research Projects:
Related to 04-09, 05-13; part of safety focus area
Technology Transfer Activities:
Project report posted on the website
Potential Benefits of the Project:
Enhanced pedestrian safety, decreased traffic
TRB Keywords:
Pedestrian safety
Primary Subject:
4b.3 Behavioral Sciences and Human Performance
Goals:
4c.1 Safety
Enabling Research:
4c.6 Human Performance and Behavior
Modal Orientation:
4c.16 Transit
