How could my local area be improved?

The study aims to find out 'how could my local area be improved' by considering, with reference to the '15-minute city' concept, the capacity and condition of pedestrian routes in the local area. The pedestrian routes studied are in and around a local area containing three schools in close proximity to each other. It is hoped that a survey of the pedestrian infrastructure will inform thinking to identify issues and how they might be managed in a more focused and effective way.

This corresonds with ongoing UK and local government initiatives to enhance sustainable urban development in major British cities, including  'Safe Routes To School'  and with reference to the  UN Sustainable Development Goal 11 'Make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable' .

 The '15-minute city' concept is a set of ideas proposed by  Carlos Moreno , a Franco-Colombian scientist and university professor.

Website and video:  Carlos Moreno: The 15-minute city 

The 15 minute city concept is being embraced by Anne Hidalgo, the Mayor of Paris, and provides a chance to press the reset button for our communities.

In a not dissimilar way, a  UK Geospatial Commision  is investigating sustainable urban development of major British cities. The study  'Spatio temporal analyses of neighbourhoods'  is outlined in a blog by Stefano Cavazzi and Nikos Patias, explaining how location data can look backward and forward to support local decision-making to build better neighbourhoods. This included the creation of an overall 'Sustainable Urban Development Index of neighbourhoods'. This composite index incorporated three indicators of urban structure:

1. compactness (the degree of mixing between residential and commercial land use)
2. green space availability
3. walkability (available footpaths and pavements)

This study 'How could my local area be improved?' has a narrower focus resonating with the third indicator above 'walkability'. In a similar way, a simple composite indicator has been created called 'Overall risk score'.

The local area for the investigation is a contained within as area of suburbanised villages in Surrey, UK including of Effingham, Bookham and Fetcham. The particular focus for the study is the village of Effingham.

During the last ten years or so, there have been negotiations to change the locations for the two largest state schools in the village. Both were built in the 1940s and their infrastucture is dated and expensive to maintain. The first Ordnance Survey map to show the then new schools is shown below.

When the schools were built, the area was much less suburbanised. It's not possible to know whether the 15-minute city concept would have been applicable at that time. It seems likely that most students would have been able to walk or cycle to school, but we don't know what proportion would have been able to undertake the journey in 15 minutes or less.

There is also pressure to build a substantial amount of new housing in the area. A local plan was proposed to move the location of the two state schools to what is currently a nearby greenfield site and change the land used for education to residential.

Many of the students walk to and from school. Some of them, possibly the majority, can walk or cycle to school in 15 minutes or less. but increasing numbers are making that journey by bus, private cars or taxis. Consequently the roads in the immediate vicinity of the school can become very busy, especially in the rush hour to local railway stations and at the beginning and end of the school days. Conflicts arise between road users and pedestrians.

Concern has risen about the capacity and condition of pedestrian routes. There is also concern about the paucity of provision for cyclists, but that is outside the scope of this study.

Many of the paths are not well planned for integrated pedestrian access, with some pavements running along one side of a road, then stopping, requiring pedestrians to cross busy traffic routes. Also, in several places the footpaths are quite narrow and or close to traffic. Another issue is there has been substantial encroachment by vegetation along some of the footpaths, making already narrow paths even narrower and in some cases almost impassable.

The wider community are also impacted and increasingly concerned. With the significant increase in homeworking during and since Covid, pedestrian access has become much more important for people.

Due to restrictions of time, personel and Covid, the study was limited to the roads in the immediate vicinity of the school.

Most of the data was collected via subjective observations to assess the quality of pedestrian routes in the area.

All the roads were surveyed using a pro forma to record observations at predetermined locations, corresponding with the thirty-two sections for which shape files had been created, to facilitate GIS mapping of the results.

1. The main type of pavement for pedestrians
2. The risk from traffic along the section
3. The level of vegetation encroachment along the section
4. Georeferenced photographs were taken to illustrate conditions at each of the sections as far as possible.

In a similar way to the above-mentioned UK Geospatial Commission study  'Spatio temporal analyses of neighbourhoods ' which used an indicator of urban structure called 'walkability', in order to explore this a little further, a simple composite indicator has been created called 'Overall risk score' (to pedestrians), combining measures 2 and 3.

A variety ot secondary spatial resources were used. Planning of the survey and the observations used Google Maps and Street View (virtual fieldwork). Similarly ArcGIS Online maps were consulted, including layers for Imagery and Open Street Map.

The roads were assigned as thirty-two sections by creating shape files in  GeoJson.io  created by  Tom MacWright . one for each section.

The data was collected using a questionnaire in ArcGIS Survey123 (see below) and exported to a CSV file containing the location descriptors which corresponded with those used for the shape files.

The CSV file containing the data was uploaded to ArcGIS Online as a table and published as feature service to facilitate updating. The data in the table was joined to the shape files. The new joined layer was then used to show key data in different ways (see 'Results' below).

The results have been visualised using an interacitve web map created in ArcGIS Online. The map has been shared using Web AppBuilder to enable greater functionality.

The interactive web map can be accessed below. Selected screenshots of the map and geospatial data visualisation follow on below the interactive web map.

Use the interactive web map (Web AppBuilder version with chart widgets) below to explore our findings. On some small devices this version may need to be viewed in a seaparate window, so views of the original web map are also embedded below.

• Interact with map by pan and zoom and also by using the widgets shown in the top-right corner.
• Toggle the layers using the 'Layer List' widget. Default shows 'OVERALL SCORE'.
• The 'Legend' widget shows the meaning of the symbols for layers which are switched on.
• Click any section to show detail about the findings in pop-ups.
• The 'Chart' widgets enable deeper comparative exploration of the data.

The most common type of pavement was 'No pavement'.

The rank order for most common pavement type was as follows:

1. No pavement
2. Narrow pavement set back from road
3. Narrow pavement next to road
4. Wide pavement set back from road
5. Wide pavement next to road

Risk from traffic is highest (≥4 out of 5) at:

10: Manor House Lane (W side) 11: Manor House Lane (E side) 15: Browns Lane (W side) 16: Church Street (E side) beside St Lawrence Church 18: Church Street (W side) opposite St Lawrence Church 19: Church Street (W side) from Chapel Hill to Lower Road 20: Guildford Road (S side) from Browns Lane to Beech Avenue 23: The Street (E side) near Guildford Road junction to Crossways 24: The Street (E side) from Crossways past The Steps 26:The Street (W side) from Guildford Road junction to Westmead 7: Lower Road (S side) in front of Howard of Effingham Sch Risk from traffic is lowest lowest (≤2 out of 5) at:

1: Effingham Common Road 27: The Street (W side) from Westmead to The Steps 3: Lower Road (N side) opposite Howard of Effingham Sch 9: Lower Road (S side) opposite Vineries Garden Centre 8: Lower Road (S side) along edge of Howard of Effingham Sch playing field

Vegetation encroachment is highest (≥4 out of 5) at:

20: Guildford Road (S side) from Browns Lane to Beech Avenue 21: Guildford Road (N side) from Browns Lane to Beech Avenue 4: Lower Road (N side) past Vineries Garden Centre 9: Lower Road (S side) opposite Vineries Garden Centre

Vegetation encroachment is lowest (≤2 out of 5) at:

2: Lower Road (N side) by St Lawrence Primary Sch to OLS Church 25: The Street (E side) from The Steps to Lower Road 7: Lower Road (S side) in front of Howard of Effingham Sch 8: Lower Road (S side) along edge of Howard of Effingham Sch playing field

The overall scores were highest (≥9 out of 10) at:

20: Guildford Road (S side) from Browns Lane to Beech Avenue 19: Church Street (W side) from Chapel Hill to Lower Road 21: Guildford Road (N side) from Browns Lane to Beech Avenue 4: Lower Road (N side) past Vineries Garden Centre

The overall scores were lowest (≤ 4 out of 10) at:

1: Effingham Common Road 2: Lower Road (N side) by St Lawrence Primary Sch to OLS Church 25: The Street (E side) from The Steps to Lower Road 8: Lower Road (S side) along edge of Howard of Effingham Sch playing field

The georeferenced photographs can be seen in the pop-ups on the interactive web map.

Here are some examples which highlight some key findings:

No pavement

Narrow pavement set back from road

Narrow pavement next to road

Wide pavement set back from road

Wide pavement next to road

In several sections, vegetaion encroachment is significant. For example, on Lower Road (S side) opposite Vineries Garden Centre, there is a potentially excellent wide path, set back from a busy road. However, there are shrubs, trees and ivy growing out across it to the extent that in many places it is impassable for more than one person. This has led to very marked erosion of the grass verge. The paverment is also very difficult to use for anyone in a buggy, wheelchair or mobility scooter.

The most common type of pavement was 'No pavement'. This immediately suggests that the local roads prioritise vehicular traffic over pedestrians and this point appears to be supported by the rest of the data: The second and third most common are both 'narrow pavements'. Wide pavements are the least common.

1. No pavement
2. Narrow pavement set back from road
3. Narrow pavement next to road
4. Wide pavement set back from road
5. Wide pavement next to road

One third (eleven out of thirty-two) of all the sections are deemed to be at high risk from traffic.

The sections where there the highest risk from traffic unsurpisingly include the 'larger' roads but also include some 'smaller' more minor roads. Important considerations here also include proximity of the pavement to traffic and the extent to which there are barriers or distance from the road created by grass verges between the pavement and road.

Vegetation encroachment is a significant issue in several sections. For example, there are some pavements where vegetation encroachment is so significant that a pavement which would normally have the capacity for three people side-by-side, or two parents with buggies, can barely permit one person at a time. This means that pedestrians sometimes walk in the road instead. Even where pavements are wide, the potential gain is lost by vegetation encroachment e.g. Section 9: Lower Road (S side) opposite Vineries Garden Centre.

One observer saw young people walking home from school and an elderly person in a mobility vehicle so restricted in their ability to use a pavement that they moved off the pavement and onto the road instead, which is clearly unacceptable. This is currently particularly acute on both sides of Guildford Road from Browns Lane to Beech Avenue:

20: Guildford Road (S side) from Browns Lane to Beech Avenue 21: Guildford Road (N side) from Browns Lane to Beech Avenue

Even where pavements are wide, the potential gain is lost by vegetation encroachment.

Work to manage vegetation encroachment in the local area is the responsibility of Surrey County Council Roads and Transport. Their work in the local area is considered to be very inconsistent and often ineffective. Where this has been reported in recent years, there has been some improvement, but the actions are reactive whereas they should be proactive.

The overall score, which combines the scores for risk from traffic and vegetation encroachment, indicates that the road sections with the highest concern are along both sides of Guildford Road from Browns Lane to Beech Avenue, Church Street (W side) from Chapel Hill to Lower Road and Lower Road (N side) past Vineries Garden Centre. All of these areas are significantly used by students walking to and from school and other members of the community. Management of the pavements along the section Guildford Road from Browns Lane to Beech Avenue needs significant improvement.

In some cases, the the areas with high overall scores increase use along nearby 'safer' sections unsustainably.

In the light of our investigations, we return to consider our key question:

To what the extent is the 15-minute city concept feasible in or applicable to an area of suburbanised villages in Surrey, UK?

The 15-minute city concept for this local area is more difficult to use than in a densely built-up urbanised area, but still has relevance.

• The data for 'type of Pavement' suggest that pedestrians have a low priority on the local roads.
• Furthermore, one third of all the sections studied experience the highest levels of 'risk from traffic'.
• These issues are compounded by the fact that one eighth of pavements have the highest levels of 'vegetation encroachment' which means that the pavement facilities are squandered to the point where danger from traffic is exacerbated.

Planners need to respond to these points very urgently.

The key conclusion s that if the 15-minute city concept is to be applied, considerably more attention needs to be given to the quality and capacity of routes used by pedestrians, especially for children and young people of school age and other vulnerable and less mobile members of the community.

• Given the limitations outlined above, the survey was carried out relatively easily and quickly. This was partly because those involved know the area well and there were very few confusions about the location of sections.
• The choice of this study topic is innovative and highly relevant to changes taking place in the local community.
• The GIS methods chosen worked very effectively and provided a novel experience for users, especially in the use of shape files rather than point symbols to show the locations more meaningfully and link them to data.
• The visualisation of the geospatial data was generally effective, using colour-coded shape files, pop-up details showing data for all measures and photographs.
• The use of chart widgets via Web AppBuilder adds considerable value to the visualisation of the geospatial data, enabling a range of georeferenced, customised, instant charts to be created.

• Only two measures were used. Both concerned the quality of the section for pedestrians, but did not included a measure for capacity.
• The measure for risk from traffic is rather subjective and varies considerably according to variables such as time of day, day of the week and time of year. Also, some sections are generally busier than others. Consequently, future surveys of a similar nature would do well to take traffic flows into account in some way.
• The measure for vegetation encroachment is less relevant for sections with no pavement, and skewed the overall score for these sections. Consequently, future surveys of a similar nature would do well to consider a wider range of measures.
• It would have been helpful to know about similar surveys conducted, perhaps by local authorities so that the findings would be more easily comparable.
• Although the survey was carried out by people who know the area well, the judgements made in data collection may lack objectivity. It would therefore be useful for the survey to be conducted by people whol do not know the area to reduce the risk of subjectivty.