Addressing issues in the use of Google tools for assessing pedestrian built environments

[en] Numerous techniques for collecting data are available to assess pedestrian built environment features. Recently, several studies favoured Google tools over conventional data collection techniques because they are more cost- and time-effective. The use of Google tools to assess pedestrian built environments remains in its early stages. Various challenges are encountered in assessing certain types of features and the intervals between the time of image/video capture and assessment. Thus, an in-depth study on the challenges of employing the Google tools is necessary. This study discusses the issues associated with the use of Google tools to assess pedestrian built environments and attempts to introduce new objectives for further tools and studies in this field to eliminate the aforementioned shortcomings of the existing tools. © 2018 Elsevier Ltd

Disciplines :

Architecture
Regional & inter-regional studies
Special economic topics (health, labor, transportation...)
Civil engineering

Author, co-author :

Aghaabbasi, M.; Centre for Innovative Planning and Development (CIPD), Faculty of Built Environment and Surveying, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, Skudai, Malaysia

Moeinaddini, Mehdi ; Université de Liège - ULiège > Département ArGEnCo > Transports et mobilité

Shah, M. Z.; Centre for Innovative Planning and Development (CIPD), Faculty of Built Environment and Surveying, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, Skudai, Malaysia

Asadi-Shekari, Z.; Centre for Innovative Planning and Development (CIPD), Faculty of Built Environment and Surveying, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, Skudai, Malaysia

Title :

Addressing issues in the use of Google tools for assessing pedestrian built environments

Publication date :

2018

Journal title :

Journal of Transport Geography

ISSN :

0966-6923

eISSN :

1873-1236

Publisher :

Elsevier Ltd

Volume :

Pages :

185-198

Peer reviewed :

Peer Reviewed verified by ORBi

Funders :

Ministry of Higher Education, Malaysia, MOHE: PY/2018/02906

Available on ORBi :

since 06 August 2020

Statistics

Number of views

45 (1 by ULiège)

Number of downloads

2 (2 by ULiège)

More statistics

Scopus citations^®

Scopus citations^®
without self-citations

OpenCitations

Bibliography

Adu-Brimpong, J., Coffey, N., Ayers, C., Berrigan, D., Yingling, L.R., Thomas, S., Mitchell, V., Ahuja, C., Rivers, J., Hartz, J., Powell-Wiley, T.M., Optimizing scoring and sampling methods for assessing built neighborhood environment quality in residential areas. Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 14:3 (2017), 1–12.
Ahmetovic, D., Manduchi, R., Coughlan, J.M., Mascetti, S., Mind your crossings: mining GIS imagery for crosswalk localization. ACM Trans. Accessible Comput. (TACCESS) 9:4 (2017), 1–25.
Asadi-Shekari, Z., Moeinaddini, M., Zaly Shah, M., Disabled pedestrian level of service method for evaluating and promoting inclusive walking facilities on urban streets. J. Transp. Eng. 139:2 (2013), 181–192.
Asadi-Shekari, Z., Moeinaddini, M., Zaly Shah, M., A pedestrian level of service method for evaluating and promoting walking facilities on campus streets. Land Use Policy 38:1 (2014), 175–193.
Bader, M.D., Mooney, S.J., Lee, Y.J., Sheehan, D., Neckerman, K.M., Rundle, A.G., Teitler, J.O., Development and deployment of the Computer Assisted Neighborhood Visual Assessment System (CANVAS) to measure health-related neighborhood conditions. Health Place 31:1 (2015), 163–172.
Badland, H.M., Schofield, G.M., Witten, K., Schluter, P.J., Mavoa, S., Kearns, R.A., Hinckson, E.A., Oliver, M., Kaiwai, H., Jensen, V.G., Ergler, C., McGrath, L., McPhee, J., Understanding the relationship between activity and neighbourhoods (urban) study: research design and methodology. BMC Public Health 9:1 (2009), 1–11.
Badland, H.M., Opit, S., Witten, K., Kearns, R.A., Mavoa, S., Can virtual streetscape audits reliably replace physical streetscape audits. J. Urban Health 87:6 (2010), 1007–1016.
Bedimo-Rung, A.L., Gustat, J., Tompkins, B.J., Rice, J., Thomson, J., Development of a direct observation instrument to measure environmental characteristics of parks for physical activity. J. Phys. Act. Health, 3, 2006, S176.
Ben-Joseph, E., Lee, J.S., Cromley, E.K., Laden, F., Troped, P.J., Virtual and actual: relative accuracy of on-site and web-based instruments in auditing the environment for physical activity. Health Place 19:1 (2013), 138–150.
Bethlehem, J.R., Mackenbach, J.D., Ben-Rebah, M., Compernolle, S., Glonti, K., Bárdos, H., Rutter, H.R., Charreire, H., Oppert, J.M., Brug, J., Lakerveld, J., The SPOTLIGHT virtual audit tool: a valid and reliable tool to assess obesogenic characteristics of the built environment. Int. J. Health Geogr. 13:1 (2014), 1–8.
Brookfield, K., Tilley, S., Using virtual street audits to understand the walkability of older adults’ route choices by gender and age. Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 13:11 (2016), 1–12.
Broomhall, M., Giles-Corti, B., Lange, A., Quality of Public Open Space Tool (POST). 2004, The University of Western Australia, Perth, 1–9 http://www.web.uwa.edu.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0003/411951/POST_Manual.pdf.
Brown, B.B., Smith, K.R., Hanson, H., Fan, J.X., Kowaleski-Jones, L., Zick, C.D., Neighborhood design for walking and biking: physical activity and body mass index. Am. J. Prev. Med. 44:3 (2013), 231–238.
Brownson, R.C., Chang, J.J., Eyler, A.A., Ainsworth, B.E., Kirtland, K.A., Saelens, B.E., Sallis, J.F., Measuring the environment for friendliness toward physical activity: a comparison of the reliability of 3 questionnaires. Am. J. Public Health 94:3 (2004), 473–483.
Brownson, R.C., Hoehner, C.M., Brennan, L.K., Cook, R.A., Elliott, M.B., McMullen, K.M., Reliability of 2 instruments for auditing the environment for physical activity. J. Phys. Act. Health 1:3 (2004), 191–208.
Cain, K.L., Millstein, R.A., Sallis, J.F., Conway, T.L., Gavand, K.A., Frank, L.D., Saelens, B.E., Geremia, C.M., Chapman, J., Adams, M.A., Glanz, K., King, A.C., Contribution of streetscape audits to explanation of physical activity in four age groups based on the Microscale Audit of Pedestrian Streetscapes (MAPS). Soc. Sci. Med. 116:1 (2014), 82–92.
Charreire, H., Joreintje D. Mackenbach, M. Ouasti, Jeroen Lakerveld, Sofie Compernolle, M. Ben-Rebah, Martin McKee, Johannes Brug, Harry Rutter, Oppert., J.-M., 2014. Using remote sensing to define environmental characteristics related to physical activity and dietary behaviours: a systematic review (the SPOTLIGHT project). Health Place 25 (1), 1–9.
Chudyk, A.M., Winters, M., Gorman, E., McKay, H.A., Ashe, M.C., Agreement between virtual and in-the-field environment audits of assisted living sites. J. Aging Phys. Act. 22:1 (2014), 414–420.
Clarke, P., Ailshire, J., Melendez, R., Bader, M., Morenoff, J., Using Google earth to conduct a neighborhood audit: reliability of a virtual audit instrument. Health Place 16:1 (2010), 1224–1229.
Clifton, K.J., Livi Smith, A.D., Rodriguez, D., The development and testing of an audit for the pedestrian environment. Landsc. Urban Plan. 80:1 (2007), 95–110.
Compernolle, S., De Cocker, K., Roda, C., Oppert, J.M., Mackenbach, J.D., Lakerveld, J., Glonti, K., Bardos, H., Rutter, H., Cardon, G., De Bourdeaudhuij, I., group, W.S, Physical environmental correlates of domain-specific sedentary behaviours across five European regions (the SPOTLIGHT project). PLoS ONE 11:10 (2016), 1–17.
Dunstan, F., Weaver, N., Araya, R., Bell, T., Lannon, S., Lewis, G., Patterson, J., Thomas, H., Jones, P., Palmer, S., An observation tool to assist with the assessment of urban residential environments. J. Environ. Psychol. 25:3 (2005), 293–305.
Emery, J., Crump, C., Bors, P., Reliability and validity of two instruments designed to assess the walking and bicycling suitability of sidewalks and roads. Am. J. Health Promot. 18:1 (2003), 38–46.
Evans-Cowley, J.S., Akar, G., StreetSeen visual survey tool for determining factors that make a street attractive for bicycling. Transp. Res. Rec. 2468:1 (2014), 19–27.
Ewing, R., Handy, S., Brownson, R.C., Clemente, O., Winston, E., Identifying and measuring urban design qualities related to walkability. J. Phys. Act. Health 3 (2006), S223–S240.
Fleiss, J.L., Levin, B., Paik, M.C., Statistical Methods for Rates and Proportions. 3 edn, 2004, John Wiley & Sons, New York, NY.
Goel, R., Garcia, L.M.T., Goodman, A., Johnson, R., Aldred, R., Murugesan, M., Brage, S., Bhalla, K., Woodcock, J., Estimating city-level travel patterns using street imagery: a case study of using google street view in Britain. PLoS ONE, 13(5), 2018, e0196521.
Google Street View, Street Vriew Software. 2017, Google, Mountain View, CA www.instantstreetview.com https://maps.googleapis.com/maps/api/streetview?size=640x640&pano=wVmZ_9kc3dohJW3rqR4dNQ&heading=295.3942105877306&fov=180&pitch=3.953169380719686&key=AIzaSyAy3_Eqgwg_whwbGU3zOQFM4IG5lgaF8Qg.
Griew, P., Hillsdon, M., Foster, C., Coombes, E., Jones, A., Wilkinson, P., Developing and testing a street audit tool using google street view to measure environmental supportiveness for physical activity. Int. J. Behav. Nutr. Phys. Act. 10:1 (2013), 1–7.
Gullón, P., Badland, H.M., Alfayate, S., Bilal, U., Escobar, F., Cebrecos, A., Diez, J., Franco, M., Assessing walking and cycling environments in the streets of Madrid: comparing on-field and virtual audits. J. Urban Health 92:5 (2015), 923–939.
Hamilton, T.L., Johnson, E.B., Using Machine Learning and Google Street View to Estimate Visual Amenity Values. 2018, University of Richmond, Richmond, VA, 1–22 Available online at: https://facultystaff.richmond.edu/~thamilt2/Hamilton_and_Johnson_2018_share.pdf.
Hanson, C.S., Noland, R.B., Brown, C., The severity of pedestrian crashes: an analysis using google street view imagery. J. Transp. Geogr. 33:1 (2013), 42–53.
Hara, K., Le, V., Sun, J., Jacobs, D., Froehlich, J.E., Exploring early solutions for automatically identifying inaccessible sidewalks in the physical world using google street view. Human Comput. Interact. Consort. 13:1 (2013), 1–4.
He, L., Páez, A., Liu, D., Built environment and violent crime: an environmental audit approach using google street view. Comput. Environ. Urban. Syst. 66:1 (2017), 83–95.
Hoehner, C.M., Ivy, A., Ramirez, L.K.B., Handy, S., Brownson, R.C., Active neighborhood checklist: a user-friendly and reliable tool for assessing activity friendliness. Am. J. Health Promot. 21:6 (2007), 534–537.
Janssen, I., Rosu, A., Measuring sidewalk distances using google earth. BMC Med. Res. Methodol. 12:1 (2012), 1–10.
Jaskiewicz, F., Pedestrian level of service based on trip quality, Transportation Research Board Circular. E-C019: Urban Street Symposium, 2000, Transportation Research Board, Dallas, Texas, 1–14 http://onlinepubs.trb.org/onlinepubs/circulars/ec019/Ec019_g1.pdf.
Kaczynski, A.T., Sharratt, M.T., Deconstructing Williamsburg: using focus groups to examine residents’ perceptions of the building of a walkable community. Int. J. Behav. Nutr. Phys. Act. 7:1 (2010), 1–12.
Kelly, C.M., Wilson, J.S., Baker, E.A., Miller, D.K., Schootman, M., Using google street view to audit the built environment: inter-rater reliability results. Ann. Behav. Med. 45:Suppl. 1 (2013), S108–S112.
Kepper, M.M., Sothern, M.S., Theall, K.P., Griffiths, L.A., Scribner, R.A., Tseng, T.S., Schaettle, P., Cwik, J.M., Felker-Kantor, E., Broyles, S.T., A reliable, feasible method to observe neighborhoods at high spatial resolution. Am. J. Prev. Med. 52:1S1 (2017), S20–S30.
Kurka, J.M., Adams, M.A., Geremia, C., Zhu, W., Cain, K.L., Conway, T.L., Sallis, J.F., Comparison of field and online observations for measuring land uses using the Microscale Audit of Pedestrian Streetscapes (MAPS). J.Transport Health 3:3 (2016), 278–286.
Lafontaine, S.J., Sawada, M., Kristjansson, E., A direct observation method for auditing large urban centers using stratified sampling, mobile GIS technology and virtual environments. Int. J. Health Geogr. 16:1 (2017), 1–15.
Landis, B.W., Vattikuti, V.R., Ottenberg, R.M., McLeod, D.S., Guttenplan, M., Modeling the roadside walking environment: pedestrian level of service. Transp. Res. Rec. 1773 (2001), 82–88.
Less, E.L., McKee, P., Toomey, T., Nelson, T., Erickson, D., Xiong, S., Jones-Webb, R., Matching study areas using Google Street View: a new application for an emerging technology. Eval. Program Plan. 53:1 (2015), 72–79.
Li, H., Yang, X., Jian, L., Liu, K., Yuan, Y., Wu, W., A sparse representation-based image resolution improvement method by processing multiple dictionary pairs with latent Dirichlet allocation model for street view images. Sustain. Cities Soc. 38 (2018), 55–69.
Marco, M., Gracia, E., Martin-Fernandez, M., Lopez-Quilez, A., Validation of a Google Street View-based neighborhood disorder observational scale. J. Urban Health 94:2 (2017), 190–198.
Michael, Y.L., Keast, E.M., Chaudhury, H., Day, K., Mahmood, A., Sarte, A.F., Revising the senior walking environmental assessment tool. Prev. Med. 48:3 (2009), 247–249.
Millstein, R.A., Cain, K.L., Sallis, J.F., Conway, T.L., Geremia, C., Frank, L.D., Chapman, J., Van Dyck, D., Dipzinski, L.R., Kerr, J., Development, scoring, and reliability of the Microscale Audit of Pedestrian Streetscapes (MAPS). BMC Public Health 13:1 (2013), 1–15.
Mooney, S.J., Bader, M.D.M., Lovasi, G.S., Neckerman, K.M., Teitler, J.O., Rundle, A.G., Validity of an ecometric neighborhood physical disorder measure constructed by virtual street audit. Am. J. Epidemiol. 180:6 (2014), 626–635.
Mooney, S.J., Dimaggio, C.J., Lovasi, G.S., Neckerman, K.M., Bader, M.D., Teitler, J.O., Sheehan, D.M., Jack, D.W., G., R.A., 2016. Use of google street view to assess environmental contributions to pedestrian injury. Am. J. Public Health 106 (3), 462–469.
Mygind, L., Bentsen, P., Badland, H., Edwards, N., Hooper, P., Villanueva, K., Public open space desktop auditing tool—establishing appropriateness for use in Australian regional and urban settings. Urban For. Urban Green. 20:1 (2016), 65–70.
Neckerman, K.M., Lovasi, G.S., Davies, S., Purciel, M., Quinn, J., Feder, E., Raghunath, N., Wasserman, B., Rundle, A., Disparities in urban neighborhood conditions: evidence from GIS measures and field observation in New York City. J. Public Health Policy 30 Suppl 1:1 (2009), S264–S285.
Odgers, C.L., Caspi, A., Bates, C.J., Sampson, R.J., Moffitt, T.E., Systematic social observation of children's neighborhoods using google street view: a reliable and cost-effective method. J. Child Psychol. Psychiatry 53:10 (2012), 1009–1017.
Phillips, C.B., Engelberg, J.K., Geremia, C.M., Zhu, W., Kurka, J.M., Cain, K.L., Sallis, J.F., Conway, T.L., Adams, M.A., Online versus in-person comparison of Microscale Audit of Pedestrian Streetscapes (MAPS) assessments: reliability of alternate methods. Int. J. Health Geogr. 16:27 (2017), 1–13.
Pliakas, T., Hawkesworth, S., Silverwood, R.J., Nanchahal, K., Grundy, C., Armstrong, B., Casas, J.P., Morris, R.W., Wilkinson, P., Lock, K., Optimising measurement of health-related characteristics of the built environment: Comparing data collected by foot-based street audits, virtual street audits and routine secondary data sources. Health Place 43:1 (2017), 75–84.
Quinn, J.W., Mooney, S.J., Sheehan, D.M., Teitler, J.O., Neckerman, K.M., Kaufman, T.K., Lovasi, G.S., Bader, M.D., Rundle, A.G., Neighborhood physical disorder in New York City. J. Maps 12:1 (2016), 53–60.
Reiss, A.J., Systematic observation of natural social phenomena. Sociol. Methodol. 3:1 (1971), 3–33.
Rundle, A.G., Bader, M.D., Richards, C.A., Neckerman, K.M., Teitler, J.O., Using google street view to audit neighborhood environments. Am. J. Prev. Med. 40:1 (2011), 94–100.
Rzotkiewicz, A., Pearson, A.L., Dougherty, B.V., Shortridge, A., Wilson, N., Systematic review of the use of Google Street View in health research: major themes, strengths, weaknesses and possibilities for future research. Health Place 52 (2018), 240–246.
Sampson, R.J., Raudenbush, S.W., Systematic social observation of public spaces: a new look at disorder in urban neighborhoods. Am. J. Sociol. 105:3 (1999), 603–651.
Shen, Q., Zeng, W., Ye, Y., Arisona, S.M., Schubiger, S., Burkhard, R., Qu, H., StreetVizor: visual exploration of human-scale urban forms based on street views. IEEE Trans. Visual. Comput. Graph. 24:1 (2018), 1004–1013.
Shigematsu, R., Sallis, J.F., Conway, T.L., Saelens, B.E., Frank, L.D., Cain, K.L., Chapman, J.E., King, A.C., Age differences in the relation of perceived neighborhood environment to walking. Med. Sci. Sports Exerc. 41:2 (2009), 314–321.
Silva, V., Grande, A.J., Rech, C.R., Stella, M., Geoprocessing via googlemaps for assessing obesogenic built environments related to physical activity and chronic noncommunicable diseases: validity and reliability. J. Healthcare Eng. 6:1 (2015), 41–54.
Talavera-Garcia, R., Soria-Lara, J.A., Q-PLOS, developing an alternative walking index: a method based on urban design quality. Cities 45:1 (2015), 7–17.
Taylor, B.T., Fernando, P., Bauman, A.E., Williamson, A., Craig, J.C., Redman, S., Measuring the quality of public open space using google earth. Am. J. Prev. Med. 40:2 (2011), 105–112.
Troped, P.J., Cromley, E.K., Fragala, M.S., Melly, S.J., Hasbrouck, H.H., Gortmaker, S.L., Brownson, R.C., Development and reliability and validity testing of an audit tool for trail/path characteristics: the Path Environment Audit Tool (PEAT). J. Phys. Act. Health 3:1 (2006), S158–S175.
Vanwolleghem, G., Van Dyck, D., Ducheyne, F., De Bourdeaudhuij, I., Cardon, G., Assessing the environmental characteristics of cycling routes to school: a study on the reliability and validity of a google street view-based audit. Int. J. Health Geogr. 13:1 (2014), 1–9.
Vanwolleghem, G., Ghekiere, A., Cardon, G., De Bourdeaudhuij, I., D'Haese, S., Geremia, C.M., Lenoir, M., Sallis, J.F., Verhoeven, H., Van Dyck, D., Using an audit tool (MAPS Global) to assess the characteristics of the physical environment related to walking for transport in youth: reliability of Belgian data. Int. J. Health Geogr., 15(1), 2016, 41.
Vargo, J., Stone, B., Glanz, K., Google walkability: a new tool for local planning and public health research?. J. Phys. Act. Health 9:1 (2012), 689–697.
Wilson, J.S., Kelly, C.M., Schootman, M., Baker, E.A., Banerjee, A., Clennin, M., Miller, D.K., Assessing the built environment using omnidirectional imagery. Am. J. Prev. Med. 42:2 (2012), 193–199.
Wu, Y.-T., Nash, P., Barnes, L.E., Minett, T., Matthews, F.E., Jones, A., Brayne, C., Assessing environmental features related to mental health: a reliability study of visual streetscape images. BMC Public Health 14:1 (2014), 1–10.
Yin, L., Wang, Z., Measuring visual enclosure for street walkability: using machine learning algorithms and Google Street View imagery. Appl. Geogr. 76 (2016), 147–153.
Yin, L., Cheng, Q., Wang, Z., Shao, Z., Big data’ for pedestrian volume: exploring the use of google street view images for pedestrian counts. Appl. Geogr. 63:1 (2015), 337–345.
Zhua, W., Suna, Y., Kurkab, J., Geremiac, C., Engelbergc, J.K., Cainc, K., Conwayc, T., Sallisc, J.F., Hookerb, S.P., Adams, M.A., Reliability between online raters with varying familiarities of a region: Microscale Audit of Pedestrian Streetscapes (MAPS). Landsc. Urban Plan. 167:1 (2017), 240–248.