Living environment, and especially dwellings, affect directly and indirectly health in several ways end represent one of the key social determinants of health. The relationship between health and housing has long been recognized and, in the last decades, researchers developed several conceptual models to put in relation the numerous housing factors able to impact on inhabitants' health.
A strategy that prioritizes health and well-being in cities, based on physical activity, understood above all as a lifestyle that is generally active and practicable every day, is a practice that is accessible to all, able to counteract the sedentary lifestyle and reduce the impact of chronic diseases.
Introduction - Scientific evidence stresses that more walkable neighborhoods are linked to increased physical activity. Walking Suitability Index of the territory (T-WSI) is an easy method, already validated, to evaluate the walkability on the basis of direct observation. Aim of the study is to compare the walkability indices obtained in three urban neighborhoods of the city of Rome in 2009 and 2019, to evaluate whether the urban redevelopment interventions, performed in the decade, do really promote walkability.
Self-reported and objectively-determined neighborhood built characteristics are associated with walking. This study investigated whether associations between the neighborhood built environment features and neighborhood walkability Index varied by sociodemographic and health-related characteristics. A random sample number of 385 adults (male=162, female=222) completed postal questionnaire capturing neighborhood walkability, socio-demographic characteristics, walking attitudes, and health-related characteristics (BMI).
The Walking Suitability Index of the Territory–T-WSI is an innovative methodology to assess walkability. Unlike other methods and tools in this field designed to evaluate walkability on given origin-destination paths, T-WSI is conceived for area-wide assessments, typically at the neighborhood level. This can be achieved by visual surveys to collect data, which are easy to perform at street level, their further process via an algorithm, and their aggregation to assess the walking performance levels of the test area.
The paper tells the story of different experiences in the historical centre of Rome with the involvement of the inhabitants. Among the others, it focuses on the experiences of the Pallning Laboratory of the Ist Municipality of Rome and of Monti Social Network in the rione Monti (neighborhhod). It explains the role of the knowledge produced by the inhabitants, their capability of action, the collaboration with the University, the engagement of a group of researchers in a process of action-research.
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