Sidewalk Conditions in Northern New Jersey: Using Google Street View Imagery and Ordinary Kriging to Assess Infrastructure for Walking

PEER REVIEWED

High levels of sidewalk walkability are concentrated in the urban core of northeastern New Jersey, in areas such as East Orange, Newark, and Passaic. As distance increases from the urban core, the level of walkability tends to decrease. For example, in the far northwestern corner of the map, in West Milford Township, the level of sidewalk walkability is lowest. In the southern portion of the map, towards Manalapan Township, the levels of walkability are moderate to fair. However, small-scale variation exists throughout the study region.

Estimated presence or absence of sidewalks and conditions of sidewalks in northeastern New Jersey. The map depicts an index of sidewalk walkability estimated from virtual street audits at 11,282 locations using Google Street View and spatial interpolation techniques. Levels of walkability ranged from low (no sidewalk or poor condition) to moderate (fair condition) to high (good condition). Precise measures of sidewalk conditions can help identify barriers to walking-based physical activity and key areas for intervention to maintain and modify sidewalk conditions.

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