User-Centric Pedestrian Navigation: Transfer Study from Sofia to Tokyo

Pedestrian route-finding applications are commonly used for urban navigation. These applications typically focus on finding the shortest or fastest route and rarely consider pedestrian safety or comfort. Such non-utilitarian factors can be accounted for by incorporating a walkability index in the routing algorithm. This study transfers an existing user-centric pedestrian routing approach from Sofia to the Tokyo wards of Shinjuku and Bunkyo. The approach considers the heterogenous needs of different user groups by using an adjustable weighting scheme. Data from OpenStreetMap and local open datasets on streetscape features such as sidewalk width and incline are standardised and walkability scores are calculated using the developed framework. Results indicate that the Sofia routing approach is cleanly transferable to Tokyo. Wasserstein’s, Cliff’s delta, and Kolmogorov-Smirnov’s statistical tests show that calculated walkability scores remain consistent with the intentions of the framework. Calculated routes in Tokyo successfully increase average walkability compared to the shortest path, without excessively increasing length. Walkability scores are unevenly distributed in the study area, with street segments in pedestrianised residential areas with many parks receiving high scores, while major roads that lack dedicated pedestrian infrastructure receive lower scores. The different user profiles lead to spatially distinct walkability patterns. Scores for tourists are high around densely concentrated commercial facilities, while scores for wheelchair users are high along arterial roads with wide sidewalks and low incline. By successfully adapting an existing pedestrian routing method, this study demonstrates that using user-specific walkability scores for route-finding can be a viable approach in different contexts.