Virtual audits of streetscapes by crowdworkers.

Area of Science:

• Urban Planning
• Environmental Science
• Public Health

Background:

• Objective neighborhood environment ratings are crucial for urban planning and public health.
• Traditional physical audits are resource-intensive and time-consuming.
• Developing efficient and reliable methods for walkability assessment is essential.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the efficiency and reliability of virtual auditing using Google Street View and crowdsourcing for walkability assessments in Japan.
• To compare virtual auditing with traditional physical auditing methods.
• To establish crowdsourced virtual auditing as a viable alternative for measuring neighborhood walkability.

Main Methods:

• Conducted physical and virtual walkability audits on 830 street segments in Japan.
• Utilized Google Street View for virtual auditing.
• Employed two trained auditors and 300 untrained crowdworkers for virtual audits.
• Performed statistical analysis to assess inter-source and inter-rater reliability.

Main Results:

• Good inter-source reliability was found between physical and virtual audits.
• High inter-rater reliability was observed among trained auditors and crowdworkers.
• Crowdsourced virtual auditing demonstrated efficiency and reliability comparable to traditional methods.

Conclusions:

• Crowdsourced virtual auditing using Google Street View is a reliable and cost-effective method for measuring neighborhood walkability.
• This approach facilitates large-scale auditor recruitment and reduces audit expenses.
• Virtual auditing presents a valuable tool for urban planners and researchers focused on walkability and environmental assessment.