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11
within a reasonable amount of time and effort, and offering visual interest in
journeys throughout the network” (Southworth, 2005, p. 247). This environmental
quality has been promoted from various disciplinary perspectives on walking,
notably as either a mode of transportation or a form of physical activity.
Although deemed necessary, the idea of walkability as pedestrian friendly
environmental and design features, for example, often misguides us into focusing on
the means (the built environment per se), not on the ends (i.e., the effect of the means
on enhancing children’s opportunities for walking). It is especially so when such
ends are largely determined by parents as proxy respondents, not by children
themselves. Therefore, there need a comprehensive framework that broadens the
notion of walkability to include children’s real opportunities and at the same time,
bridges disciplinary boundaries in understanding essential elements that meet the
needs of child pedestrians. By adopting Amartya Sen’s capability approach as a
normative tool in conceptualizing and evaluating walkability for children, this study
proposes walkability as freedom, focusing on agency, choice, and real opportunities.
The following introduces the perspective of the capability approach,
particularly applied to children and the idea of ‘walkability as freedom’ using
insights from the capability approach.
Walkability as Freedom: Insights from the Capability Approach
Sen (1993) has offered the capability approach as a normative framework in
assessment and evaluation of various aspects of human well-being and social
Object Description
| Title | Walkability as 'freedom': the ecology of school journey in inner city Los Angeles neighborhoods |
| Author | Uhm, Jung A |
| Author email | uhm@usc.edu; j_uhm@hotmail.com |
| Degree | Doctor of Philosophy |
| Document type | Dissertation |
| Degree program | planning |
| School | School of Policy, Planning, and Development |
| Date defended/completed | 2008-06-05 |
| Date submitted | 2008 |
| Restricted until | Unrestricted |
| Date published | 2008-10-17 |
| Advisor (committee chair) | Banerjee, Tridib |
| Advisor (committee member) |
Irazabal, Clara Stoner, Madeleine |
| Abstract | Over the past two decades, rising concerns over childhood obesity and its health effects have brought the issue of "walkability" to the forefront in creating a child friendly environment. Particularly, the idea of promoting children walking to and from school has gained widespread support among policy makers, public health officials, civic organizations, and planners as a way to increase physical activity among children to prevent obesity. Recent policies and programs however are based on an assumption about the direct influence of the built environment on school travel mode, of which parents' values and perceptions are considered prominent in determining environmental attributes related to children walking to school.; This research proposes a conceptual framework in understanding the relationship between the environment and children's travel by adding a crucial link generally missing in current walkability research - children. By proposing the notion of walkability as freedom, this study attempts to draw attentions to children's choices and real opportunities and factors that either facilitate or prohibit children in or from actualizing what they value (walking to school as one of many). With this goal, this research explored the elements of a walkable environment through the eyes of ethnic minority children attending five elementary schools in inner city Los Angeles.; Through the triangulation of capability approach, child-centered participatory methods, and ecological perspectives, the findings demonstrate children's capacity not only to observe and understand the environment, but also to evaluate and reflect on making their neighborhood environment safer and walkable on their own terms.; This research suggests a shift in policy focus from the provision and improvement of environmental resources to the enhancement of individual freedom by increasing children's participatory capability. The results of this study advance the discussion on the relationship between active school travel and the environment by bringing children into the foreground within the spheres of ecological transaction. |
| Keyword | capability; children; inner-city neighborhood; perception; school travel; walkability |
| Geographic subject | educational facilities: Foshay Learning Center; educational facilities: Norwood Street Elementary School; educational facilities: St. Agnes Parish School; educational facilities: Vermont Avenue Elementary School; educational facilities: Lenicia B. Weemes Elementary School |
| Geographic subject (city or populated place) | Los Angeles |
| Geographic subject (state) | California |
| Coverage date | circa 2008 |
| Language | English |
| Part of collection | University of Southern California dissertations and theses |
| Publisher (of the original version) | University of Southern California |
| Place of publication (of the original version) | Los Angeles, California |
| Publisher (of the digital version) | University of Southern California. Libraries |
| Provenance | Electronically uploaded by the author |
| Type | texts |
| Legacy record ID | usctheses-m1671 |
| Contributing entity | University of Southern California |
| Rights | Uhm, Jung A |
| Repository name | Libraries, University of Southern California |
| Repository address | Los Angeles, California |
| Repository email | cisadmin@lib.usc.edu |
| Filename | etd-Uhm-2224 |
| Archival file | uscthesesreloadpub_Volume29/etd-Uhm-2224.pdf |
Description
| Title | Page 21 |
| Contributing entity | University of Southern California |
| Repository email | cisadmin@lib.usc.edu |
| Full text | 11 within a reasonable amount of time and effort, and offering visual interest in journeys throughout the network” (Southworth, 2005, p. 247). This environmental quality has been promoted from various disciplinary perspectives on walking, notably as either a mode of transportation or a form of physical activity. Although deemed necessary, the idea of walkability as pedestrian friendly environmental and design features, for example, often misguides us into focusing on the means (the built environment per se), not on the ends (i.e., the effect of the means on enhancing children’s opportunities for walking). It is especially so when such ends are largely determined by parents as proxy respondents, not by children themselves. Therefore, there need a comprehensive framework that broadens the notion of walkability to include children’s real opportunities and at the same time, bridges disciplinary boundaries in understanding essential elements that meet the needs of child pedestrians. By adopting Amartya Sen’s capability approach as a normative tool in conceptualizing and evaluating walkability for children, this study proposes walkability as freedom, focusing on agency, choice, and real opportunities. The following introduces the perspective of the capability approach, particularly applied to children and the idea of ‘walkability as freedom’ using insights from the capability approach. Walkability as Freedom: Insights from the Capability Approach Sen (1993) has offered the capability approach as a normative framework in assessment and evaluation of various aspects of human well-being and social |
