Measuring Pedestrian Psycho-Physiological Well-Being in the Built Environment

Project Abstract

Current advancements in ubiquitous sensing technologies have the potential to increase transportation designers’ understanding of pedestrian behavior and experience. It is now possible to collect human state and behavior data naturalistically and longitudinally. Currently, over 900 million wearable devices are being used worldwide on a daily basis (Tankovska 2020). The application of these devices spans over a variety of fields such as mental health (Coughlin and Stewart 2016), health and physical activity (Kos and Kramberger 2017, Hsu et al. 2018), and sleep monitoring and interventions (Jeon and Kang 2019). Similarly, these technologies can be utilized to identify how pedestrian states, behavior, and well-being vary in different contextual settings. Using mobile sensing technology such as gaze, heart rate, and stress trackers, this research attempts to characterize whether quantitative physiological data (as collected by these sensors) can be used to predict qualitative perception data (captured by stated preference surveys), to ultimately capture changes in the pedestrian urban experience as environmental and infrastructure design variables shift. These user-centric data on road environments are essential for establishing actionable standards linking roadway design to pedestrian well-being. By emphasizing multimodal urban streetscapes that serve as public spaces for people, transportation planners, engineers, designers, and policy makers can reach goals for more livable, safe, and economically vibrant environments.

Universities Involved

University of Virginia

Principle Investigators

Dr. T. Donna Chen

Dr. Andrew Mondschein

Funding Sources and Amounts

USDOT: $100,000

Start Date

September 1, 2023

Completion Date

September 1, 2024

Expected Research Outcomes & Impacts

The anticipated project outcomes include 1) A comprehensive literature review regarding current methods to assess pedestrian perceived safety and comfort; 2) A prototype experimental design that allows for simultaneous mobile collection of multimodal physiological pedestrian and environmental data; 3) An improved understanding of the linkages between pedestrian’s physiological states, environmental factors, and perceived safety and comfort; and 4) A prototype virtual reality simulation tool for assessing pedestrian safety and comfort in a lab setting.

Subject Areas

Safety, Pedestrians, Infrastructure Design