History | WABSA Walking and Bicycling Suitability Assessment

A Brief History of the WABSA Project

The Walking and Bicycling Suitability Assessment (WABSA) Project was developed by Jim Emery MPH, Carolyn Crump PhD, and Phil Bors, MPH in 1998 with funding from the NC Cardiovascular Health Program. Our goal was to identify and/or develop methods that communities could use to assess the suitability of their local streets for walking and bicycling.

Walking Suitability. Our literature review did not identify any suitability assessment methods for pedestrian (walking) environments. Over a two year period we developed and tested a method to assess the walking suitability of sidewalks. Read more detail about our Methods.

Bicycle Suitability. We reviewed many methods for assessing bicycling suitability of roads. Through analysis we determined that one method was reliable and simple to use. Nils Eddy developed the method in the mid-1990s and it was published in the conference proceedings of the ProBike ProWalk 1996 conference in Philadelphia, PA. We’ve adapted the Eddy method for this project. Read more detail about our Methods.

Related Publications

Here is a reliability and validity study of the WABSA methods: Emery, J., Crump, C., & Bors, P. (2003) Reliability and validity of two instruments designed to assess the walking and bicycling suitability of sidewalks and roads. American Journal of Health Promotion, 18 (1): 38-46.
Here is an example of a pilot program that applied the methods in two different communities in the United States: Emery J, Crump C & Hawkins M (2007). Formative evaluation of AARP’s Active for Life campaign to improve walking and bicycling environments in two cities. Health Promotion Practice, 8 (4): 403-414.

Since their development, the WABSA Project methods have been downloaded by hundreds of citizens, community groups, planning professionals, and graduate students from all around the world.