GIS Objective Measures of Walkability Are Not Always Superior to Psychometric Measures

The use of the geographical information system (GIS) to measure walkability is now commonplace, but the prioritisation of GIS-based measures over psychometric measures may pose serious consequences for practice. Psychometric measures are Likert-type scales used to assess thoughts and feelings about phenomena. Editorial decisions that are independent of research novelty and other design factors often favour users of GIS-based measures and discriminate against research utilising psychometric measures. Though their data are more accurate, GIS measures are not always better than psychometric tools. In response to the United Nations’ goal of utilising data for healthy ageing through the Decade of Healthy Ageing 2021–2030, this chapter highlights the subtle strengths of psychometric measures and reveals instances when GIS objective measures may produce less useful findings for policy and practice. A theoretical foundation of the unique role of subjective measures of walkability in active transportation research in the context of healthy ageing is formulated. Guidelines for students, researchers, editors, and peer-reviewers are presented to illustrate the unique significance of the two measures and, thus, enable the preservation of the worth of both tools.