The microscale data collection project built upon some initial funding provided through Active Living Research to develop a microscale instrument, and in Feb. 2003, it was tested within the 16 Neighborhood Quality of Life Study (NQLS) Seattle communities. Microscale community characteristics were collected by graduate students under the direction of University of Washington's Dr. Daniel Abramson and doctoral candidate Kathleen Kern. Through the process of developing the instrument and discussing the data collection activity with the NQLS and University of Washington teams, Lawrence Frank Company (LFC) has identified areas of the survey instrument that will be improved before the full-scale data collection effort commences. These changes included, but are not limited to, wording questions in a different manner, including additional questions on the pedestrian characteristics of 3, 4, and 4+ legged intersections. Not only is the survey instrument critical to the success of the data collection effort, but it will also build upon the current body of research on the topics of microscale commercial and residential street characteristics and their effect on pedestrians' experiences, travel behavior, and physical activity.
