An Analysis of Factors Influencing the Enhancement of Urban Pedestrian Walkway Quality with a Gender-Oriented Approach: A Case Study of Taleghani Walkway, Ilam City

Pedestrian streets are important urban public spaces, and examining their quality from women’s perspectives can help identify the needs and perceptions of this user group. Drawing on spatial justice and gendered space as theoretical frameworks, this study examined the assessments and attitudes of women using Taleghani Pedestrian Street in Ilam, Iran. This applied study adopted a descriptive–analytical approach and a cross-sectional design. Data were collected during Farvardin and Ordibehesht 1404 (March–May 2025) using a 30-item questionnaire organized into five sections. Participants were recruited through non-probability convenience sampling, and 368 responses were included in the analysis. Descriptive statistics and the Friedman, Spearman’s rank correlation, Mann–Whitney U, and Kruskal–Wallis tests were used to analyze the data. The Friedman test revealed significant differences in mean ranks across the five questionnaire sections, with “Enhancing the Environmental Quality of Women’s Lives” receiving the highest mean rank. This higher rank should be interpreted in light of the intervention-oriented content of its items and does not indicate more favorable existing conditions. Positive, statistically significant correlations were also observed among section scores, alongside significant differences across age groups in all five sections. The findings highlight the importance of distinguishing assessments of existing conditions from attitudes toward proposed improvements and recognizing variation in women’s evaluations. Establishing intervention priorities requires further needs assessment and direct examination of environmental conditions. Generalization beyond the study sample is limited, and the findings do not support causal inference or direct conclusions about the realization of spatial justice