If you are an habitant of an urban area, think about this: how often do you walk to your local grocery store, gym, or job? If you have children, can they safely walk to school or visit their friends? What does crossing the street look like? Are cars or pedestrians given priority? Your answers determine the walkability of your city.
What is walkability?
It’s just what it sounds like. Walkability refers to the design of a particular city, and how the design makes it easy or difficult for residents to travel by foot when they want to reach a particular destination. Think of a resort town and they are generally laid out in a way that allows guests to have everything they need for an enjoyable holiday within walking distance – that’s great walkability.
Why is walkability important for longevity? 
Research shows that walkability goes hand-in-hand with three significant longevity factors: health, livability, and sustainability. In a recent report, the Institute for Transportation and Development Policy (ITDP) found that it is essential to make cities more walkable in the interest of human and environmental health. This is because towns with good walkability result in better health for residents, fewer climate-heating transport emissions, and stronger local communities and economies. Walking is also a reliable, versatile, and free form of transport. It further does not harm other people, provides a form of exercise, and helps neighbors form social bonds.
At the same time, when walkability is not prioritized, the health of the community suffers. The World Health Organisation estimates that 22% of all road traffic fatalities globally are pedestrians. In some countries, that figure may be as high as 66%. Moreover, estimates by WHO indicate that over 230,000 pedestrians are killed in road crashes annually.
This is very concerning because these deaths are both predictable and preventable. They are also the result of poor policy choices. If walkability is properly prioritized, urban spaces become more pleasant, safer, more eco-friendly, and economically stronger.
Our cities used to be in better shape than they are today
In the past, most cities were designed with good walkability in mind, because traveling by foot was the most efficient way to get around. Markets, schools, parks, and city centers with shops and businesses weren’t far from where most of the population lived. Also, the streets were more pedestrian-friendly than they are today.
With the mass introduction of cars in the 1950s and rapid urbanization came the expansion patterns of urban sprawl. This caused large numbers of the urban population to spread to the outskirts and suburbs of their cities. As a result, people became more dependent on motorized transportation. Consequently, highways were built to connect sparse urban centers. Active transportation modes like walking and biking went out the door.
Today, few cities in the US prioritize pedestrians, according to a report by the ITDP.
Compared to most cosmopolitan cities around the world, most US cities rank very low on the walkability score.
The ITDP recently conducted a study that ranked global cities according to three measures. The first measure assessed the proportion of people living within 100 m of a car-free place. Such as parks, pedestrianized streets, and squares. Hong Kong took the top spot with 85% within 100 m, with Moscow, Paris, and London completing the top five.
The second considered the proportion of people living within a kilometer of both healthcare and education. The order of the top five cities in this category was Paris, Lima in Peru, London, Santiago in Chile, and Bototá. The third and final measure was the average size of city blocks. The research found that smaller blocks make it easier for people to walk directly to their destinations without detours around large buildings. Here, Khartoum in Sudan scored the highest, followed by Bogotá, Lima, Karachi in Pakistan, and Tokyo in Japan.
Evidence from the report shows places that make walking easy do better on all counts
These areas have lower air pollution, less obesity, more children’s playtime, fewer road deaths, and better performing local businesses, as well as reduced inequality.
“In order to provide safe and inviting walking conditions, it is essential to shift the balance of space in our cities away from cars,” said Heather Thompson, the head of ITDP, which is based in New York.
The IDTP said the need was particularly urgent as the coronavirus pandemic was driving people away from walking, public transport, and into private cars.
The results speak for themselves
The report cites examples of developments that have made cities more walkable, such as in Pune, India, where a road redesign prioritized pedestrians and cyclists by building wide sidewalks and creating areas for children to play and vendors to sell. In Bogotá, there was a concerted effort at the turn of the century to create a city “with more public space for children than for motor vehicles”, by focusing on buses, cycling, and walking.
READ: Why do the greenest cities have the happiest people?
Alexandra Gomes, at the London School of Economic cities centre, praised the report and said: “Walking is crucial for liveable cities and a basic right for any city dweller. However, for a long-time walkability has been a planning afterthought in many parts of the world. In cities such as London, though it is certainly in need of improvement, the infrastructure exists; however, in other areas of the world walkways do not exist or are almost fully occupied by cars.”
“Millions of people have rediscovered the joys of walking and want to walk safely, but the pandemic has shown that too many of our streets are not fit for purpose,” said Mary Creagh, at UK charity Living Streets. “The ITDP’s new data tools show how to build more walkable cities, to tackle the twin epidemics of obesity and loneliness, and create a cleaner future for pedestrians and our planet.”
“People will use the infrastructure that you give them and because we’ve built cities for cars, everyone wants to drive around,” said Reich. “But if we were to start building cities for people to walk in, people will change their behaviour and will live longer and happier lives.”
How walkable is your neighborhood?
The following 11 indicators from ITDP’s Transit-Oriented Development Standard help determine the walkability of a specific neighborhood.
1. Walkways: Are there places for people to walk?
2. Crosswalks: Are there ways to get across the street?
3. Visually Active Frontage: Can people see in and out of buildings, making the street safer?
4. Physically Permeable Frontage: Is it easy to get inside buildings?
5. Shade and Shelter: Is the street comfortable in all kinds of weather?
6. Small Blocks: Are there different ways to reach a destination?
7. Prioritized Connectivity: Are there places where it’s easier to walk than to drive?
8. Complementary Uses: Are different types of amenities located near each other?
9. Access to Local Services: Can basic needs be satisfied on foot?
10. Driveway Density: Do vehicles cross the paths of pedestrians?
11. Roadway Area: Do narrow streets create a comfortable, safe environment?
The impact of walking on your health
A survey by the Massachusetts General Hospital Institute of Health Professions in Boston found that just 30 minutes of walking for a few days a week can increase bone density in women. This can also help lower the risk of osteoporosis. According to experts, walking is also one of the safest weight-bearing exercises. As it results in fewer injuries than other aerobic exercises like running.
Speaking to The New York Times, Robert H. Fitts, an exercise physiologist and chairman of the biological sciences department at Marquette University in Milwaukee, said that you can improve your cardiovascular function through walking. As a result, you have a lower risk of heart disease.
“When you start aerobic exercise like walking, the muscles have not yet acquired the ability to take on oxygen and the cardiovascular system is challenged,” Dr. Fitts said. “It adapts quite rapidly in the first few weeks, resulting in lower heart rate at greater effort.”
Find out how you can improve your longevity by adopting walking as exercise.
References:
Bloom. M. 2006. Sidewalks Are For Walking. The New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/2006/06/19/health/healthspecial/sidewalks-are-for-walking.html?searchResultPosition=10
Caron, C., & Choksi, N. 2019. Pedestrian Deaths in U.S. Approach Highest Number In Nearly 30 Years, Study Shows. The New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/2019/03/07/us/pedestrian-deaths.html
https://www.theguardian.com/cities/2020/oct/15/study-reveals-worlds-most-walkable-cities
