Research Shows Walkable Neighborhoods Can Help You Stay Active

By MiNDFOOD

People walking on Te Rewa Rewa bridge. New Plymouth
People walking on Te Rewa Rewa bridge. New Plymouth
Think about your local area – when you want to get around, can you leave the car at home and walk instead?

If yes, then chances are you live in a walkable neighbourhood.

Walkable cities have pedestrian-friendly infrastructure, including footpaths, pedestrian crossings and vehicle-free zones, facilitating walking access and use. They not only contribute to the overall liveability and functionality of urban spaces, they can be good for your health, too. Adding strong evidence in support of ‘walkable’ neighbourhoods, a large national study that was conducted by Washington State University found that the built environment can indeed increase how much people walk.

The study showed a strong connection between place and activity by studying about 11,000 twins, which helps control for family influences and genetic factors. The researchers found that each 1 percent increase in an area’s ‘walkability’ resulted in 0.42 per cent increase in neighbourhood walking.

When scaled up, that means a 55 per cent increase in the walkability of the surrounding neighbourhood would result in about 23 percent more walking – or about 19 minutes a week for every resident living in that area.

Neighbourhoods were deemed walkable based on an index that assesses the density of people, roads and desirable places to walk to such as stores, parks, restaurants and coffee shops.

See how New Zealand’s cities ranked in a list of  most accessible and walkable communities.

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