Walkable City

Extracted Attributes

• Goal

  To create relatively complete livable spaces that serve a variety of uses, users, and transportation modes and reduce the need for cars for travel.

• Benefits

  Reduces reliance on cars, promotes sustainable urban design, improves health conditions, stimulates local economy, increases accessibility for all socioeconomic statuses, encourages citizen engagement, reduces carbon emissions, less smog, saves money for residents, provides healthy exercise options.

• Definition

  Accessibility of amenities within a reasonable walking distance, emphasizing urban spaces that serve multiple uses, users, and transportation modes, reducing reliance on cars.

• Key Factors

  Presence and quality of pedestrian infrastructure (footpaths, sidewalks), traffic and road conditions, land use patterns, building accessibility, safety.

• Characteristic

  Multi-functional neighborhoods with smaller plot sizes.

• Core Principle of

  New Urbanism

• Associated Concept

  15-minute city

Timeline

• The term 'walkability' was primarily invented and popularized due to Jane Jacobs' revolution in urban studies. (Source: Wikipedia, Summary)

  1960s

• The concept of walkability became popular within a few decades after the 1960s due to its health, economic, and environmental benefits. (Source: Wikipedia)

  Ongoing

• California Forever plans to develop a new 'Walkable City' for up to 400,000 residents in Solano County, California, designed with traditional, pedestrian-friendly principles. (Source: Related Documents, Summary)

  Future (planned)

Walkability

In urban planning, walkability is the accessibility of amenities within a reasonable walking distance. It is based on the idea that urban spaces should be more than just transport corridors designed for maximum vehicle throughput. Instead, it should be relatively complete livable spaces that serve a variety of uses, users, and transportation modes and reduce the need for cars for travel. The first of the ten principles of New Urbanism is walkability. The term "walkability" was primarily invented in the 1960s due to Jane Jacobs' revolution in urban studies. Within a few decades, the concept became popular because of its health, economic, and environmental benefits. It is an essential concept of sustainable urban design. Factors influencing walkability include the presence or absence and quality of footpaths, sidewalks or other pedestrian rights-of-way, traffic and road conditions, land use patterns, building accessibility, and safety, among others.

Web Search Results

• A Guide To Becoming A More Walkable City: 15 Minute City Insights

  Safety and accessibility for constituents will always be a top priority for local government officials. Local government officials need to put efforts towards becoming a more walkable city, and take inspiration from other municipalities that have achieved 15 minute city status. Walkable cities create more opportunity accessibility for all constituents, and GovPilot can help you streamline operations and city planning to achieve these positive outcomes. Book a consultation with GovPilot to learn [...] Becoming a more walkable city increases accessibility, stimulates the economy, and encourages citizen engagement. Residents of all socioeconomic statuses benefit from walkable, safe, easy-to-navigate cities that allow them to travel without needing to own a car. In fact, cities that provide citizens with the ability to navigate to any essential establishment (grocery stores, clinics, parks, post office, etc.) on foot are referred to as 15 minute cities. [...] Many residents in your area likely don’t have the means or ability to own and operate a car, so opening up the city to them through prioritizing walkability will make all the difference in their quality of life. Walkable, 15-minute cities save constituents money, keep the environment cleaner, and encourage healthy exercise options through foot travel.

• Walkability - Wikipedia

  One of benefits of improving walkability is the decrease of the automobile footprint in the community. Carbon emissions can be reduced if more people choose to walk rather than drive or use public transportation, so proponents of walkable cities describe improving walkability as an important tool for adapting cities to climate change. The benefits of less emissions include improved health conditions and quality of life, less smog, and less of a contribution to global climate change. [...] visit, or live. A walkable city has few of these zones. Instead, there are places where when can combine at least two of the three functions. When a town or city has smaller plot sizes, it is easier to create a multi-functional neighbourhood. [...] In urban planning, walkability is the accessibility of amenities within a reasonable walking distance. It is based on the idea that urban spaces should be more than just transport corridors designed for maximum vehicle throughput. Instead, it should be relatively complete livable spaces that serve a variety of uses, users, and transportation modes and reduce the need for cars for travel. The first of the ten principles of New Urbanism is walkability.

• 12 Most Walkable Cities in the U.S. - PODS Blog

  Q: What is America’s most walkable city? A: New York is often considered America’s most walkable city, but San Francisco has it beat out by one point on Walk Score. Q: What is the most walkable city in the U.S. in 2024? A: NYC — along with Chicago and San Francisco — are the top most walkable cities in the U.S. in 2024. Q: What is the best state for walkability? A: States in the northeast are by far considered the most well connected of any region in the U.S. With plenty of train lines and [...] public transit dotting each metro, you’re going to find a lot of walkability in New York, Pennsylvania, Connecticut, Massachusetts, New Jersey, and Virginia. Q: What cities are designed to be walkable? A: Most coastal cities are designed to be walkable, along with cities that have compact city centers and college towns. [...] It’s no surprise that New York made our list, right? Aside from traversing the city with ease by foot, residents of NYC also have plenty of access to top-notch public transportation through the MTA, including the subway, the Long Island Rail Road, and over 320 bus routes. In fact, in Manhattan and other boroughs like Brooklyn and Queens, you're never more than a few minutes away from a subway station!

• What exactly does it mean for a city to be “walkable”? And why do so ...

  It means the city can be easily and safely traversed without a vehicle. The US's infrastructure is extremely car-centric and the allowances

• Most Walkable Cities in the United States and Canada on Walk Score

  | Calgary | CA-AB | 39.1 | 49.5 | 50.1 | 1,096,833 | | Edmonton | CA-AB | 40.2 | 48.6 | 39.5 | 812,201 | | Surrey | CA-BC | 46.1 | 47.1 | 55.9 | 468,251 | | Burnaby | CA-BC | 60.1 | 66.8 | 59.5 | 223,218 | | Vancouver | CA-BC | 79.8 | 74.4 | 78.9 | 603,502 | | Los Angeles | CA | 68.6 | 52.9 | 58.7 | 3,792,621 | | San Diego | CA | 53.3 | 37.3 | 43.0 | 1,307,402 | | San Jose | CA | 50.5 | 40.1 | 61.5 | 945,942 | | San Francisco | CA | 88.7 | 77.1 | 72.3 | 805,235 | [...] | Laredo | TX | 36.8 39.6 | 236,091 | | Lubbock | TX | 39.0 | 20.6 | 42.5 | 229,573 | | Garland | TX | 40.2 | 29.2 | 40.6 | 226,876 | | Irving | TX | 44.8 | 28.7 | 42.0 | 216,290 | | Oklahoma City | OK | 34.1 | 16.9 | 40.2 | 579,999 | | Tulsa | OK | 39.0 | 22.7 | 47.2 | 391,906 | | Birmingham | AL | 33.2 | 21.5 | 30.7 | 212,237 | | Montgomery | AL | 25.8 | 16.4 | 32.9 | 205,764 | | Denver | CO | 61.2 | 44.6 | 71.8 | 600,158 | | Colorado Springs | CO | 36.1 | 18.8 | 44.7 | 416,427 | [...] | Lexington-Fayette | KY | 34.3 | 26.6 | 45.7 | 295,803 | | Honolulu | HI | 65.7 | 56.3 | 51.0 | 337,256 | | Las Vegas | NV | 42.0 | 35.5 | 46.5 | 583,756 | | Henderson | NV | 30.0 | 24.6 | 43.5 | 257,729 | | Reno | NV | 40.2 | 24.2 | 52.0 | 225,221 | | Paradise | NV | 50.1 | 38.1 | 50.1 | 223,167 | | North Las Vegas | NV | 33.7 | 33.3 | 48.5 | 216,961 | | Philadelphia | PA | 74.8 | 67.0 | 66.7 | 1,526,006 | | Pittsburgh | PA | 62.4 | 55.2 | 54.9 | 305,704 |