Walk the Walk: Can urban policy encourage walking?

Tom Filiurin · Ravit Hananel

3 citations0/0 files storedTravel Behaviour and Society

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Urban Transport and Accessibility Traffic and Road Safety Transportation Planning and Optimization

Abstract

• Seattle implemented transportation policy plans to increase walkability indicators. • They were followed by a large increase in the share of walking trips for residents. • Walking increased for all gender, income and age groups, and all trip purposes. • The largest change was in wealthy adult men, the less disadvantaged groups. • Results support walkability policy, while considering socio-economic constraints. In recent decades, as the necessity to promote sustainable and healthy transportation modes has grown, walkability emerged as a term for a walkable environment. This paper aims to understand the role of walkability-promoting urban planning policies in changing travel behavior, and the influence such policies have on different population groups within the city. The paper focuses on Seattle, Washington, because in recent decades it has adopted sustainable and innovative urban and transportation policies that are generating international interest, and because comparative data over time exists for the city. Using a multi-stage methodology, combining quantitative and qualitative methods and data, we first analyzed major policies and projects that improved walkability indicators, and then analyzed the results of travel behavior surveys by mode share, and by gender, age, income group, and trip purpose, and aggregated the results. Our findings indicated that Seattle’s plans and projects, focused explicitly on improving walkability, were followed by a strong rise in the share of walking trips between 2006, 2017, and 2019, mostly at the expense of car trips. The study explains the differential impact these policies had on various population groups, and points to the vital role of urban policy in creating a walkable, sustainable urban environment.

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References

2021Introducing the “15-Minute City”: Sustainability, Resilience and Place Identity in Future Post-Pandemic Cities 2002How the built environment affects physical activity 2003Social Capital and the Built Environment: The Importance of Walkable Neighborhoods 1997A micro-analysis of land use and travel in five neighborhoods in the San Francisco Bay Area 2015What is a walkable place? The walkability debate in urban design 2003Testing the Claims of New Urbanism:Local Access, Pedestrian Travel, and Neighboring Behaviors 2004Urban Sprawl 2022The 15-minute city: Urban planning and design efforts toward creating sustainable neighborhoods

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