The Walkable City: A Literature Review

By Sania Shanavaz, @g00095704

UPL 600, Fall 2022, American University of Sharjah, 28/11/2022

Abstract

In the recent times, We see a surge of terms synonym to walkability or walkable cities. Walking
enables unique opportunities to develop our human capacities; opportunities that are absent in
driving or commuting. Walking promotes more thoughtful knowledge acquisition, creative
expression, the growth of our emotive and social abilities, and exercising those abilities at our will.
In this literature review, writings on walking, walkability, the built environment, and pedestrian &
urban design were studied and compared through mediums like scholastic articles, published reports,
books & journals. The electronic databases linked to the subject were searched for this study.
Finally, the review also reflects on possible directions for incorporating various features of a
walkable city into an existing scenario.

Keywords: Walkability, neighborhood, Sustainability, Environment; Pedestrian; Urban planning

travel by car far more than is necessary. As per

Introduction
“A walkable space is a safe space, an active
space, and a more equal space.”
In the recent times, we see a surge of
terms synonym to walkability or walkable cities.
A Walkable city has become the flag bearer for
a better design in providing a holistic solution.
Walkability is still associated only with leisure
and recreation in most urban projects around the
world. However, the notion of walking as
sustainable urban mobility is increasing. The
twentieth century was unquestionably the
century of automobiles. Enrique Pealosa, former
mayor of Bogotá, Colombia, sees things
differently: “God made us walking animals—
pedestrians. As a fish needs to swim, a bird to
fly, a deer to run, we need to walk, not in order
to survive, but to be happy.” It is a beautiful
thought, much obvious, still difficult to factually
substantiate apart from some relevant
assumptions. An unavoidable fact is that we
Karl Dickinson’s article ‘Building Better
Neighborhoods.’, in England, 23% of
journeys are under 1 mile (1.6 km), yet only
25% of people walk them. Hopping in the car
has become the norm because cities are
designed to fit the use of motors more than the
needs of people.
“If you plan cities for cars and traffic,
you get cars and traffic. If you plan for people
and places, you get people and places.” —Fred
Kent, Project for Public Spaces
Jeff Speck, in his much acclaimed book
‘Walkable City: How Downtown Can Save
America, One Step at a Time’, states that “Long
gone are the days when automobiles expanded
possibility and choice for the majority of
Americans. Now, thanks to its ever-increasing
demands for space, speed, and time, the car has
reshaped our landscape and lifestyles around its

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own needs. It is an instrument of freedom that
has enslaved us.”
The Definition
The definition for the term ‘Walkability’
or ‘Walkable city’ has been interpreted in
several contexts by scholars varying from a
mere physical ability or referral to the
environment empowering the ability or as the
outcomes of potentially fostering such
environments. This is important for urban
planning because what is considered a walkable
place varies greatly between definitions,
resulting in vastly different designs. According
to Shlomo Angel, Walking is the simplest, most
sustainable, and cheapest medium of
locomotion. Walkable cities use planning,
design, and density to maximize walking and
minimize driving. The report “Cities Alive:
Towards a walking world” by Arup has a
similar perspective describing walking as the
oldest, the most accessible and the most
democratic mode of transport.
When reviewing the literature on
walkable neighborhoods, Talen and Koschinsky
(2013, 42) define walkability as a combination
of geographical access and route quality;
Moudon et al. (2006) define walkability
operationally as compactness (residential
density, short distances between eating and
drinking places) and small blocks for directness
(Manaugh and El-Geneidy 2011; Porta and
Renne 2005; Frank et al. 2009; Ozbil et al.
2011). Ann Forsyth in her walkability debate
highlighted walkable neighborhood” as “a
neighborhood designed so that facilities, such as
shops, parks, transport, etc., are within walking
distance for most residents” (Macquarie
Dictionary 2014). Jeff Speck stated “The
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General Theory of Walkability explains how, to
be favored, a walk has to satisfy four main
conditions: it must be useful, safe, comfortable,
and interesting.” Katarina Risova explains in
her recent research on the topic walkability as a
concept that arose from the reaction to the
negative consequences of urban motorization.
During the pre-industrial era, when cars weren't
common and most movement was accomplished
on foot, urban environments were naturally
walkable. Walkability can thus be defined as the
extent to which an urban environment takes
pedestrian needs into consideration. Although
practitioners and researchers may speak
passionately about the need to improve walking
environments, they may really be putting out
divergent ideas. It is also difficult to build a
theory to direct practice because of the lack of
clarity.
Needs and Challenges.
Studies shows that, today, too many
urban spaces remain no- or low-walking ones,
and demand for walkable places far outstrips
supply. According to research by Tsiompras and
Photis (2017), people are more motivated to
walk when they are close (up to 400 m) to urban
destinations. This result is similar with research
by Lamquiz and López-Domnguez (2015), who
showed that distance—either actual or
perceived—is one of the major obstacles to
walking. Since the distance between various
activity locations is shorter in smaller cities than
it is in larger ones, smaller cities tend to be more
walkable (Ferrer & Ruiz, 2018).
Walking necessitates cultural shift in
many places because it is perceived as the "poor
person's option." Katarina Risova believes that
individual traffic behavior demonstrates that car
culture is still prevalent as a symbol of social
status. Changing attitudes must coexist with
changing cityscapes. “Cities Alive” report urban sprawl, the effect of urban heat island,
blames the rise of car ownership and ‘passive’ poor so-cial interactions, insufficient physical
modes of transport for the decline of physical activity, security or lack of space (e.g., Melia
activity in the urban context. Karl Dickinson in 2009, Morris et al. 2009, Roshan et al. 2010,
his article states that “Proponents of walking are Zhao 2010, De Vos and Witlox 2013 and
not as plentiful or outspoken as lobbyists for Nieuwenhuisen and Khreis 2016). The World
cars, cycling, and public transport. This is Health Organization (WHO) identified
changing, and it’s important to see how these inactivity as the fourth leading risk factor for
multi-modal means can work together to meet global mortality. Karl Dickinson explains that in
the needs of citizens rather than focus on 2020, Europeans spent average five-and-a-half
competing for dominance.” We have to be days in a year sitting in traffic. It isn’t fun. It
aware that this decline has a subsequent effect makes us irritable and late. Tanja polonyi, in her
on our quality of life. Donald Appleyard, a article points out, 100 billion Euros (1% of the
Professor of Urban Design at the University of EU's GDP) is the total annual cost of congestion
California, conducted a comparison of three in the EU.
streets identical in every dimension except for
She believes there is also no economic
levels of traffic (‘light’, ‘moderate’ and
justification for people owning automobiles in
‘heavy’), in order to show that the mere
densely populated cities—cars are parked 95%
presence of cars can crush the quality of social
of the time—and we haven't even discussed air
life in neighborhoods. He showed through his
pollution, traffic accidents, noise, or equity.
empirical research that residents of the street
Emission levels are unsafe for breathing in at
with light car traffic volumes had three times
least 80% of cities and around 15% of all
more friends and twice as many acquaintances
greenhouse gases are attributed to transport.
than those living on the street with high car
Seven million people die from air pollution each
traffic. Although there may be a long way to go
year. Not only does driving cars cause the
before entire cities can be completely navigated
environment to suffer, but the construction does,
on foot, the groundwork has been laid through
too. To build cars, environmentally damaging
innovations, investments, and governmental
resources such as platinum and palladium are
support. As per Shlomo Angel, The challenges
used unsparingly. The roads have an indirect
to increasing walkability as a physical activity
impact on habitat fragmentation as roads create
in a city include implementation costs, as those
barriers to animal’s movement. Moreover, the
are likely highly variable and city dependent
covering of the ground with asphalts is a main
and cannot be ignored. Making cities denser and
cause of soil degradation, which affects fertile
taking other steps to improve walking, however,
agricultural lands, increases flood risks, and puts
takes a lot of time and requires skills that may
biodiversity at risk. It’s evident that we need a
not be available in many cities.
change.
The automobiles can be convenient and
‘Cities Alive’ report emphasized that
extremely comfortable, but drifting away from
comparatively walking requires little equipment,
an active lifestyle comes with its cons. Problems
or high-tech infrastructure which in turn bring in
of car ownership and car use are closely linked
construction and maintenance cost saving
to traffic jams, air pollution, climate change, use
compared to road network infrastructure. At the
of resources during the car production, health
same time, making walking easier in cities can
and quality of life, noise, lack of greenery,
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make other sustainable modes of transport more
attractive: bicycling, e-biking, and mass transit
all stand to gain from improved walkability in
cities. But today cycling or walking often means
fighting over space on the road with car drivers.
That's why it important to give cyclists and
pedestrians to get the space they deserve. Tanja
explains, urban living space is lost when we
dedicate space to vehicles (driving or parking).
As an illustration, one car takes up around 15
square meters, whereas ten bicycles may fit in
one parking place. Also keep in mind that you'll
need at least two parking spaces—one at your
starting location and one at your destination —
for a single vehicle.
The Benefits
We can broadly classify the benefits of
Walkable cities to four categories. ‘Cities alive’
report describes the same in detail. The findings
rely on the definition of 16 areas of benefits, and
a series of secondary indicators, identified as
follows: -
 Social benefits such as health and wellbeing,
safety, placemaking, social cohesion and
equality. -
 Economic benefits including city
attractiveness, the local economy, urban
regeneration, and cost savings.
 Environmental benefits to do with virtuous
cycles, ecosystem services, livability and
transport efficiency. -
 Political benefits associated with leadership,
urban governance, sustainable development
and planning opportunities.
-Social benefits
Naturally, walking is beneficial for us. It
benefits our physical and mental well-being as
well as longevity. Walkable cities are easier
and more attractive to live in, making for
happier, healthier citizens as they are lively &
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socially pleasant. Health, prosperity, and
sustainability go hand in hand.
Ann Forsyth expresses walkability as a
way to achieve both the environmental
preservation and social equity components of
sustainable urban form providing sustainable
transportation options. This saves energy and
provides opportunities for those who can’t use
cars because of age, income, or disability.
‘Cities alive’ report identify the benefits
to be Strengthening community identity,
Enhancing creative thinking and productivity,
Promoting tourism, Optimising land use as
walking infrastructure are comparatively more
compact than motor vehicle infrastructure,
Enhancing civic responsibility, improving city
resilience as walking is a more reliable mode of
transport, Promoting cultural heritage when
landmarks are made accessible by foot and
promoting Natural surveillance asserting
reduction of crime rates, making the city a safer
place. Walking draws people to public places,
which, according to Jane Jacobs' theory, creates
natural "eyes on the street," whereby residents
actively monitor the cityscape, while cities
throughout the world engage on enhancing
security measures.
-Economic benefits.
There is a misconception that limiting
the number of cars in inner cities will harm
small enterprises. Scientific evidence supports
the opposite: Tanja Polonyi explains that many
retailers overestimate the number of consumers
who travel by car. When it came to pedestrian or
cycle shoppers, an ECF report miscalculated
their percentage at 12% when it was actually
42%. Recent research commissioned by Living
Streets shows that making places better for
walking can boost footfall and trading by up to
40%. According to Transport for London the improvement of air quality. An increase in
analysis, pedestrians usually spend 65% more pedestrian mobility is proportionate to
than drivers. Decreasing dependency on non-renewable. The
walking environments with tree coverage and
‘Cities alive’ report identify the benefits
landscaping has numerous co-benefits such as
to be Supporting local businesses, Encouraging
mitigating ambient noise levels in cities. Soft
inward investments, Construction and
scaping and green infrastructure such as
maintenance cost savings, Reducing healthcare
bioswales increase permeable surface for water
costs as people lead an active lifestyle,
drainage & storm water runoff from the roads.
Shrinking congestion costs as cars will be
Plant leaves have been shown to temper noise
replaced by people, Boosting prosperity,
by reflecting, diverting and absorbing acoustic
Increasing land and property values due to
energy. Pavegen, a technology-enabled floor tile
higher desirability of a neighborhood. Similar to
converts energy from footsteps into electricity
Frank Gehry’s Guggenheim Museum created
for use in low-voltage applications such as
the “Bilbao effect”, demonstrating how a city
lighting, displays and way finding. If greener
could be able to attract investment and reinvent
sidewalks, roadways and public spaces were
itself through iconic architecture; now, the
implemented on a citywide scale, the
“High Line effect” has shown how an iconic
possibilities for reducing urban heat Island
pedestrian park, funded with only $115m of
effect (UHI) would grow exponentially.
public investment, can generate over $2bn in
private investment surrounding the park, -Political benefits.
attracting 5 million visitors a year, creating According to the ‘Cities Alive’ report,
12,000 new jobs and doubling the property walking is increasingly a political agenda as
value in the neighborhood. cities fight to reduce cars, congestion and
pollution while striving for a safer, healthier,
-Environmental benefits.
more vibrant community of residents and
Optimizing land use for
visitors alike. In that view, walkable cities can
pedestrian-oriented spaces are comparatively
encourage participation of citizens for
requiring fewer materials and reduced
improvement measures; can be used as a
construction impacts to the environment. The
powerful tool for urban regeneration; build
reduction of air pollution, noise, vibrations, and
public consensus in favor of the promoting
traffic congestion, as well as the necessity for
political establishment; trigger a cultural change
parking lots, are the other beneficial effects (Ng
and push the public attitude towards more
et al. 2015 and Turo et al. 2017).
responsible behaviours. Walkability raises
‘Cities Alive’ report acknowledges the cities’ competitiveness and their importance in
advantages of a walkable city as the protection the global cities network. In 2015, substantial
of natural resources, enhancement of the pedestrian improvements have led Melbourne to
microclimate, and the expansion of public its 5th recognition as the world’s most livable
spaces and urban vegetation (Soni and Soni city promoting citizen empowerment.
2016). When vehicles are replaced by people,
A notable for political intervention is
the result is a decrease of vehicle emissions and
Times Square in New York. Once an icon of
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traffic congestion was turned into a plaza over a
weekend in 2009 using temporary street paint,
chairs and tables – a transformation that has
now been made permanent. Los Angeles, where
commuters waste 64 hours each year stuck in
traffic. The city is now making it easier for
people to walk and cycle with its People St
initiative. In order to protect Istanbul’s Historic
Peninsula, the municipality pedestrianised 250
streets between 2010 and 2012.

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 Discussion

It is interesting how much research now revolves around a seemingly simple goal: promoting the
ability of everyone to live in a walkable place. Walkable cities are cleaner cities in all senses.
Therefore, they’re more socially just cities. The strategies are meant to solve numerous problems
from the obesity crisis and a lack of central city vibrancy to traffic congestion, environmental
injustice, and social isolation. A more human-scaled, slower-paced, healthier, and happier urban
environment is what walkability is attempting to achieve. This description combines a few of the
other concepts into a cohesive whole that is less about walking specifically and more about a pleasant
environment in general. In addition walkability is one of the fundamental pillars of a sustainable city
(Southworth 2005, Ariffin and Zahari 2013 and Rafiemanzelat et al. 2017)and the benefits of a
walkable environment comes from an environmental, social as well as economic dimension of a
sustainable development

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 22
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