Walking city

"Walking City" redirects here. For the conceptual, moving city, see Ron Herron § Walking City.

Narrow streets are a common feature in walking cities, where space is at a premium.

A walking city or walkable city is a type of city that is created to avoid internal transportation, and therefore be small enough that a person can use walking to navigate the city. It is characterized by narrow, often winding streets. Its transport system is inherently egalitarian, with no one being disadvantaged by a lack of transport, unlike modern automotive cities. Walkability within areas positively impacts equity, sustainability, health, social benefits, less demand on other modes, economic development, and enjoyment.

History

Before the advent of machine-powered transportation, walking cities were common, due to land transportation being a scarce commodity. People arranged cities to reduce the amount of one-way trips and the necessary length of these trips. This meant that features of modern cities such as one-way streets would have been avoided by city planners. Circulation patterns were sought that assured people would travel the least distance. The crooked streets of medieval towns, while seemingly inefficient, were actually created to enable circumferential routes.

In Europe, the walking city was dominant up to 1850, when walking, or at most, horse-drawn transport, was the primary means of movement.

Many walking cities around the world became overrun by cars during the 1950s and 1960s, but some gradually reclaimed their walking qualities, such as Freiburg and Munich in Germany and Copenhagen in Denmark.

Walking cities in the United States also diminished following the rise of vehicular transport and transformed into urban sprawl. Suburbs surrounding the city have become the next walking city, but do not provide the same amenities available in walkable cities. While there are usually opportunities for leisure walks around neighborhoods, there can still be a need to transit into a city for access to amenities such as healthcare, grocery stores, work opportunities, or education.

Features

In walking cities, everything was "crammed into the smallest space possible". Streets were by necessity narrow, overhanging upper stories were common, and they were often surrounded by walls for defensive purposes. Urban planning and policies related to zoning and infrastructure allow modern cities to be more walkable. Urban sprawl and past city planning affects current public transit systems, such as the United States which spends more public tax dollars on transit but is less accessible.

Walking cities can allow for greater economic, health, and social outcomes by allowing opportunities for connection in environments that prioritize human health over vehicular transit. It is a reliable source of transportation that can survive natural disaster(s), be affordable, and make it easier for a consumer to get from shop to shop, if they choose. Walking cities also allowed for physical activity during the COVID-19 pandemic where it was a way to be outside safely. There was an increase in the time spent on a leisure walk compared to utilitarian, a trend that has remained consistent within the years following the lock-downs.

Green spaces and more specifically parks within walking cities can encourage the physical activity of residents of all ages. There can be reduced air, water, and noise pollution by creating sustainable outdoor spaces.

Examples

Edinburgh High Street, Scotland

The ten most walkable cities around the world are Florence, Venice, Riga, Athens, Hamburg, Edinburgh, Madrid, Porto, Tallinn and Stockholm.

The walkability of an area is determined by factors such as density, functional mix, and access networks. In addition, the Institute for Transportation and Development Policy (ITDP) ranked the walkability of cities according to the closeness to car-free places (100m), closeness to healthcare and education (1km), and by small size of city blocks. Components including the allocation of funds toward public transit and walkways, as well as zoning and infrastructure changes contribute to the success of walkable cities.

In Spain, Madrid combines inner-city transit with light-rail trains to provide over 89% of the population access to the transit system from less than one kilometer away.

Environmental impact

Walkable cities encourage walking, biking, and public transit opposed to passenger vehicles, which decreases the use of fossil fuels. In the United States, transportation is the largest contributor of green house gas emissions, accounting for 27% of the total in 2020. Moreover, increased walkability results in less air and noise pollution, as well as additional land for green space that is not being used by vehicles. These factors along with others tackle environmental disproportionality and injustice through ameliorating climate change and diversifying accessibility. The United Nations outlines 17 different Sustainable Development Goals that aim to tackle social and environmental problems. Walking cities address SDG #11: Sustainable Cities and Communities through urban planning that allows access to better transportation.

See also

• 15-minute city – Urban accessibility concept
• Automotive city – Urban planning prioritising automobiles
• Carfree city – Urban area absent of motor vehicles
• Most livable cities
• Pedestrian village – Urban planning for mixed-use areas prioritising pedestrians
• Permeability (spatial and transport planning) – Freedom of movement of traffic
• Street reclamation – Changing streets to focus on non-car use
• Transit-oriented development – Urban planning prioritising transit
• Urban vitality – Intensity of use of an urban area