A sedentary lifestyle is a trap lurking around every corner, and adopting more active lifestyles is an increasing priority. But what really motivates people to walk? A neighbourhood may offer excellent opportunities to walk to many destinations, but only a few specific routes will actually be perceived as conducive to walking.
As a professor at the School of Urban Planning and Landscape Architecture at the Université de Montréal, I am seeing significant disparities in walkability across different areas. While accessibility to shops and services is necessary to create healthy living environments, it's not enough. The safety, comfort and appeal of walking routes are more likely to encourage people to walk.
Accessibility and walkability
Walking is often a convenient way to get to a grocery store or a bus stop, for example. A destination is considered accessible on foot if it is no more than 800 metres away.
The Walk Score indicator allows you to determine the walkability of any address based on the availability of services and shops within walking distance. The term "15-minute city" is also used to refer to environments where people can reach multiple destinations on foot (about one kilometre) or by bike (just under five kilometres) within that time frame.
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