A Brief History of Walkability and its Role in Urban Planning

Do you self-identify as a driver? As a cyclist? Maybe a transit rider? In big cities, residents' identity is often tied to the way they get around. In many North American cities, where the driver is king, entire news segments are dedicated to forecasting traffic, and drivers are the top concern for any new transportation project. Cyclists often form a strong self-identity as bike riders, almost always in the minority and often at odds with drivers. However, how often do you hear someone self-identify as a pedestrian? Despite its ubiquity, few people consciously identify with pedestrianism. Indeed, almost everybody is a pedestrian at some point in their day, even if it's the short walk from one's car through a parking lot to a destination. Cyclists and transit riders are even more likely to be pedestrians, often sharing infrastructure or walking for a portion of their journey. ‍In North America, it's easy to take for granted that some parts of the city are meant to be walkable, such as downtown, while others are downright hostile to pedestrians. So, what makes one environment a place you would like to take a stroll, another a place that feels alienating and yet another that feels dangerous to be outside of a car? One common model for assessing a city's walkability is known as urban DMA, standing for Density, Mix, and Access. Density refers to the relative proximity of developments to one another. Mix, also known as Functional Mix, refers to the composition of amenities as well as social groups. Finally, Access refers to the physical infrastructure that enables walkability. Urban DMA combines to create a walkable environment, however, there is no simple formula for walkability. Each city's own historic, environmental and social context must be considered to create a truly desirable place to walk.‍

Before the modern age, cities were walkable by default. Homes had to be near workplaces, and goods and services had to be within walking distance to be viable. When walking was the predominant form of transportation, real estate in the city center was the most valuable, while land on the outskirts was cheap. This relationship between land value and walkability created a positive feedback loop that virtually ensured urban DMA would be built into a city as it developed organically. ‍Photo by Wim Torbeyns on Unsplash‍Instances of historically walkable cities are virtually endless, but famous examples include Paris or Kyoto, built up over centuries to maximize the number of activities within the city that can be achieved on foot. However, not all historically walkable cities were built up organically – early examples of attempts at creating the "ideal" city include ancient Bagdad, built in the 760s CE, or the Renaissance city of Palmanova, which was built on the principles of a utopia. Both cities were circular, with a spoke and hub road design that ensured easy access to all areas of the city, with the city core having the best access. By their nature, these cities were both dense and well-mixed. ‍The industrial revolution, modern urban planning, and the subsequent adoption of the automobile turned this paradigm on its head – in many North American cities, the land near downtown was tremendously devalued, while suburban real estate values skyrocketed. This transformation was driven by infrastructure investment that prioritized suburban access to the city over urban access to local amenities. Functional mix was practically eliminated by single-use zoning, which separates residential uses from other uses in the City. Density became a four-letter word in many cities, often associated with traffic, crime or pollution. The 20th-century suburban movement was centered around the automobile, and as such pedestrianism was relegated to a recreational activity at best, and dangerous or even criminal activity in many cases. ‍Photo by Nick Fewings on Unsplash‍Even historically walkable places, such as inner-city neighborhoods near downtown, saw their walkability eroded with the introduction of limited access highways and road widening that cut off entire communities from the city's economic center. Through "Urban Renewal" projects led by the Federal Government, vibrant commercial areas such as Claiborne Avenue in New Orleans, or the Black Bottom Neighborhood of Detroit were demolished to make way for the Interstate Highway System in the mid-20th century. Frequently, the places chosen for demolition were minority neighborhoods, chosen because their residents lacked the political power to oppose such projects. The result of urban highways, in terms of walkability, was catastrophic – what used to be dense, grided networks of walkable streets turned into noisy, polluting walls with few crossings and much more traffic. ‍In recent decades, this pattern of development has once again reversed (albeit not as completely as in the 20th century) as downtowns have gone through a renaissance. The shift back to urban living has revived interest in walkability, but now through the lens of urban development, sustainability, and social justice. Today, metrics have been developed to measure a place's walkability, such as the "Walk Score" often used by developers and realtors to tout an address's walkability. Walk Score measures the distance from an address to a variety of amenities and correlates that data with population density and infrastructure availability to produce a walk score from 0-100. Walk Scores are particularly useful in measuring the economic benefits of walkability: related research has shown that a walkable neighborhood is likely to attract residents who are willing to pay a premium to live near amenities. Research also shows that pedestrians spend more money, more often than patrons who arrive by car. ‍Photo by Nazim Coskun on Unsplash‍The benefits of walkability are not just economic, however. Countless studies have shown that walking is by far the most environmentally sustainable mode of transportation, scoring better than transit and even bicycles. Walking can also have a significant impact on public health: cities with a high degree of walkability save millions of dollars in health care costs related to obesity, heart disease, and diabetes. Walkable cities are also shown to improve the mental healthy of residents, who are more likely to develop relationships with their neighbors and reap the mental benefits of physical activity. ‍Finally, improving walkability is a key tool in repairing mistakes made during the Urban Renewal era. As mentioned above, hundreds of minority and poor neighborhoods were left isolated and devalued as a result of major infrastructure projects. Improving walkability, from major reversals such as highway removal to small improvements, such as curb cuts, can help improve equity in a city that was a target of urban renewal. While improving walkability benefits all levels of society, it is most likely to benefit the poorest classes, who are the most likely to be pedestrians and are disproportionately the victims of traffic violence.