Across Alberta and Canada, people are adding life to their communities by turning them into “walkable” communities. This article addresses a wide range of topics, including:

• the fitness, health and other benefits of walkable communities
• the varied features of walkable communities
• tips on designing and promoting walkable communities

The more walkable a community is, the more likely that people will walk more often and experience improved health and wellness. After all, walking is good for you – it’s a natural, healthy, physical activity that everyone can enjoy!

Walkable Communities Are Good to Go!
In a walkable community, it’s possible to walk safely and easily to places that are important in our daily lives, such as the grocery store, schools, workplaces and community services or facilities.

You do not always have to rely on your vehicle to get around. Instead of driving everywhere, you can use active transportation, which means using your own energy to get where you need to go. Active transportation includes walking, biking, using a wheelchair, in-line skating, skateboarding, and much more.

People living in walkable, compact communities where there’s a mix of housing and shops are more likely to use various forms of active transportation. They are also more likely to maintain a healthy weight and enjoy the varied health benefits that come from walking or other activities.

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In addition to greater potential for physical health, walkable communities also offer greater potential for social health.

In walkable communities, people are on the streets more, greeting each other and getting to know their neighbours and what’s going on in their community. There is a greater feeling of safety and a sense of belonging. Sprawling communities do not promote connectedness as well as compact and walkable communities.

Let’s Make it Walkable
These days, many communities in Alberta are doing more to ensure that people are better able to walk in their neighbourhoods. For instance, Woodcroft Community in Edmonton has worked with Walkable Edmonton to create a neighbourhood walking map.

Some of the basic features of a walkable community include:

• destinations (such as schools, stores and workplaces) within walking or biking distance
• sidewalks
• speed controls on roads and routes
• well-linked trails and street crossings that are designed to make walking safe and accessible for everyone
• a mix of businesses and homes (mixed-use neighbourhoods)
• attractive, interesting places to walk

“Walkability is more than just the infrastructure, the concrete and the street signs,” says Dean Cooper, a physical engineer for Stantec. Stantec was contracted by the City of Edmonton to produce a bicycle strategy, sidewalk strategy and walkability strategy for Edmonton’s transportation plan.

“Walkability is about the quality of the journey,” says Cooper. “And a walkable community is a vital, healthy community.”

If your community is designed for walkability, there’s a good chance that you walk often and are therefore healthier and enjoying a better quality of life.

The benefits of having a walkable community include:

• a safer environment for walking and bicycling
• more opportunities for everyone to be physically active, no matter their age, income, gender or ability level
• better access to common destinations in day-to-day life, e.g., grocery stores, workplaces, coffee shops, dry cleaners, schools, gyms

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Identifying the Challenges
Ian Hosler is the co-ordinator for Walkable Edmonton, a City of Edmonton program that encourages and promotes walkability in the city.

Hosler says each neighbourhood has its own challenges. An older neighbourhood might have decaying roads or sidewalks that need upgrading. Other neighbourhoods might need businesses to revitalize the area and give residents places to walk to.

A community should identify the challenges for each of its neighbourhoods and then decide what to do to overcome them.

Communities should also encourage mixed-use neighbourhoods. Hosler cites the example of the recently built Sobey’s grocery store on Edmonton’s Jasper Avenue. The store is right in the middle of downtown, providing nearby residents with a place to walk to and shop at in their community. The store also has a place for people to meet and have a bite to eat.

“We look at what we can do as a city to encourage developers to do more of these types of projects,” says Hosler. “Common destinations don’t spring up overnight, but if we look at the root causes of why areas are not mixed-use, we can affect change.”

Health Effects of Urban Sprawl
Urban sprawl is a term used to describe areas with low-density development. Sprawl is now known to be connected to health problems.

Because people living in sprawling areas must drive to get to the places they need to be, they are less likely to walk or ride a bike. Not surprisingly, researchers have found that people who live in sprawl-style developments tend to weigh more, are more likely to be obese and are more likely to suffer from high blood pressure.

Also, when new outlying neighbourhoods are developed, schools are often not included at the outset. This means that children living in these areas need to be transported by bus or driven to schools outside their neighbourhood. It is thought that this lost opportunity to walk to school is related to increased childhood obesity rates.

Sprawl also leads to more road accidents. Because people need to drive more, there are more cars on the road and therefore increased chances of accidents and injuries.

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Smart Growth
Older neighbourhoods and towns tend to be more walkable, partly because when they were built, not everyone had a car. In newer communities, walkability needs to be planned. Planning involves designing buildings, public spaces and streets so that they are suited to active transportation as well as vehicle traffic.

Smart growth is a movement that calls for communities to make use of walkability and other design features that make communities healthier. Smart growth is catching on around the world, and it often leads to a better mix of housing, commercial and retail uses.

Principles of Smart Growth
The Smart Growth Network website identifies the following principles of smart growth:

• create a range of affordable, quality housing choices
• create walkable neighbourhoods
• encourage community and stakeholder collaboration
• foster distinctive, attractive communities with a strong sense of place
• make development decisions predictable, fair and cost-effective
• have mixed land uses
• preserve open space, farmland, natural beauty and critical environment areas
• provide a variety of transportation choices
• strengthen and direct development towards existing communities
• take advantage of compact building design

How We Can Design Healthier Communities
Governments can develop guidelines and development standards based on smart growth principles. A good example of this is the Washington State Growth Management Act that requires communities to plan for bicycle and pedestrian transportation, as well as other physical activity.

Municipal planners need to incorporate smart growth principles into their development plans. As a citizen, you can lobby your local government/councilor to ensure that all new developments are conducive to healthy communities.

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Communities must also get away from the not-in-my-backyard attitude and learn to accept new design models that may result in changes to existing neighbourhoods.

Taking Action at the Local Level
Many communities in Alberta, large and small, urban and rural, are creating healthy, walkable neighbourhoods through smart growth and good community design.

In general, communities should become more walkable by limiting urban sprawl and traffic congestion, and by encouraging their citizens to walk more. The more walkable those communities are, the more vital they become, with more residents being physically active within the community.

Here are some examples of actions you can take:

• Create a dialogue with your town council and planners about fixing crumbling sidewalks or curbs that need curb-cuts for strollers and wheelchairs. Be informed about town plans that may affect your neighbourhood. Will a new sewer line be installed or a road repaved? If so, ask for designs that make the community more walkable.
• If you live in a rural or smaller community with no sidewalks or trails, talk to your town council and health region officials about creating places to walk. Tell your leaders how important it is to promote healthy living.

Whether located in urban or rural settings, people in communities can work together. For example, you and others could organize a workshop involving community members and business leaders that results in a plan of action. The outcomes can include both short-term and long-term plans. A workshop might be held:

• in response to news of a plan for development
• to help guide the design of future developments
• to help solve a specific problem

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More Actions to Consider
In addition to working with your community, you can take steps as an individual to promote walkability.

If you own a property, consider putting a bench out front so people who are walking by can sit and rest. Keep your walks clear of ice and snow in the winter. Perhaps leave an outside light on at night to help walkers feel safer.

Individuals can also work together to promote more walking in local neighborhoods, perhaps through local schools, churches or community leagues. For example, a community league could sponsor a walking club in your area. Parents and children can be encouraged by schools and churches to go for family walks.

Walkable communities are meant to be livable, where the quality of life for people is improved because there are many options for walking and safe, active transportation choices. When parks, roadway corridors and transportation are planned well in a community, everyone benefits. Plus, walkability leads to increased physical activity, more social interaction and safer neighbourhoods.

There are so many possibilities when it comes to promoting walkability! Check out the following resources on walkable communities.

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Learn more

Walkable Edmonton
This City of Edmonton program encourages and promotes walkability in Edmonton’s neighbourhoods.

Walkable Communities, Inc.
Based in Portland, Oregon. This organization helps large and small cities improve their transportation efficiency. Offers services and resources on walkability and advocating for walkable communities.

12 Steps Toward Walkable Communities
Florida’s Department of Transportation gives 12 steps to create an effective pedestrian and bicycle program.

Walk Score
Ranks 2,508 neighbourhoods to help you find a walkable place to live. All you have to do is type in your address. American and some Canadian communities are covered.

Overcoming Barriers to Sustainable Urban Development: Toward Smart Growth in Calgary
This discussion paper examines how the principles of smart growth could be applied to Calgary.

Active Living by Design
This website provides ideas for increasing physical activity through community design.

Smart Growth Online
This website from the Sustainable Communities Network (SCN) offers a variety of resources and information about smart growth.

State of Washington Growth Management Act
This legislation requires communities to consider urban planning approaches that promote physical activity. The act also requires municipalities to include a bicycle and pedestrian component in transportation planning.