Another Walkability Study Proving We Need Walkable Communities

When it’s -20 degrees Celsius outside, it’s difficult to think about walking around the city, but another study has been published supporting the health benefits of walkable communities (the fact that these studies are still needed to convince people that physical activity leads to a healthier lifestyle is a whole other topic).

The study titled “A Retrospective Study on Changes in Residents’ Physical Activities, Social Interactions, and Neighborhood Cohesion After Moving to a Walkable Community,” was lead by Texas A&M University professor of Architecture Xuemei Zhu, who co-authored the report with Chanam Lee, landscape architecture specialist, Zhipeng Lu, architecture lecturer, George Mann, professor of architecture, and Chia-Yuan Yu, a Ph.D. candidate.

In order to observe and analyze the changes in residents’ physical activities after moving to a walkable community, the research team surveyed 449 people in a master-planned, walkable community near Austin, called Mueller. The community features high-density housing and a mixed-income population with affordable housing integrated seamlessly into the streetscape, blending perfectly with regular market residences. There are 140 acres of parks and other green space divided equally across the neighbourhood, as well as 13 miles of paths and sidewalks used for biking and walking. Mueller also has small businesses established in easily accessible areas and the whole neighbourhood is serviced by public transit.

Biking through Alexandra Park in Toronto

The survey asked respondents about their physical activity, social interactions, and sense of community while living in Mueller and also in the neighbourhoods in which they lived before moving to the walkable community. The results found were unsurprising. More than 40% of the residents surveyed said that their walking and biking activities increased since moving to Mueller, and over 65% said their general physical activity increased. Approximately 48% believe their health has improved since moving to the walkable area.

Another discovery lacking any shock factor was that for the most part, residents who haven’t experienced any increase in physical activity were already very active before moving to Mueller and/or previously lived in a different walkable community.

“Significant reductions in residents’ driving suggest that walkable communities can also deliver important environmental benefits by reducing fuel consumption and environmental pollution,” Zhu comments, because for some reason, people still don’t understand that cars contribute to cities’ poor air quality.

The finding of this study was that walkable communities offer the opportunity to lead a healthier lifestyle, and that “The initial result is promising, suggesting the need for more work to further examine the relationships between health and community design using pre–post assessments.” Really? We love that people and cities are encouraging the development of walkable neighbourhoods, but how many more studies do we need to prove that there is a significant connection between community design and people’s health?

Through our Walkability Series and infographic about the health benefits of avoiding a sedentary lifestyle, we’ve shown that Toronto is definitely on the right track to becoming a walkable downtown. With new master-plans like Daniels’ Regent Park revitalization, Tridel’s Bayside Toronto and Alexandra Park communities, and Dundee Kilmer’s Canary District, Toronto is about to get even more walkable. The next steps involve improving Toronto’s transit, finding other ways to decrease the amount of cars on the streets, and make people feel safe travelling by bike or another mode of transportation (rollerblading, skateboarding, etc.).