Walkability in the everyday landscape of small towns - For transport, pleasure and health

Abstract

It is hard to imagine a more environmental friendly way to travel than walking. In the discourse of urbanism walking is idealised, and the promoted environment is typically that with vivid public life, where socialising takes place and interesting events occur. The examples are often dense, central parts of large cities or touristic places. When studied as a transport mode for everyday travel, walkability is usually measured in terms of street connectivity and nearness to nodes like metro stations and shopping centres or sometimes including residential density and land use mix. Some researchers have studied walking from a wider perspective and also included the value of the surroundings. My own research in different towns and suburbs supports the idea that a walking-friendly, aesthetically attractive environment can inspire people to walk more than they would otherwise do. This idea, though often regarded hard to prove, is also in line with the findings of Guo and others. When densifying our middle sized or small Nordic towns and suburbs to make them more sustainable there is also a chance to improve the everyday walkability. This means walking for transport, pleasure, exercise and health and implies that walking must be given higher priority compared to car traffic and more equal with cycling when it comes to space and connectivity. But this is not enough. As shown in studies of some Swedish towns when walking, people asked for a good experience of the environment from the start to the end and often wanted to combine, for example, some shopping or transport to their workplace with walking for exercise. A common explanation was that this combination was time saving. Still, routes were chosen with the experience of the environment in mind, where parks, plantations and walks along water were typically chosen when possible. As the experience of nature in the form of parks etc., is emphasised as important for everyday walking this should be a main indicator when evaluating and planning for walkability in the urban landscape as a whole. It is common sense knowledge and repeatedly certified in research that at least "well-kept" nature, as well as nearness to water, is generally perceived as aesthetically attractive. That people on the whole attract other people is also a well-known fact. A network of pedestrian routes that is well integrated in the urban green structure and effectively lead to points of interest, like the city centre, sports arenas, playgrounds, etc., ought to be prioritised within a sustainable urban development. As safety is an issue in many urban areas, alternative routes along streets might sometimes be needed, and streets could also be greened; although during the daytime, green-blue surroundings are certainly attractive for those whose method of transportation is walking, as well as for pleasure and health. In the end we shall not forget the value of history. Places like parks as well as old built up areas, where history is manifest, seem especially attractive for walking in and tends to bring on feelings of wellbeing that also further sustainability.

Title: History of the Future: 52nd World Congress of the International Federation of Landscape Architects, IFLA 2015 - Congress Proceedings2015
ISBN: 978-574224877-4

Conference

52nd World Congress of the International Federation of Landscape Architects: History of the Future, IFLA 2015; Saint-Petersburg; Russian Federation; 10 June 2015 through 12 June 2015

SLU Authors

• Berglund, Ulla

  • Department of Urban and Rural Development, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences
    

Sustainable Development Goals

SDG11 Sustainable cities and communities


UKÄ Subject classification

Landscape Architecture


Permanent link to this page (URI)

https://res.slu.se/id/publ/104647