How Can We Make Our Communities More Walkable?

At this point, the evidence for making communities more walkable* is pretty overwhelming. Walkable communities are more healthy, more equitable, more financially secure, more safe, more happy, more attractive, more sustainable, and more relational.

But how can we make our communities more walkable?

Should we petition our local governments? Seek out grant opportunities? Recruit walk and bike-friendly businesses? Activate more outdoor dining and public gathering spaces? Apply best practices of tactical urbanism? Share economic data from communities with high Walk Scores? Install more public art?

Yes, of course.

But none of this really matters if the community does not have a walking culture. If nobody walks, bikes, or rolls around town, all of our best efforts to increase walkability will fall on deaf ears, lack support, and lose their effectiveness.

Increase demand, y'all!

Now, I'm not saying that you should start walking and biking everywhere, especially if your community's infrastructure doesn't support it. Please don't try to cross a dangerous 8-lane road Frogger style in hopes that your presence will make the hundreds of drivers speeding by stop and think, "ya know, I should be nicer and more accommodating to pedestrians," or "golly, I should show up to my next City Council meeting and petition for better and safer pedestrian initiatives like raised crosswalks, narrower driving lanes, or speed cameras."

It doesn't work. Trust me, I tried.

But what I am saying is that maybe you could leave the car in the garage and just walk to your friend's house a few doors down the street. I mean, we do this every year en masse for Trick or Treating. Why can't we do it year-round (without the costumes, unless you're into that sort of thing...).

--Maybe you could dust off your bike and pedal to work using your local rail trail.

--Instead of driving to the gym, just walk to the gym (double the exercise!).

--Skip the Uber and take the extra 5-10 minutes to walk to your next destination.

--Organize a downtown walking pub tour. Hooray, supporting locally-owned small businesses! Hooray, beer!

Walk more. Bike more. Drive less.

Now, you may be saying, that I'm just a dreamer, but to quote/paraphrase John Lennon, "I'm not the only one. I hope someday you'll join me."


*I'm defining "walkable" as the ability to walk, bike, roll, stroll, saunter, etc. (really, just anything that doesn't require the use of traffic-inducing, carbon emitting, community-destroying vehicles)