The walkability test: is your hometown pedestrian-friendly?
Jan 10, 2024
Our cities often lack walkability, but not the know-how. Urban planners have preached the specifics for safe, smart, and scenic cities for years and even developed indexes for measuring them.
Walkability is more a question of letting go of car-centric thinking and understanding the benefits of people-friendly urban design.
In this article, you’ll learn what makes a city pedestrian-friendly. And you’ll get an easy-to-follow checklist of acknowledged urban planning principles, which you can explore the fun way — by testing how your city holds up.
But first, let’s go over the definition of walkability.
What is walkability?
A walkable city is much more than an abundance of pavements.
Urban planners define walkability as the extent to which an area is pedestrian-friendly. It encompasses various features and characteristics that make it easy, safe, and enjoyable for people to walk.
These factors include well-maintained pavements, inclusive street design, access to public transport, safety measures, aesthetics, and the proximity of amenities like schools, parks, shops, and public spaces (learn more below).
In a walkable city, neighbourhood or street, it’s easy and enjoyable for people to get around on foot, promoting a healthy and active lifestyle while reducing dependence on cars.
A walkability score or a walkability index is a numerical rating that assesses how friendly an area is for walking.
Over half a dozen ratings are used to evaluate streets, neighbourhoods or whole cities. The differences lie in the specific factors they consider, the weights assigned to each element, and the methodology used for calculation.
Some indexes focus more on infrastructure, while others consider the mix of land uses, safety, or aesthetics.
Let’s look at some well-known walkability indexes and their main differences.
3 popular walkability indexes
Walk Score
One of the most well-known walkability indexes isthe Walk Score.
Its rating scale is as follows:
90–100: Walker’s Paradise (daily errands don’t require a car)
70–89: Very Walkable (most errands can be accomplished on foot)
50–69: Somewhat Walkable (some errands can be accomplished on foot)
0–49: Car-Dependent (most errands require a car)
Based on the Walk Score, a good walkability score is 70 points or more.
The advantage of the Walk Score is its simple scoring system and accessibility to the general public.
It primarily measures walking distance to various amenities with the help of metrics like population and intersection density, and block length.
However, the Walk Score relies on publicly available data and may thus be inaccurate.
It also doesn’t assess vital metrics like the quality of pavements, the presence of pedestrian infrastructure (e.g. benches, lighting), safety, or the aesthetics of the walk.
Pedestrian Environmental Quality Index (PEQI)
This index considers 6 features: traffic, street design, land use, intersection safety, perceived safety (litter, illegal graffiti), and perceived walkability (noise, smells).
Measuring various environmental factors and additional qualities like residents’ perceptions allows for a more comprehensive overview of walkability. But it also makes the assessment more subjective, resource-intensive, and time-consuming. PEQI is, therefore, harder to use and interpret, especially for non-experts.
The PEQI ranks areas on a 100-point scale divided into 5 equal categories, with 0–20 being ‘Environment not suitable for pedestrians’ and 81-100 ‘Ideal conditions for pedestrians’.
A rating over 60 points is considered a good score.
NEWS is another way of assessing how environmental attributes influence physical activity.
NEWS considers variables like street connectivity, traffic safety, walking and cycling infrastructure, residential density, land use mix, accessibility, aesthetics, and crime statistics.
It’s been widely validated in various settings and adapted for use in different countries, allowing for cross-cultural comparisons.
On the other hand, the Neighbourhood Environment Walkability Scale (as the name suggests) is primarily designed for residential areas. And while international adaptability is its strength, its sensitivity to local context can be a limitation.
World’s best walkability cities
A city may lack greenery and dedicated walkways, but make up for it with an abundance of amenities, residential density, or great public transport.
Based on different walkability ratings, some of the best examples of walkable cities are:
Paris, France;
Copenhagen, Denmark;
Amsterdam, Netherlands;
New York City, USA;
Melbourne, Australia;
Barcelona, Spain;
San Francisco, USA;
Vancouver, Canada;
Stockholm, Sweden.
The pedestrian street La Rambla in the centre of Barcelona.
Test your city’s walkability
As is the case for the above walkability ratings, our 40-question test won’t be perfect. Not every feature might be well-suited for your neighbourhood, and there are hundreds more we couldn’t include.
But it will give you ideas about what to campaign for in your home town to make it a better place to live.
The official indexes are quite lenient. But if we’re to actually prioritise pedestrians, we should hold our cities to a higher standard — like the one we had to meet in school. Our rating system is as follows:
36–40 points A or excellent
31–35 points B or good
26–30 points C or average
21–25 points D or below average
0–20 points F or fail
So, grab a pen and paper and see if your city passes or fails the walkability test. Every valid claim scores 1 point.
A pedestrian-friendly crossing with step-free kerbs, tactile paving, a kerb extension, traffic signs and light signals, shade from trees, and a dedicated bike lane.
Pavements, walkways, and streets
Both sides of the street have dedicated, paved, and clearly marked walkways.
Walkways are separated and protected from bike lanes and motorways by landscapes, plants, street furniture, information kiosks, bicycle racks, transit shelters, lighting poles, etc.
Pavements are continuous and predominantly straight.
Streets and walkways are clean, well-maintained, and clear of rubbish, water, snow, etc.
Streets are lively and safe, inviting conversation and social activity.
Streets are lined with easily accessible businesses and services with sufficient opening times.
Streets are closed for street fairs, markets, and cultural events.
Pavements are step-free or have a ramp at each crossing.
A walkable street with directional tactile paving to aid blind or partially-sighted people.
Crossings and crosswalk safety
There are clearly marked crossings every 80–100 metres or less than 3 minutes away in dense urban areas.
There are crossings for traffic intersections and mid-block locations.
There are audible signals and tactile paving for blind or partially-sighted people.
Pedestrians never have to cross more than 2 lanes of traffic at once.
Pedestrians never have to wait for a green light longer than 40 seconds.
Visibility is improved with raised crossings, adequate lighting, and kerb extensions.
Crossings follow the locations of the most popular destinations and don’t require pedestrians to take detours.
Cars are prohibited from parking next to crossings for better visibility.
A street with dedicated walkways, bike lanes, and motorways separated by tree lines, kerbs, and traffic signs.
General safety
The speed limit is no more than 30km/h.
Streets have traffic calming measures such as raised intersections, sharper corners, and speed humps that slow down cars.
Traffic laws and regulations (speed limits and parking) are enforced, and violators are held accountable.
On-street parking is reduced and replaced with pavements, bike lanes, bike racks, and parklets.
Streets are well-lit to ensure safety. Lighting posts are located at regular intervals and do not obstruct pedestrian paths or cause hazards for blind or partially-sighted people.
People hit by cars going at 50 km/h or higher have less than a 50% chance of surviving. Their chances of surviving go up to 90% if the car is travelling at 30 km/h.
Amenities and utilities
Seating options (that don’t reduce the walkable area) are available every 100 to 200 metres. There’s plenty of space for pushchairs or wheelchairs next to them.
Pavements have enough shade or shelter in the form of trees, arcades, awnings, or other structures to protect pedestrians from direct sun and weather conditions.
Pedestrians have access to free drinking water.
There’s plenty of greenery that adds aesthetic appeal and reduces heat islands.
There are well-maintained garbage bins and affordable public toilets.
Streets have elements for aesthetic appeal and entertainment, like public parks, plazas, art pieces, and playgrounds.
Utilities such as road signs and utility boxes don’t affect pedestrians’ path of travel and are positioned to preserve the street’s aesthetic charm.
There are well-designed, informative traffic and directional signs and maps.
In a pedestrian-friendly city, streets can be closed for events.
Public transport
There’s a transport hub offering various transit choices to numerous destinations within a short walking distance (less than 500m).
The use of public transport is encouraged by making it comfortable. Transit stops provide shelter, shade, and seating and have enough space for passengers to wait.
Transit stops have additional amenities like real-time transit information, charging stations, public toilets, and vendors.
People of all ages and abilities can safely reach transit stops on foot and board comfortably.
Transport hubs have bike storage and e-scooter/e-bike sharing stations to encourage multi-modal transport.
The ‘8 to 80 concept’ promotes creating cities that are accessible and safe for people of all ages, from 8 to 80 years old.
Inclusivity
Walking zones are free from temporary obstructions (street vendors, restaurant tables) or permanent obstacles (lighting poles, traffic signs) that may create challenges for people with limited mobility.
The streets are designed to prioritise people with disabilities using pedestrian ramps, detectable surfaces, and audible signals.
Amenities such as street furniture, lightning posts, and rubbish bins have a consistent design and pattern for blind or partially-sighted people.
Kerbs are never higher than 15 cm to be safe and accessible to people of all ages and abilities.
Pavements in residential neighbourhoods have a clear path for pedestrians 1.8–2.4 metres wide, and in central and commercial areas, 2.4–4.5 metres — wide enough for 2 people using wheelchairs to pass each other.
There’s a way for residents to be involved in city planning and provide feedback (e.g. via an app or a website).
Help make cities for people, not cars
So, how did your city do?
Prioritising pedestrians is essential for a sustainable and liveable city. So is having affordable alternatives to personal cars, and less congestion and pollution.
