Walkable Communities
Community design that encourages movement
Communities that foster a variety of options for residents to move about are a vital part of the healthy living puzzle. By ensuring that residents of all abilities can successfully travel their neighborhoods and cities in more than just a car, a community encourages citizens to live actively and engage in their surroundings. This may mean establishing complete, safe sidewalks with cutaways for wheelchair access, giving residents the option to walk from one point to another. It may also mean creating bike lanes on roads to ensure those who travel on bicycles are safe. It may also mean developing trails and recreational spaces that encourage walking and biking.
But creating a walkable community isn't just about bike lanes and sidewalks. It's about making sure that crosswalks connect sidewalks to parks and schools. It's about reviewing the placement of businesses and school buildings to increase foot and bicycle traffic. And it's about connecting trails and off-road paths to retail centers where people work, play, and shop.
Any time an individual can walk or ride a bicycle rather than drive a car, he or she is engaging in active living. The individual's health benefits from the physical activity and fresh air, and environmentally we all reap the benefit of fewer exhaust emissions. Communities become safer as individuals engage with one another and the neighborhood. And walkable communities also ensure that residents whose financial or life situations do not allow them to own a car are still able to access the resources they need.
Case Studies
The city of New Haven, Connecticut, has adopted a Complete Streets ordinance that provides a comprehensive plan for the entire city.
The momentum is growing as communities throughout Greater Kansas City join the Complete Streets movement.