Walking is the oldest and simplest form of human transportation. Nowadays, walking a few blocks or crossing a street seems inconvenience. Walkability is a new term to describe how friendly a city or a neighborhood is to pedestrian activity. According to the Walkable and Livable Communities Institute, walakble communities are defined as: “they consider persons, not their automobiles, at the center of the design scale. When we design communities around the human foot, we create places that are socially, environmentally and economically vibrant”.
Walkability is the key to an urban area’s efficient ground transportation. Walking remains the cheapest form of transport for all people. Thus, the construction of a walkable city provides the most affordable and equitable transportation system, where any community can plan, design, build and maintain. Walkable cities return urban environments to scale, pattern and mix for sustainability of resources (both natural and economic). They lead to addressing many social and economic problems through social interaction, physical fitness, diminishing crime and increasing wellness. Walkable cities are livable built environments which lead to whole happy and healthy lives for the people who live in them. They keep jobs and attract young adults, families and children (www.walkable.org).
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