Walkable Cities

 

In the past few months, we have explored various planning topics in relation to how cities are shaping themselves in the post-Covid world. Adding on the topics we have covered, in this issue, we will be focusing on one of the hottest planning topics in recent years – Walkability. Cities around the world are heading towards becoming a more walkable city. Being walkable does not only mean that we can enjoy our surrounding environment more, it also means that we are encouraged to walk more, exercise more, and thereby becoming healthier. Let’s have a look at some inspiring videos on walkability as we “walk into 2021”!

Walkability and Transportation

Let’s begin with a brief introduction of the term “walkability”. The importance of walkability is being highlighted in this video:

Superblocks: How Barcelona is taking city streets back from cars

The next video introduces the idea of using “superblocks” in the city, which is an urban design concept intended to minimise car usage in the city centre. This design concept has been robustly tested out in Barcelona:

Walkability Theory

Following the above videos, the video below outlines some of principles and theories behind building a walkable environment. More so, it explores the psychological aspect of walkability:

What Is Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo’s Plan for a '15-Minute City'?

A recent initiative of “a 15-minute city” has been embarked around the world. The movement has an aim to make everything we need within a few minutes out of our front doors. Council Global Cities fellow Samuel Kling illustrates the making of a “15-minute city” using the recent plans announced by Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo:

Speaker: Samuel Kling, Global Cities Fellow and ASLS/Mellon Public Fellow Chicago Council on Global Affairs

4 ways to make a city more walkable

In the next video, let’s have a listen to a city planner from the United States - Jeff Speck, who is an established advocate of walkability. In this video, the speaker proposes four planning principles for building walkable cities. The presentation offers concrete and relevant examples of how to design and turn our streets to more walkable ones:

Speaker: Jeff Speck, City Planner, Urban Designer and Author from The United States

Free roaming and walkability: Enhancing urban design, cities and spaces for wellness (Simon Fraser University webinar)

Last but not the least, Dr. William Bird, a renowned general practitioner and an urbanist, presents an in-depth research on the interaction amongst urban planning, nature and health. Dr. Bird shares his insights on how connection with nature will improve our health:

Speaker: Dr. William Bird, General Practitioner and Urbanist from The United Kingdom

 
WalkabilityHKIP