Walkability Toolkit

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Walking is good for everyone. The air is cleaner, people are healthier, neighbours get to know each other and the streets are safer because there’s more people on them. Busy sidewalks and public spaces populated with people are positive indicators of vibrant, thriving neighbourhoods.

You may live in a neighbourhood that has a very positive and supportive walking environment right now. Or you might reside in a place where getting around on foot, either recreationally or for daily errands, is unpleasant or unsafe. Either way, we offer you this very basic, user-friendly Walkabilty Tool Kit that aims to help you understand your walking environment better and offers advice for making improvements.

Making places better for walking often comes down to street design. While some of those obstacles to walking can only be addressed by larger changes in infrastructure and engineering, certain smaller fixes can make big differences in people’s daily lives - like adding lighting, sidewalks, crosswalks, garbage cans, benches and bus shelters. Removing fences and formalizing short cut routes can also improve the walking environment considerably.

Local residents are the best people to consult about what is needed to improve walking conditions. With this in mind, please use our Walkability Tool Kit to determine conditions in your neighbourhood.

The Walkability Slide Show explains what is meant by walkability, the conditions, obstacles, strengths and weaknesses in our walking environments.

The Walkability Checklist is much the same material, in a document that can be printed off and consulted while walking around your own neighbourhood. This is a audit tool that you are encouraged to use while walking around in your neighoburhood, either alone or in groups.

The Group Discussion Topics are intended as a guideline for getting people to talk about their walking environment. These sorts of conversations go a long way towards deepening people’s understanding of how the walking environment affects people’s daily behaviour and highlights the need for changes.

The Making Improvements section lists a number of strategies and approaches to making changes to walking environments.

The Walkability Tool Kit is created by:
Paul Hess, Study Lead, Associate Professor, Dept of Geography and Program in Planning, University of Toronto and Jane Farrow, Executive Director, Jane’s Walk

The Walkability Checklist and slide show are edited and designed by Mia Hunt

Photography by Katherine Childs, Paul Hess and Jane Farrow