Walkable Communities and Your Health

I recently wrote on my neighborhood blog about walkable communities and whether they exist or are possible in my area.  This was inspired by a report indicating that home values are higher in walkable communities. Now, Sightline Daily’s Roger Valdez says that a Centers for Disease Control (CDC) report is pointing out that walkable, mixed-use communities are better for your health as well.

What is a walkable community, anyway? WalkScore.com says that walkable communities have the following characteristics:

• A discernable center (a shopping district, public square, etc.)
• Density
• Mixed-income, mixed-use
• Parks and public spaces
• Pedestrian-centric design
• Nearby schools and workplaces

So what does the CDC have to say about this? Well, it’s part of the CDC’s Measures Project, which is a report on “recommended strategies and measurements to prevent obesity.” Valdez’s focus is on recommendation #21, “Communities Should Zone for Mixed-Use Development.”  According to the CDC:

Mixed-use development decreases the distance between destinations (e.g., home and shopping), which has been demonstrated to decrease the number of trips persons make by automobile and increase the number of trips persons make on foot or by bicycle.

And the CDC did get evidence for this in their study:

Studies using correlation analyses and regression models indicated that mixed land use was associated with increased walking and cycling (110,117–119). A review of quasi-experimental studies indicated residents from high walkability neighborhoods (defined by higher density, greater connectivity, and more land use mix) reported twice as many walking trips per week than residents from low walkability neighborhoods (defined by low density, poor connectivity, and single land uses) (110). A cross-sectional study conducted in Atlanta, GA indicated that odds of obesity declined as mixed land use increased (118).

There are a number of other great recommendations, too.

• Communities should enhance infrastructure supporting bicycling.
• Communities should enhance infrastructure supporting walking.
• Communities should improve access to public transportation.

And there’s a section on nutritional recommendations, including “Communities should increase support for breastfeeding,” which I wholly agree with.

I know this is controversial in many parts of suburban and middle America. Many people would rather have big houses with big backyards and cul-de-sacs where children can play. And I don’t know that we can or should expect everyone to live New York-style (7 of the top 10 walkable communities on WalkScore are in New York City). But I do think mixed-use, walkable communities are a valuable and important part of our culture, and should be encouraged.