Study Shows TND Encourages Walking

"The study was based on a door-to-door survey of four neighborhoods in the Portland, Oregon, area. One was a conventional suburb in Beaverton, Oregon. Two were neighborhoods in Portland with differing physical characteristics and histories. The last was Orenco Station, one of the best-known new urban developments in the Northwest, with approximately 1,850 housing units and a town center that includes 68,000 square feet of ground-floor commercial space on a total of 190 acres.

The physical design of Orenco Station, with its pedestrian-friendly network of streets, small parks and public spaces, differs substantially from the other neighborhoods studied — especially the conventional suburb containing large lots, cul-de-sacs, and few sidewalks. Data was collected from Orenco Station in 2002 and 2007, offering insights into how attitudes change in a new urban community over time. A paper that fully describes the study will be published in an upcoming urban research journal."

Among the findings: Ten times more Orenco Station residents regularly walk to a store than do the inhabitants of the Beaverton suburb. "This achievement likely contributes not only to environmental sustainability but to personal health," the researchers note.