New Tools for Making Walkable Places

The Institute for Transportation and Development Policy (ITDP) released a new "Pedestrians First: Tools for a Walkable City" report this week, to "facilitate the understanding and the measurement of the features that promote walkability in urban environments around the world at multiple levels."

A post on the ITDP explains more about the potential benefits of walkability as the world's population grows. "With a better global understanding of walkability, and more consistent and frequent measurement of the walkability of urban environments, decision-makers will be empowered to enact policies that create more walkable urban areas," according to the post.

The new walkability tool proposes 11 indicators for measuring walkability, which the source article and the report itself describe in much more detail:

1. Walkways
2. Crosswalks
3. Visually Active Frontage
4. Physically Permeable Frontage
5. Shade and Shelter
6. Small Blocks
7. Prioritized Connectivity
8. Complementary Uses
9. Access to Local Services
10. Driveway Density
11. Roadway Area