Pedestrians First: Tools for a Walkable City

Walkability is a crucial first step in creating sustainable transportation in an urban environment.

Effectively understanding and measuring the complex ecology of walkability has proven challenging for many organizations and governments, given the various levels of policy-making and implementation involved. In the past, Western and Eurocentric standards have permeated measurement attempts and have included data collection practices that are too complicated to have utility in many parts of the world or at a level beyond that of the neighborhood.

To expand the measurement of walkability to more places and to promote a better understanding of walkability, the Institute for Transportation and Development Policy (ITDP) has developed the Pedestrians First online toolkit. This tool will facilitate the understanding and measurement of the features that promote walkability in urban environments around the world at multiple levels. 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.