Why walking and a walkable environment is important to London

Walking is an important way of getting around and there's already a lot of it going on in London.

21% of all trips in London are made on foot¹

It's important to cater for all these existing walking trips and to encourage even more because walking, and streets and public space that encourage walking, are good for many reasons:

HEALTH

Walking is the perfect way for most people to increase their level of activity. Walking is free, easy to fit in to daily life and can be done simply for pleasure or to get from A to B. The benefits can even be accumulated in short bouts in order for adults to reach the target of 30 minutes at least five days of the week that benefits general health. ²

For these reasons walking has been described by experts as the 'nearest activity to perfect exercise'. ³

But only 32% of men and 26% of women in London reached the recommended activity target in 2003. ⁴

The estimated costs of inactivity in England are £8.2 billion annually, which does not include the contribution of inactivity to obesity, estimated at a further £2.5 billion. ⁵ These figures include costs to the NHS and to the economy, such as absence from work. A large proportion of the costs of inactivity will take place in London.

But the benefits of activity to health cannot be disputed. People who are regularly active halve their risk of coronary heart disease. They also have a lower risk of developing:

• Stroke
• Diabetes
• High blood pressure
• Some types of cancers

Physical activity also improves mental well-being, control of weight, osteoporosis, and low back pain. These were the conclusions of the Chief Medical Officer. ⁵

His vision to address inactivity calls for a society in which daily activity is a natural and habitual event. Everyday walking is central to his vision. In a series of examples ranging from a young child through to a retired person, the Chief Medical Officer lists daily walks as the best way for each to achieve the recommended activity levels.

As health professionals realise the importance of everyday walking, scientific evidence is starting to be produced that directly links the built environment, levels of activity, and health. For example, in Australia it was proved that if you lived on a street with no pavement or a pavement on one side of the street only you were more likely to be overweight or obese. The same conclusion was true for people who do not perceive shops and services to be within walking distance. ⁶ Similar research from the UK is expected soon and will be reported here.

LOCAL ECONOMIES

Whilst the importance of the grey pound has been known for a long time, the importance of the pedestrian pound is just starting to be appreciated.

It is normal for retailers and decision makers to underestimate the number of shoppers who arrive on foot. For example, on a weekday at Kensington High Street 49% of people arrive on foot. ⁷ As such walking was the dominant mode of arrival. This is typical across London, and was borne out at four district centres in outer London by Living Streets Walkability Project. ⁸

It is also normal for the relative spend made by pedestrians to be underestimated. Research by the bus department of Transport for London ⁹ shows that people who walk to their local centre spend considerably more:

'People who walk spend £91 per week compared to people who arrive by bus or by car, who spend £63 and £64 respectively'.

Living Streets conducted research in Sydenham Town Centre, with similar findings. 54% of people walk to the town centre, reflecting the fact that the majority of the people who use it are local. Those who walk visit more often. 55% of pedestrians visit 'most days' compared to only 26% of people who drive to the town centre. Because people on foot visit more often, walking delivers the highest overall spend to the area, 1.5 times higher than the contribution from car drivers. ¹⁰

FOR PLEASURE and TOURISM

In 1777 when Samuel Johnson wrote "When a man is tired of London, he is tired of life - for there is in London all that life can afford" he would have been used to experiencing the capital on foot. One wonders if he would feel quite the same today, travelling around by tube or by car.

On foot it is possible to appreciate your surroundings, and other people, in a way that is not always possible by bus or tube or in a car. In every part of London it is possible to experience hidden delights that otherwise you might never discover.

In central London especially, heritage and culture appears every time you walk around a corner. That's why so many tourists choose to savour London on walking trips.

But our public realm is falling behind other great European cities, like Barcelona and Copenhagen. Copenhagen has been transformed over a period of many decades by making squares people friendly and linking them with pedestrianised streets. It is a pleasure to walk around the centre of Copenhagen.

The man behind the transformation of Copenhagen, Jan Gehl, has stated that one of the major shortcomings of London is the lack of good squares for public life. In a landmark report on London, ¹¹ Gehl concluded that:

'Only two urban squares, Covent Garden and Leicester Square fulfil this need, and both are heavily overcrowded on good days. London needs another ten squares providing high quality public space'.

TO REDUCE THE NEED TO TRAVEL

In 2007 Transport for London set out their vision for transport in the capital in 2025. ¹ One of six key strategies to emerge was 'Reducing the need to travel'. Reducing the need to travel is repeated in the London Plan, which deals only with matters of strategic importance to London. ¹²

Reducing the need to travel requires people to think and act more locally and demands neighbourhoods that have shops, services and employment within easy reach on foot.

The benefits of replacing longer trips, made by motorised transport, with shorter ones, especially by foot, are well documented in various Mayoral strategies and plans. If implemented properly the benefits are wide ranging and include:

CLIMATE CHANGE

The Mayor has stated that climate change is the biggest threat to the future of human civilisation. ¹³

Ground based transport contributed nearly a quarter of London's 2006 carbon dioxide emissions.

The action plan identified that the top priority for ground based transport is to reduce emissions from car traffic. Cars emit half the carbon dioxide from ground based transport in London - and that includes aircraft taxiing, take offs and landings.

Technological advancements will make motorised transport cleaner and greener but the cleanest and greenest form of getting around London will always be walking. But there is a limit to the distance people can walk - hence the need for land use practices that reduce the need to travel.

London Living Streets believe that prevention is better than cure and walking has a significant role to play. In the case of climate change, prevention may well be the only cure.

AIR QUALITY

Road transport is the major contributor to air pollution in London. Nearly 60% of nitric oxides and nearly 70% of fine particulate come from road transport.

Nitric oxide combines with ozone to form nitrogen dioxide which has short and long-term effects on health, including inflammation of the airways and lung function. Particulate matter describes a wide range of size and type of particles. It is associated with a range of effects on health particularly affecting the respiratory and cardiovascular systems, contributing to conditions such as asthma. Particles also carry carcinogenic compounds into the lungs.

The Mayor's Air Quality Strategy states that 'Traffic reduction is an essential tool in reducing vehicle emissions and thereby contributing to air quality. Without it, traffic growth will outpace improvements in vehicle emissions.' ¹⁴

Again, London Living Streets believe that prevention is better than cure and walking has a significant role to play.

NOISE

Traffic noise affects the quality of life for many Londoners. At all times of the week the proportion of respondents bothered, annoyed or disturbed by road traffic was significantly higher in London, at 23% compared to the national average of 15%. ¹⁵

As a result 22% of London respondents were driven to take action to try and reduce traffic noise.

Once more, London Living Streets believe that prevention is better than cure and walking has a role to play.

TO ENHANCE COMMUNITY LIFE BY TACKLING LONDON'S OVER-RELIANCE ON THE MOTOR CAR

London is the easiest place in the UK to live without owning a car. All over the western world research has revealed the 40:40:20 rule. 40% of car trips could be transferred to other means now - walking, cycling or public transport. Another 40% have the potential to be transferred to public transport following alterations to services and timetables. Only 20% of existing car trips need to be made by car for reasons such as infirmity or due to heavy loads. ¹⁶

How does this over-reliance on the car translate into real life in London?

London-wide
Within Inner London nearly one third of trips are made by private transport.¹⁷
Within Outer London this rises to over half.¹⁷

A local example
On the outskirts of Havering, in Harold Hill, Living Streets Walkability Project showed that:

• one

  Harold Hill

  in three people drive to the shops.
• the average length of the drive is just six minutes
• 36% of those who drive to Harold Hill live within a 15 minute walk
• 62% within a 20 minute walk
• Between Monday and Friday people visit nearly four times each, so almost every day
• Not all of these trips can involve heavy loads. It would seem that there is great potential for more walking, less car use and probably less car ownership in Harold Hill. ¹⁸

How did London end up like this?

For many decades through the late 20th century, London, like almost every other town and city in the UK, allowed the car to become king.

Pavements became blocked by parked cars. Iconic spaces, like Horse Guards Parade and civic spaces outside many of London's Town Halls were turned into car parks.

Roads like the elevated Westway were built to end congestion. But, as quickly happens with all new roads, the Westway created so many extra car trips that it too became congested. ¹⁹ All across London communities were torn apart by wide roads, miles of railing and endless traffic.

What is the impact on community life?

Traffic clearly impacts on the quality of life and was simply, but cleverly, portrayed in San Francisco nearly 35 years ago. People were asked how many friends or acquaintances they knew on their street. On streets that had low amounts of traffic there were lots of links between neighbours, both along the road, and across the road.

But as the amount of traffic increased the links across the street reduced, until, on the busiest road there were hardly any links, either along or across the street. ²⁰ The street had lost its function as a community space, as a place to get to know your neighbours. People simply scurried inside as quickly as possible.

When we know fewer people in our communities there is a loss of social cohesion. People don't look out for one another - we are more fearful of crime and our quality of life diminishes further.

PEOPLE WANT BETTER STREETS AND PUBLIC SPACE FOR WALKING, LIVING AND WORKING IN

Of all the reasons listed perhaps the most important reason to prioritise walking in London is because attitudes are changing:

In 2001 a transport survey by the Greater London Authority investigated the impact of traffic volume on Londoner's decisions to walk or not. ²¹ It highlighted that 44% of Londoners were not satisfied with the ease of crossing roads. To address the problems caused by high traffic volumes some 66% of people supported increased priority for pedestrians. Only 14% disagreed.

London Living Streets wants to build on the findings of that survey.

With your support London Living Streets will show decision makers in London that:

• people on foot deserve greater priority
• existing walking trips need to be nurtured
• our local neighbourhoods need local services within walking distance
• these are the wishes of many people.

Why is walking and a walkable environment important to London? (print friendly verison of this page) PDF (340Kb)

References & Footnotes

¹ Transport 2025: Transport vision for a growing world city: Transport for London, (2007).

² Children and young people should achieve a total of at least 60 minutes of moderate intensity physical activity each day. adults should aim for 30 minutes 5 times a week. Moderate intensity activity is make you feel a little bit warmer - for most people walking is the perfect moderate intensity activity.

³ Morris, J.N. & Hardman, A.E. (1997) Walking to health, Sports Medicine, 23: 306-332.

⁴ London Health Observatory, analysis of Health Survey for England, 2003 (on LHO website 10.04.07)

⁵ At least 5 a week: evidence on the impact of physical activity and its relationship to health, Department of Health, (2004)

⁶ Giles-Corti, B. & Donovan, R.J. (2003). Relative influences of individual, social environmental, and physical environmental correlates of walking. American Journal of Public Health, 93, 1583-1589.

⁷ Colin Buchanan, reported in The Walking Plan for London, Transport for London, (2004)

⁸ Living Streets Walkability Project, Project Update (June 2006). The Walkability Project is working at four district centres in outer London - Harold Hill, Dagenham Heathway, Harold Hill & Harlesden.

⁹ Town Centres Study 2003-04, TfL Surface Transport, (2004). Over 3000 people were interviewed in 11 diverse types of centre ranging from Dalston to High Street Kensington.

¹⁰ Sydenham Road Survey: Interviews with local people and visitors about their use and perceptions of Sydenham Road, Living Streets (2006)

¹¹ Towards a Fine City for People: Public Spaces and Public Life, Gehl Architects (2004)

¹² The London Plan: Spatial Development Strategy for Greater London (2004)

¹³ Action Today to Protect Tomorrow: The Mayor's Climate Change Action Plan (2007)

¹⁴ Cleaning London's Air: The Mayor's Air Quality Strategy (2002)

¹⁵ Building Research Establishment review of London related data from the 2000 national Noise Attitude Survey, cited in Sounder City: The Mayor's Ambient Noise Strategy (2004)

¹⁶ Car Sick, Solutions for our car-addicted culture, Lynn Sloman, (2006) Green Books

¹⁷ London Travel Demand Survey (March, 2007) Transport for London

¹⁸ These figures are self reported. It is known that people tend to underestimate driving times and overestimate walking times. It is likely therefore that the length of the drive is actually shorter and more people live within a 15-20 minute walk.

¹⁹ Purnell, S., Beardwood, J.& Elliott, J. The Effects of Strategic Network Changes on Traffic, World Transport Policy and Practice 5(2), (1999) 28-48.

(Within four months of the Westway opening 17,000 extra car trips were created that could not be accounted for. This represented one third of all trips on the new motorway. Over the next five years vehicle trips on the Westway increased by 79% compared to growth of only 1.5% on Old Brompton Road. The lead researcher on this work, John Elliott, gathered similar evidence to show that road building in other parts of London, including the North Circular and the Blackwall Tunnel generated large increases in traffic too. This research was conducted in 1985, but buried by the Government of the day. It was only published 14 years later.)

²⁰ Appleyard, D. & Lintell, M. The Environmental Quality of City Streets. Journal of the American Institute of Planners, 38 (2), (1972) 84- 101.

²¹ Greater London Authority survey, cited in The Walking Plan for London, Transport for London (2004)