The Walkable Neighborhood: A Literature Review

Abstract

The past decade has seen a surge of interest in the walkable neighborhood, motivated by environmental, health, economic, and communitarian goals. We take stock of this literature by linking together the various strands of research in which the "walkable neighborhood" is a primary concern. We organize the literature into three broad categories: measurement, criticism, and tests of the benefits of walkable neighborhoods. The latter category involves three primary claims. We find that claims about social impacts are the weakest in terms of research support, in part, because there continues to be a problem of self-selection and an inability to assign causality.

What is a walkable place? The walkability debate in urban design

“…Talen and Koschinsky's (2013) review of the literature on walkable neighborhoods reflects this. They present three themes with the first being measurement (and the others criticism and assessment of benefits).Jane's Walk, an organization promoting the work of Jane Jacobs, has a similar approach: "Walkability is a quantitative and qualitative measurement of how inviting or un-inviting an area is to pedestrians" (Jane's Walk 2013).…”

A transport and health geography perspective on walking and cycling

“…This has resulted in a plethora of research into "walkability" (Talen & Koschinsky, 2013;Andrews et al, 2012). There have been recent calls by academics for planning and health to be brought back into closer contact (Koohsari et al, 2013;Rao et al, 2007), which implies a need to understand what kind of environment will lead to desirable health outcomes.…”

“…During the session he presented a compelling argument for more research into walking as a mode of transport, focussing on the process and not just outcomes related to crude measures of the built environment, concurring to an extent with the earlier presentation by Davidson. This links to work such as that of Talen and Koschinsky (2013), which questions the normative idea that a walkable environment is good for everyone, or indeed that the same attributes will make an environment walkable for all.…”

“…Further to this, researchers examining the role and effectiveness of such indices (Talen & Koschinsky 2013) also highlight caution as to using a "one-size-fits-all" approach. This is countered by the argument that such an approach can also deliver a level of understanding and generalisability.…”

“…The extent to which the environment is conducive to walking is a growing area of study which Talen and Koschinsky (2013) call a 'crowded research landscape' and which Andrews et al (2012) claim is 'one of the most popular focuses of 'non-medical' research today'. Andrews et al also highlight that measuring such a concept is inherently geographical.…”