A new study published in the American Journal of Epidemiology suggests that dense, populous neighborhoods with higher “walkability” scores increase the amount that people walk per day.
The study included nearly 11,000 twins, who were selected to help control for family influence and genetic factors. The walkability of the neighborhood that each twin lived in was assessed, including factors like intersection density, population density, and destination accessibility. The twins took surveys between 2009 and 2020 that included where they lived, their weekly minutes of neighborhood walking, their weekly moderate-to-vigorous physical activity, and their use of transit services like busses and trains. The study aimed to assess whether the walkability score of a neighborhood actually affects the amounts of walking and physical activity that residents get per week.
The results showed that each 1% increase in a neighborhood’s walkability score increased the amount that residents walked in their neighborhood by about 0.42%. This corresponded to a 55% increase in walkability resulting in about 23% more walking for each resident, or about 19 minutes per week of extra walking. Living in a walkable neighborhood also reduced residents’ chances of not using transit by about 32%. However, living in a walkable neighborhood did not appear to affect the amount of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity that residents got every week.
The authors of the study noted that many people in the U.S. do not get sufficient physical activity every week and that even small increases in walking could add up to major health benefits for many people. In general, more urban neighborhoods in the study had better walkability scores, while suburban and rural areas tended to have poorer scores. Walking is one of the cheapest and easiest ways to get exercise, and your immediate environment can play a major role in your walking activity.