How can you promote walking as a mode of transportation in urban areas?

Stop promoting car ownership and -use in urban areas. This can be done by no longer externalizing the costs of this (in terms of polution, unsafety, space use, etc.). Either internalize it to the user (approximately making driving at least 40% more expensive) or lower those costs (by lowering speeds, offering less parking, etc.)

I guess one solution is the 15-minute city as demonstrated by Paris. If 90% of all activities can be reached within 15 minutes of walking, people will start using it.

The walking infrastructure may not be perfect but as long as cars are kept away people will walk. One of the best ways to reduce cars is simply prohibiting or heavily tolling parking. This is the case of Japan where car owners MUST have a dedicated parking lot to be allowed to own a car. Removing parking also frees up an immense amount of space that will naturally taken by pedestrians.

To add to Marco’s points, Having worked in both the private sector, consultancy, and government sides, I noticed that a shortage of urban designers and transportation professionals possessing the specialized expertise required to develop effective cycling or micro-mobility networks. Many governments around the world have emphasized the pressing need for organizations to introduce training programs aimed at addressing this significant skill gap.   Moreover, the absence of guidance related to these disciplines in school curricula is apparent, leaving teachers without the necessary resources. Recognizing this gap, we are working on filling this void by introducing high-quality awareness and training programs in our city.  

In my view, establishing a Strategic Urban Accessibility Plan is crucial for evaluating both sidewalk networks and land use. Providing information about destinations reachable within a 10-15 minute walk is an additional strategy to promote active mobility. Strengthening public transportation as a foundational element that shapes the city is another key aspect, thereby enhancing multimodal mobility. Ultimately, the final stage involves encouraging individuals to prioritize their health by incorporating daily walks, which can be achieved through targeted campaigns.

Consider the spaces incentives, if you design green and engaging spaces with community in mind, people will want to be physically present in them.

Make the centre of villages and towns a pedestrian area. Business May initially complain as they fear it will reduce footfall, but once they have worked out effective supply arrangements they will find more customers are using the area and trade will improve.

Les seuls incitatifs qui peuvent fonctionner sont ceux qui rendent la marche agréable : loin des véhicules motorisés. Et, s'il y en a, la vitesse est apaisée et leurs dimensions sont réduites. Protection contre les îlots de chaleur par de la plantation de végétaux et d'arbres, un éclairage adéquat, des espaces pour se poser et un surface de marché confortable. À ça il faut ajouter une priorité donnée aux personnes à pied.

Je pense qu'il faut promouvoir la proximité dans le choix de la résidence, de l'emploi et des autres activités. On peut avoir des quartiers des 15 minutes, des rues au meilleur desing ou des parking cash-out, si la population, les services gouvernementaux et les entreprises continuent de faire leurs choix pour des distances de plus 1 ou 2 km, il n'y aura souvent pas de marche possible. Une avenue serait de créer des allocations d'employeur pour la localisation à proximité de leurs employés, plutôt que de récompenser tel ou tel choix modal. Aussi, je suis convaincu qu'on trouverait que les employés résidant à grande proximité de leur emploi ont une santé, un engagement et une fidélité en emploi qui justifieraient de telles allocations.

People are not dogs who you can treat. Culture and education are crucial to working along with different initiatives to recover the streets for those who need them the most. The best incentive you can create is the one you can make walking more competitive with other types of transportation. If you encourage walking to be safer, direct and therefore efficient, you will make citizens realise the benefits of walking through these streets. PD: Pay attention to the "desire paths", they will give you a lot of information about where to proceed!

Infrastructure needs to be planned and designed in such a way that it promotes and prioritize walking. 1. Plan a 15-minute, 30-minute neighbourhood so that all basic and daily needs are within a walking distance 2. Create walking spaces that gives more priority to walking and restricts car movements 3. Create network of Public Transport which connects all major trip ends to provide safe and cost-effective option of travel

One of the most common mistakes with pedestrian infrastructure planning that I see is the planners don’t actually consider the desires of pedestrians. Often people simply want to walk where they can see or look, often this is in straight lines. Whilst it’s not always practicable to build infrastructure along the desire lines, my experience is we can do a lot better. Sometimes we don’t even get close to where the pedestrian demand actually is. Better planning, better integration (multi-modal) and more consideration in terms of demand and desire will ultimately lead to better infrastructure and a better experience for the user.

1- Make pavements safe to walk, so for hot days and when it's icy. 2- Including podotactile elements will help pavements to become more accessible. 3- Avoid unnecessary crossing points. Reduce the number of crosswalks with bike lanes, as most of them are placed on the same pavement. 4- Don't put public elements where they can't be accessible! It is nonsense to put a bin where a sewer needs to be opened, for example. 5- Make access to bus stops FREE FROM BIKE LANES! One of the most serious concerns regards elderly people when trying to get out of a bus, having to get down in the middle of a bike lane. These areas must be free from any crossing points where there can be a serious injury lately.

Enhancing the existing infrastructure or creating a new one that promotes walking as a sustainable mode of transport will significantly increase the number of people who engage in walking. -Creating sidewalks that have enough space for people without obstacles and defective design - Enhance the accessibility for visibly impaired people and disabled people by proper planning - Safety must also be a priority by clearly separating the pedestrians from other modes of transport and implementing crosswalks and signage when necessary - Design the walking infrastructure as part of a bigger incentive to promote sustainable transportation and to connect with cycling paths and public modes of transport -Promote the benefits of walking for people

Promoting walking as a mode of transportation in urban areas is a fundamental step towards creating sustainable and livable communities. By investing in pedestrian-friendly infrastructure, implementing mixed-use urban planning, raising awareness, introducing pedestrian-friendly policies, and integrating walking with public transportation, we can encourage individuals to choose walking as a viable and eco-friendly alternative. Embracing the power of walking not only reduces pollution and lessens traffic congestion but also promotes active lifestyles, improves public health, and fosters a stronger sense of community. Together, let us take strides towards a future where walking plays a central role in urban transportation.

Walkability wonderland?✨ Wide, well-lit sidewalks with dedicated crossings—say goodbye to honking, hello to green lights! ♀️ Seamless Connections: Integrate walking paths with buses, trains, and bike racks. Imagine a central hub for all your journeys! Fun & Rewards: Apps reveal walk times, offer rewards, and unlock discounts at nearby stores. Walk, win, and treat yourself! ☕️ Team Up: Connect walking with buses, bikes, and scooters. Say goodbye to waiting; hello to more ways to roam! Inspired by Success: Copenhagen walks 25% thanks to dedicated lanes. Seoul turned a highway into a walkable park with buses. Bogotá closes streets for Sunday fun! ♀️ Make walking easy, fun, and connected. Healthy cities start one step at a time! ♀️♂️

Access to transit is crucial. Give better people alternatives for traveling long distances besides using cars. Most people won't walk more than 1/2 - 1 mile to use transit. Make transit easy, convenient and accessible and more people will use it.

Each time I need to go to the city center I chose different ways - bike, walking, tram, bus, metro, - walking and bike prevail. I'm not yet a scooter user, so maybe it will also be helpful, even this mode has its' pluses and minuses. So my favourites are walking and bike. I have my own bike and sometimes prefer using a rental city bike. The advantage is that I can leave it on a parking slot and can change my route, don't need to use the same return way. I value a lot flexibility, that's why I do it.

Walkability needs to cover almost 100% of possible routes. Access to public transportation needs to be clear without any disturbance. While riding an e-scooter or an eBike, we need to take into account whether there are parking lots for them, to create an intermodal journey. For the eScooters, they are even more likely to be entered into the train/bus, creating the possibility of a Multimodal journey, more convenient and competitive by far than just walking-biking-driving. We must encourage these routes.

Typically transportation evaluation only measures the impact on vehicles. Switch to an assessment based on the impact on people and count the number of people, their delay / experience at junctions etc.

Taking survey of walkers and information will be helpful to analyze the patterns of walkers. Also, added health benefits for walking that will improve ones health.

If you are analysing one single street, sit down and observe. You will be able to see what people do in routine life. Data collection might be interesting, but we must conclude with humanistic data that shows what people need instead of believing in some data.

Limiting the danger that vehicles impose is critical. Those privileged enough to be able to operate a motor vehicle should not then disproportionately limit others by making living environments deadly. Slowing vehicles not only makes traffic less deadly, it makes it easier to access destinations by making it easier to cross from one side to another, it gives freedom to large parts of society who don’t have access to cars such as children (who have just as much right to safe travel as adults), limiting speeds makes it safer for drivers and can increase flow rates. The lower speeds make it less noisy, improving the general walking environment. Lower speeds can make more efficient modes like bus and bike more attractive as well.

Walking can be a powerful mode of transportation if integrated with other modes and provided with comfortable infrastructure to attract pedestrians.

Many local authorities have adopted guides that provide all the needed good practice. However, it is at the delivery level where things can fail. Decades of old ways of doing things are very difficult to undo, when so much energy has been poured into car-centric infrastructure. It is not only political will, but technical abilities to actually deliver something that has people in mind first and foremost.

By integrating land use planning and increasing access to jobs and other services through walkable communities. This will increase the walking score of communities and reduce dependence on cars.

Promote the use of public transportation to reduce the number of private vehicles on the road. This not only alleviates traffic congestion but also contributes to a safer environment for pedestrians. Technological Solutions: Explore technological advancements such as smart traffic management systems and pedestrian detection technology to enhance overall road safety. By implementing a combination of these measures, we can create a safer and more conducive environment for active lifestyles, especially in vulnerable communities where the impact of vehicle dangers is more pronounced.

By creating a walkable urban environment that is safe, accessible, and enjoyable, cities can promote walking as a sustainable and healthy mode of transportation.

Promover la movilidad sostenible como es la caminata parte desde un factor importante, identificar los puntos a tractores de viajes y definir las líneas de deseo para analizar la infraestructura existente en cada corredor, como son las barreras entre otras las mismas que de manera obligatoria deben ser intervenidas con zonas verdes, que proporcionen al peatón la comodidad de circular con una sombra. Generar un concepto de una calle completa, aceras amplias pensando en el acceso para personas con discapacidad, arboles adecuados que proporcionen sombras, implementación de urbanismo táctico y regeneración de espacios.