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walkable neighbourhoods are SAFER.

By design, making a neighbourhood walkable means making it safer.[1] Pedestrian safety, and overall feeling of safety, get to be made real priorities. Streets are narrowed, reducing driving speeds. Crosswalks are shortened, making it easier to cross the street. Green spaces are revitalized, inspiring a sense of respect and care for the neighbourhood in residents and visitors alike. These changes may seem small on their own, but together they have a huge impact. Altogether, walkable neighbourhods are safer.

Children and Sidewalks

People more often embrace safer alternatives to driving in walkable neighbourhoods, such as walking, cycling, and public transit.[2] People also tend to drive slower in these neighbourhoods, which makes a real difference when it comes to traffic fatalities.[3] In fact, in terms of fatalities, pedestrians walking narrow walkable streets are four times safer than those walking wide untreated ones,[3] with the greatest gains in safety being for children and youth.[4-6]

Real Trust

Narrowing streets for walkability makes them up to four times safer[3], with the greatest gains in safety being for children and youth.[4-6]

The more time we spend out in our neighbourhoods, the more opportunities we have to get to know one another. In more densely populated, walkable neighbourhoods, residents are more likely to know their neighbours, and tend to trust and look out for one another more.[7][8] Further, community restoration and revitalization initiatives have been proven to make neighbourhoods much safer.[9] Because it builds community and encourages civic participation, a well cared for neighbourhood is a safer neighbourhood.

In more densely populated, walkable neighbourhoods, residents are more likely to know their neighbours, and tend to trust and look out for one another more.

  1. Howard, B.C. (2013). “5 Surprising Facts on Why Cities Are Safer Than Rural Areas”. National Geographic. 

  2. Condon, P. M. (2010). Seven Rules for Sustainable Communities: Design Strategies for a Post-Carbon World. Washington DC: Island Press. p54

  3. Swift, P. (1998). Residential Street Typology and Injury Accident Frequency. Longmount, CO: Swift and Associates.

  4. (2020). “Road Traffic Injuries”. World Health Organization. 

  5. (2001). “A League Table of Child Deaths by Injury in Rich Nations”. United Nations Childrens’ Fund.  

  6. (2019). “Road Traffic Injuries and Deaths-A Global Problem”. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

  7. Leyden, Kevin, M. (2003) “Social capital and the Built Environment: The Importance of Walkable Neighborhoods”. American Journal of Public Health. 93(9): 1546-51.

  8. Rogers, S. et al. (2011) “Examining Walkability and Social Capital as Indicators of Quality of Life at the Municipal and Neighborhood Scales”. Applied Research in Quality of Life. 6(2): 201. 

  9. Branas, C.C. et al. (2018). “Citywide cluster randomized trial to restore blighted vacant land and its effects on violence, crime, and fear”. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America. 115(12): 2946-51

HAPPIER. HEALTHIER. SAFER. SMARTER. GREENER.

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