I grew up in the UK in both Wales and England, where I could walk to local shops, trails, cafes, and parks. Even when we moved further out into the green countryside in Essex, with a short stroll, you’d still end up at the local village. I recall that many European cities are more accessible on foot compared to some areas of Florida, where I’ve lived for years.
I’ve covered countless studies on the many benefits of walking. For example, just five minutes of brisk walking can boost your brain power. A simple walk can also perk up your mood and help you burn fat. Recently, researchers explored whether living in a more walkable city makes you more active overall. Do you really cover more steps if your city is more walkable? The word “walkable” essentially refers to an area or route that’s more suitable and safe for walking or close enough to be reached on foot, like my local village in Ongar.
The research
A relocation study published in the journal Nature involved 5,424 Americans of varying ages and fitness levels who moved around 1,600 different cities in the U.S. From 2013 to 2016, the researchers tracked participants’ physical activity before and after they moved house.
The researchers used smartphone step counts and a Walk Score system that categorizes areas based on accessibility to parks, schools, shops, and more.
The results
The study revealed that:
- Participants who moved to a city with a better ‘walkability’ score covered an average of 1,100 more steps every day and were almost twice as likely to accomplish their exercise goals.
- This amounted to approximately 11 minutes of additional daily walking, or about one additional hour per week.
- Cities like New York, with a higher walkability score of 89, resulted in the step count increasing from around 5,600 daily steps to 7,000. When people moved to the city that never sleeps, their step count went up.
- People walked around 1,400 additional daily steps when they moved to the Big Apple, whereas if they moved to cities with a lower walkability score, they lost 1,400 steps a day.
- Those who moved to a more walkable city were more likely to meet the U.S. recommended physical activity guidelines.
The brisk pace of city life
The researchers pointed out that not all steps are the same, and a lot of the difference was in a type of brisk walk regime that’s moderate intensity or higher. This made me reflect on my visits to New York, which is similar to London in the sense that people walk more briskly with tunnel vision, places to go, and people to see. It’s a busy, purposeful, big city walk, usually with the goal of efficiency and getting from A to B.
Concluding thoughts
This study shows that living in cities like Chicago and Philadelphia, with a higher walkability score of 78, can make us more active overall and closer to achieving a higher daily step count. Walking and cycling are much better for our health than sitting in the car and pressing the pedal.
