- Old neighborhoods showcasing new urbanism principles to promote walking for transport   579 kb by    Grant, Paula | paula.grant@usq.edu.au    Short Outline The built environment shapes our transport choices and has a significant impact on the environmental, economic and social wellness of communities. This paper shows that older urban neighbourhoods have displayed the compactness, connectivity, density, lot layout and land-use mix to be walkable long before the term new urbanism was coined. Abstract The built environment shapes our transport choices and has a significant impact on the environmental, economic and social wellness of communities. Compact land use patterns, as opposed to urban sprawl, can improve public health by providing the environment to make walking a feasible mode of transport. Toowoomba’s older inner-city neighbourhhods have the built form characteristics of compactness, connectivity, density, lot layout and mix of uses to be walkable. Using existing literature, geographic information systems, data, survey results and a ped-shed tool, I will show that although being walkable and exhibiting Smart Growth and New Urbanism characteristics very few people walk to work in Toowoomba’s urban centre for a variety of reasons. I will argue that personal value propositions and attitudes are as influential for walking for transport as urban environments. Systematic reviews (Cervero & Kockelman, 1997; Duncan et al., 2010; L. Frank, Engelke, & Schmid, 2003; Giles-Corti et al., 2013) have concluded that the built environment attributes, especially land use patterns are consistently related to physical activity in general and to walking for transport in particular. Different factors impacting on walking for transport, including proximity, connectivity, land use mix and infrastructure have been identified (Duncan et al., 2010; L. Frank, Kavage, & Litman, 2006; L. D. Frank et al., 2006). Reviews of the public health and preventative medicine literature indicate that access to recreation settings and the aesthetics of activity settings are related to walking. Reviews of the transport and urban planning literature indicate that ease of pedestrian access to nearby destinations is related to walking (Saelens, Sallis, & Frank, 2003). A public health priority to promote participation in moderate intensity and regular exercise has emerged over the last ten years. Walking is free, is associated with significant health benefits and is the most common moderate-intensity activity of adults (Manson et al., 1999). Adults’ physical activity levels can be increased significantly by walking for transport. Improved understanding of the factors impacting on walking for transport can lead to evidence-based policies and programmes. Existing models indicate that personal, social and physical environment factors should all be taken into account. National agencies have identified built environment and policy changes as essential for increasing walking.(ALGA, Foundation, & PIA, 2009; Owen et al., 2007) Leading an active lifestyle with moderate physical activity for 30 minutes every day for adults leads to numerous health and social benefits for individuals (Ageing, 2013). As documented and discussed for many decades physical activity can have physical, social and environmental benefits such as reducing obesity, encouraging social interaction, reducing motor vehicle emissions and lowering health care costs (Foundation, 2009). It is accepted that places where people are seen to be walking are perceived as safe and friendly places to live and visit. Despite all of these benefits and significant investment in publicity campaigns to promote activity such as “Life Be In It” in Australia since the 1980s Australian adults are still not “getting off the couch” and responding to the campaigns persona - Norm’s call for moderate exercise. It becomes clear that not enough is understood about why people don’t walk to and from work when the journey is walkable. As planners and policy makers we can influence, facilitate and provide the environment both physically and socially to overcome some real and perceived barriers to walking and contribute to the health and well-being of communities. Keywords Case Study presented on the ISOCARP Congress 2013: Frontiers of Planning - Evolving and declining models of city planning practice   Click to open the full paper as pdf document   Click to send an email to the author(s) of this paper