Pedestrians First: Tools for a Walkable City (ITDP, 2018)

The Institute for Transportation and Development Policy recently released Pedestrians First: Tools for a Walkable City. The toolkit, aimed at governments, city planners, NGOs, and developers, notes that “Walkability is the foundation of any type of transportation; all trips require walking at some point.” The toolkit notes factors that influence walkability throughout the city and three scales: citywide, neighborhood, and street level.

The value of walkability

Is a home worth an $850 price premium for each additional Walk Score point? That’s the value that Emily Washington and Eli Dourado came up with using a fixed-effects model to analyze home sales across all metro and micropolitan areas in the U.S. Even with their price premium, however, homes in walkable urban neighborhoods often can end up cheaper than their suburban counterparts.

Walkable neighborhoods surge ahead

While many Americans are currently discouraged from walking because their neighborhoods are not built for travel by foot, communities that facilitate walking may be the future of new development. A survey by GfK Research for Kaiser Permanente shows that Americans both know walking is a healthy activity and that many neighborhood do not facilitate walking. But other studies in Atlanta and Washington, DC, show that walkable communities are attracting the majority of new investment, even in one of the most car-oriented metro areas.

Ready. Transit. Go: Lining up development to meet current and future transportation demands

A recent study by the Humphrey School of Public Affairs at the University of Minnesota considers the perspective of developers and business leaders interested in developing TOD sites in the Twin Cities. The study finds that there is an unmet demand for TOD and other walkable, multimodal transportation infrastructure. However, encouraging walkable, transit-oriented neighborhoods will require the different actors involved—developers, business owners, and municipalities—to work together to develop a new suite of policies, zoning codes, and other ordinances that will foster this type of development.

The Correlates of Housing Price Changes with Geography, Density, Design and Use: Evidence from Philadelphia (Congress for the New Urbanism, 2012)

University of Pennsylvania economist Kevin Gillen analyzes the stability of Philadelphia-area home prices from 2007-2012 as they correlate to walkable, urban neighborhoods versus exurban, auto-centered locales. In a reversal of trends from past recessions, the walkable, urban neighborhoods have weathered the recent housing crisis better than more car-centered counterparts.

The Correlates of Housing Price Changes with Geography, Density, Design and Use: Evidence from Philadelphia (Congress for the New Urbanism, 2012)

University of Pennsylvania economist Kevin Gillen analyzes the stability of Philadelphia-area home prices from 2007-2012 as they correlate to walkable, urban neighborhoods versus exurban, auto-centered locales. In a reversal of trends from past recessions, the walkable, urban neighborhoods have weathered the recent housing crisis better than more car-centered counterparts.

The Shifting Nature of U.S. Housing Demand (The Demand Institute, 2012)

The Demand Institute believes that a housing market recovery has begun, but this recovery will be different from previous ones because of new market conditions and expectations. These differences may impact transportation planning as commuting and non-work travel patterns change.

Annual survey finds that even in car-centric Houston, people want better access to transit

The Kinder Institute for Urban Research at Rice University released the results of their 2012 Kinder Houston Area Survey, which found that Houstonians want better transportation options and housing within walking distance from stores, schools, and work. The survey summary points out that attitudes towards urban living are changing in the Houston area, often considered the most car-oriented large city in the United States.