Key statistics highlight the importance of walking and housing in the urban transport context and in relation to quality of life. The paper demonstrates that walking is the most widely available mode of transport, housing location is the key issue in both city and transport planning (about 83% of all journeys start or terminate at home) and that car use is largely controlled by a minority. The paper tables a way forward on the principle that every citizen should have the right to conduct a rich and full life without depending on mechanical modes of transport and explores some accessibility indicators as a basis for assessing performance against this criteria. A policy based on this principle would require a long term view (80% of all dwellings in Europe were built since 1919). The paper also reviews current social and economic forces that favour a suburban model and identifies a series of necessary conditions for the return of the walking city.
Samenvatting