Evidence

Access to destinations or land uses and neighbourhood or town centres (co-located destinations)

Studies in the fields of physical activity and health have typically looked at the number of destinations or different land uses present, and at access to destinations or non-residential land uses in individuals’ neighbourhood areas.

A widely used benchmark for measuring neighbourhoods is that they cover a 400-metre radius from the point of origin, which equates to about a five-minute walk. More generally, relationships between access to destinations and land uses, and health are typically investigated at many different distances ranging from 400 metres to 1.6 kilometres. These distances represent a ‘walkable’ distance that can be reached at an average walking pace of between five minutes (400 metres) and 15 minutes (1.6 kilometres). 

A ‘pedshed’ is a measure of a walkable catchment area. For example, it is defined as the ratio of area measured using a street network within a five-minute walking distance (a 400-metre service area along the street network) to the theoretical area within a five-minute walking distance (a 400-metre Euclidean or ‘as-the-crow-flies’ area) from the point of origin or destination. [107] Higher ratios mean better walkability and accessibility. The Western Australian Liveable Neighbourhoods Guidelines set a pedshed target ratio of 60 per cent within a 400-metre walking distance of a mixed-use neighbourhood centre. [107] 

Traditional neighbourhoods tend to contain a diverse mix of destinations integrated in close proximity to a variety of residential dwelling types. Here residents can undertake and fulfil a variety of daily activities and needs (live, work, play) locally. 

A major reason for creating walkable neighbourhoods should be to cater for the diverse daily needs of a community by providing a mix of destinations that attract people for a variety of activities. [108] These destinations are vital to support local walking as part of a daily routine and to give people the option to live without the need for a car. 

Mixed-use buildings with ‘active’ ground-floor uses and uses that extend onto the street (such as café seating areas) foster natural surveillance and feelings of safety, and help create a vibrant streetscape in a mixed-use neighbourhood centre. Additionally, the presence of a mix of destinations and/or mixed-use buildings that can accommodate a variety of uses and generate activity at different periods of the day and night is important for creating vibrant, inviting and safe mixed-used areas or centres for neighbourhoods and towns. 

This is an important point of difference from conventional development practices in new suburban areas. Conventional neighbourhoods consist of uniform residential dwellings situated on large lots, with few (if any) easily walkable destinations. They are served by large automobile-oriented shopping complexes such as big-box retail parks, shopping malls and office parks, which are removed and segregated from residential areas. Here residents have no destinations to walk to, so work, leisure and recreation activities are usually undertaken outside the neighbourhood. 

Living close to a mix of destinations is associated with higher levels of active transport and physical activity across all age groups. [109] Living near a mix of destinations is consistently associated with higher levels of active transport in children [6, 8], adults [8–14] and older adults. [14–16] The presence of mixed land uses and a variety of destinations near home may be especially important for older adults, who may have reduced mobility. 

For children, shorter distance to school is consistently associated with active commuting.  [38, 39, 59, 110–112] Access to other destination types, such as public open space and sports facilities or shops, appears to be more important for older children and adolescents, who are more independently mobile than younger children.  [6, 39, 69, 70, 72, 113, 114] 

A study of the association between proximity to, and mix of, neighbourhood destinations, and walking behaviours in Perth, Western Australia, found that access to post boxes, bus stops, convenience stores, newsagencies, shopping malls and transit stations within 400 metres, and schools, transit stations, newsagencies, convenience stores and shopping malls within 1.5 kilometres, was associated with regular transportation walking. [105] 

For each additional destination present within 400 metres and 1500 metres, transport walking per fortnight increased by 12 and 11 minutes respectively. [105] Another study found that every additional destination located within 800 metres of home increased a person’s likelihood of walking for at least 150 minutes each week (that is, their likelihood of meeting current Australian physical activity recommendations, which encourage adults to undertake moderate to vigorous physical activity (including brisk walking) for at least 30 minutes, five times per week). [41] 

More recent research also advocates for destinations to be present within 800 metres of home, especially local food outlets such as supermarkets, cafés, takeaway stores and small food stores. [47] Locating destinations within a distance of 800 metres is advocated in the walkability literature more generally,  [46, 115, 116] frequently used destinations such as transport stops, grocery stores, banks and restaurants, which provide for a variety of daily activities to be fulfilled, were associated with increased transportation walking.  [41, 51, 105, 117] 

Conversely, but further supporting the need to create compact, mixed-use neighbourhoods, several studies have found that in low-density neighbourhoods with few local destinations, fewer people walk and more people drive. [89, 118] 

There is also growing evidence associating suburban sprawl with increased body weight, [119] principally through diminished energy expenditure due to car dependence [89] and more sedentary leisure behaviours. [120] 

A study by Larry Frank and colleagues in the USA found that a person’s likelihood of being obese declined by 12.2 per cent for each quartile increase in mixed use, and by 4.8 per cent for each additional kilometre walked, but conversely increased by 6 per cent for each hour spent in a car per day. [89] 

Recent longitudinal evidence from the RESIDential Environments Project (RESIDE) in Perth, Western Australia, supports these cross-sectional findings: participants who gained access to seven key transport-related destinations (post offices, bus stops, delicatessens, supermarkets within 800 metres of home, and train stations, shopping centres or CD or DVD stores within 1.6 kilometres) after moving into one of 72 housing developments across the Perth metropolitan region increased their transport walking by around six minutes per week for each type of transport-related destination gained after relocation. [121] Participants’ recreational walking also increased by around 18 minutes per week for each type of recreational destination (beaches within 800 metres, or parks or sports fields within 1.6 kilometres) gained after relocation. [121] 

The nature or type and mix of destinations may be more important in explaining transport-related walking than the mere presence or number of commercial or retail land uses. [122] Indeed, researchers are now finding that the mix of destinations is associated with increased transport walking  [43, 105, 117, 123] and increases in subjective wellbeing. These studies use a destination-mix score or a local-living index that measures between 7.2 and 15 different types of destinations. 

A maximum score of 12 or 15 represents the maximum amount of variation possible among the set of destinations deemed necessary for transport walking in a local neighbourhood. While these findings are encouraging, more work is needed to understand the best mix of destinations to encourage different walking behaviours. 

Some land-use patterns have also been associated with recreational walking, although the evidence is inconsistent. For instance, residential densities and land-use mix appear to be associated with recreational walking in adults and older adults. [11, 40, 104] A more interesting landscape, created through varied land uses and mixed-use planning, may encourage and entice recreational walkers who are drawn by the attractive and engaging route rather than specific destinations.”  [104] 

Other research suggests that although destinations such as supermarkets or convenience stores are usually associated with necessary spending and walking trips for the purposes of getting to and from destinations, a diverse mix of destinations associated with discretionary spending (such as cafés, restaurants and retail) and community or civic uses and spaces for people of all ages to gather, meet friends and family and engage in social activities, located in pedestrian-orientated main-street centres, may also provide both destinations and an interesting route for recreational walking. [44, 124]