Survey feedback

The Community Walkability Checklist empowers and enables local community members to advocate for improved built environments that support walking and physical activity as part of everyday life. It helps communities across Australia to review and rate the walkability of their local neighbourhood and to communicate with their local council for improvements.

But.... is it the right tool for the job!??

The Checklist was originally developed in 2011 and has served a great purpose since that time. We now have the opportunity to reflect on its use and impact and recalibrate for the next iteration.

The key themes and feedback from industry and community surveys were:

FORMAT:

• There’s a clear need and preference to digitise the resource (as a web-based tool rather than an app)
• Consider a format that will allow the route or precise location to be more easily identified via a mapping tool or database
• Provide opportunity to upload images
• Review the need/possibility to simplify/shorten the Checklist – there’s a level of detail that councils can’t engage with, and prevents some community members from engaging with
• Consider providing a short and long version
• The Checklist would benefit from being available in languages other than English
• Gamification or other options could create engagement by young people

CONTENT

• The Checklist seems to favour walking for leisure/recreation without inclusion of walking for transport purposes
• Many of the questions would benefit from a rating or other answer that isn’t simply ‘yes/no’
• Need to update various sections to reflect latest research, e.g safety treatments (and incorporate a greater range of safety issues); air quality; separation of people walking not only from motor vehicles but also bikes and other forms of micromobility

ADVOCACY

• There’s a lack of community awareness about the Checklist
• There’s a desire from councils and practitioners to create greater awareness among local communities to provide support for local projects, including children and young people
• Some community members stated a preference to engage directly with local councils/councillors
• Suggestion to point community members to existing council feedback platforms

COUNCIL ACTION

• There’s a lack of funding within councils to action community feedback
• Councils are not well equipped to respond to specific, individualised comment
• aggregate data is more helpful - collated responses with themes/reports
• There’s a need to provide more practical guidance for councils – eg amount of shade canopy
• This may be considered for incorporation in other elements of Healthy Active by Design resources
• Consider development of a prioritisation framework to assist councils in actioning community feedback
• There have been varying outcomes as a result of community members who have completed a Checklist, from lack of notable changes, to some noticeable improvements

The purpose and objectives for this resource are to:

1. educate and raise community awareness of about the relationship between heart health, physical activity, walkability and the built environment; 
2. mobilise and support communities to advocate to local council for improved built environments; 
3. provide a platform/tool through which communities can communicate with their local council about neighbourhood walkability; and 
4. ensure local councils hear from their communities and receive information in a way that is meaningful and constructive to improve walkability in their local area 

Over coming months, we're collaborating with researchers at the Swinburne University of Technology to:

• further analyse the survey results and feedback received
• undertake a literature review to help determine effective community advocacy initiatives for the walkability of built environments
• assess comparable tools and resources
• provide recommendations for the next iteration of the Checklist

Following this work, we will develop a draft new resource for user testing and feedback.