Walking

Working Group on Pedestrian Safety, Urban Space and Health – WALK21 Conference, 17-19 November 2010

'The OECD proposals for governments on

Walking, Urban Space and Health'

Prof. Thanos Vlastos,Chair of the OECD Working Group on

‘Walking, Urban Space and Health’


ITF/OECD working group on ‘Walking, Urban Space and Health’

experts from 17 OECD countries► geographers ► urban planners ► transport planners ► psychologists ► economists

► 2008 publication ‘Towards Zero Accidents’ and many other reports ► 2011 publication ‘Walking, Urban Space and Health’

The aims of the ‘Walking, Urban Space and Health’ publication:

► to provide national governments with recommendations for the implementation of policies to encourage walking in urban areas

► to help policy makers fill the gaps concerning walking in all administrative procedures and urban and transport policies


The approach of the OECD/ITF group

Towards a different city

Not a problem responsive approach but proactive, generative and oriented by a vision

vision for the humane city of tomorrow based on a new urban and mobility culture

The social challenge

→ urban social target: accepting of living in a more dense city

→ mobility social target: adopting more collective and responsible behaviors less depending on car



Topics covered by the future report

► Pedestrian needs

► Analysis of current situation: mobility, health and safety issues

► Proposals of Measures to encourage walking

■ Institutional structures for pedestrians

■ Urban planning ■ Mobility planning ■ Urban space and design

for pedestrians

■ Legislation and enforcement

■ Traffic and speed management

■ Security issues ■ Education and

communication

Veronique

suggested new slide


The crucial role of Urban Space. Walking and Sojourning

► to create more open spaces as places to stay and meet other people

► to liberate existing spaces (the streets) from

■ parking congestion

■ heavy traffic

► to transform the m into livable , healthy and safe spaces where it will be a pleasure to walk and stay

► to fill the streets with children, the elderly, people with mobility impairments, pedestrians, cyclists

► to attract residents and visitors



The history and the decline of walking

► Cities functioned almost exclusively around walking. This is

one of the reasons why they were small in size

► Today, cities are big, walking has to compete with many

other means and his status has fallen

► During the 20th century priority was given to cars because

they offered residents new freedoms



Urban sprawl. From walking to driving

Urban sprawl consequences :

►long distance trips ►car dependency ►accidents, particularly for pedestrians

►energy consumption ►climate change

►obesity and other health problems

►isolation vs social cohesion

►moving away from the values of collective city experience and sociability


Walking and pleasure

Walking means contact with the open space Walking and sojourning is an inexpensive urban quality Walking connects peopleWalking is a learning exercise Walking develops independence and identity

Walking is a pleasure of the body and of the mind

When walking and sojourning are missing the open space is devaluated

Walking will be reconsidered only when movement will be seen as a gain and not a loss of time

Do we really always need speed?

devaluation of open spaces




Walking forms the heart of transport systems

virtually everyone is a pedestrian every motorized movement or activity is preceded and followed by walking

Walking continues to be the most important mode of transport in terms of

the number of trips

the ageing of the population will bring even more people to the streets.

the new interest in walking and cycling will result in a new growth in the

coming decades.

However, public authorities know little about walking. Surveys

are incomplete


Walking today is often risky. Priorities, speed, road design, level of traffic, poor maintenance

8% to 36% of all road fatalitieshigh number of fallings

► in order to avoid accidents many desirable outings on foot are avoided

→ with less pedestrians the street attracts more cars and becomes more

hostile. Vicious circle

Pedestrian survivability after a crash is linked to the speed. 30 Km/h is a

limit

The safety challenge. The ageing of the population will result in a growing

number of vulnerable people dependent on walking.


What to ask from Public Authorities I

► to plan for the needs of pedestrians’ requirements as well

► to create structures facilitating pedestrians to represent themselves in

urban and mobility policy making

► to change traffic rules and to create calm urban environment

► to reconsider priorities

► to unload the city from heavy traffic flows and excessive parking

► to increase the space for pedestrians and to maintain it adequately (to

reduce accidents due to falls)



What to ask from Public Authorities II

► to reinforce public transport and cycling

► to pay particular attention to the accessibility of public transport stations

by foot

► to create more areas with moderated speed. 30 km/h should be the

maximum speed in residential areas

► to provide pedestrians with a well connected network minimizing the

effects of physical and technical barriers

► to provide education about walking, the city, people and the

neighborhood. The sustainable city needs organization and compliance to

the rules



The urban planning strategy for the sustainable city

→ to turn towards new targets

to better exploit the recent architectural heritage

to build more dense and public transport oriented cities

to limit urban extensions only towards areas connected by public transport

to mix activities in order to increase the number of destinations accessible on foot


Conclusionwe must convince Public Authorities that

cities have to revert from being areas of primarily motorized

movements to becoming once again more natural, gentle, peaceful

and clean places. Thus they will:

►function better

►become more productive and competitive

►reduce external costs of transport and become more sustainable

►become more attractive to residents, visitors and investors

Technology

Walking