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Recent findings from the University of Washington offer substantial proof that areas with high walkability significantly encourage more walking. The authors examined the daily steps of 5,424 individuals who relocated at least once among 1,609 U.S. cities. Throughout all moves, an increase or decrease of more than 48 points in Walk Score correlated with an average daily step change of roughly 1,100.iStock
Numerous studies demonstrate that walking is extremely beneficial for those capable, and generally more is advantageous. A 2023 study indicated that as few as 4,000 steps daily reduces overall mortality risk. (The U.S. average is between 4,000 to 5,000.) For every extra 1,000 steps taken daily, the risk lowered by 15%.
Walk Scores have been utilized since 2007 to assess how quickly individuals can typically reach amenities like supermarkets and educational institutions in a region. Cities receive scores ranging from 0 to 100; for example, Seattle, with a score of 74, is categorized as “very walkable.” It may seem obvious that in municipalities with higher scores, people tend to be more active. However, discerning the cause-and-effect relationship is surprisingly complex: Do walkable cities encourage individuals to be more active, or do people interested in walking prefer living in more pedestrian-friendly areas?
New findings from the University of Washington give clear evidence that areas with high walkability significantly enhance walking. Using information from the Argus step-tracking platform, the authors analyzed the daily step counts of 5,424 participants who relocated one or more times across 1,609 U.S. cities. During all moves, when the Walk Score changed more than 48 points, the average daily steps rose or fell by around 1,100. Conversely, when individuals transitioned between similarly walkable cities, their step counts remained steady. These results were consistent across various ages, genders, and body mass indices.
For example, the analysis monitored 178 individuals who moved to New York City (Walk Score 89) from different locales with an average score of 48. This group’s average daily steps increased by 1,400 after moving to New York, going from 5,600 to 7,000. Relocations from New York to less walkable cities displayed the opposite effect: individuals averaged 1,400 fewer steps.
The authors published their results on Aug. 13 in Nature.
“Some of our previous research indicated that our physical environment significantly affects how much we move, but strong evidence proving this had been lacking,” stated lead author Tim Althoff, an associate professor at the Paul G. Allen School of Computer Science & Engineering at UW. “The extensive data set we used for this study afforded us a unique chance to provide compelling evidence that our surroundings do indeed causally influence our walking habits.”
This map illustrates changes in walking patterns between cities with varying Walk Scores: Seattle to San Francisco, Dallas to Chicago.Althoff et al./Nature
Utilizing an anonymized dataset from 2.1 million Argus app users from 2013 to 2016, the research team selected individuals who had relocated and remained in their new environments for a minimum of three months. They accounted for demographic variations and seasonal shifts. Days with fewer than 500 steps or exceeding 50,000, as well as those surrounding moves, were filtered out.
The most significant alteration in walking observed in the study occurred in the moderate intensity range (100 to 130 steps per minute). Moves that raised Walk Scores by more than 49 points were linked to double the number of participants logging at least 150 minutes of aerobic exercise weekly, the suggested minimum.
Althoff emphasized that while this research presents the strongest evidence thus far, no dataset can accurately represent the entire U.S. populace. For instance, the subjects in this study had all downloaded a step-counting application, potentially influencing outcomes.
“Our findings suggest that the amount you walk isn’t solely dependent on motivation,” Althoff remarked. “Numerous factors influence daily step counts, and the built environment undeniably plays a significant role. There is immense value in shared public infrastructure that can genuinely facilitate healthy activities like walking for nearly everyone, making it worth the investment.”
Other co-authors of this research include Boris Ivanovic from NVIDIA Research and Jennifer L. Hicks, Scott L. Delp, Abby C. King, and Jure Leskovec from Stanford University.
This study received partial funding from the National Institutes of Health, the National Science Foundation, and the Gates Foundation.
For further inquiries, please reach out to Althoff at [email protected].
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