The Economic Case for Investment in Walking

Walking is an indication of a city's liveability, vibrancy, and health. InVictoria, walking accounts for 1 in 6 weekday trips, and is the mostpopular recreational activity with over a million participants a year. Despiteits potential to deliver significant benefits to cities and people, walking istypically overlooked in planning and investment decisions - most likely dueto its routine nature.Walking can yield health benefits, which is critical to unlocking economicsavings for an ageing...
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Walking is an indication of a city's liveability, vibrancy, and health. InVictoria, walking accounts for 1 in 6 weekday trips, and is the mostpopular recreational activity with over a million participants a year. Despiteits potential to deliver significant benefits to cities and people, walking istypically overlooked in planning and investment decisions - most likely dueto its routine nature.Walking can yield health benefits, which is critical to unlocking economicsavings for an ageing population such as Australia. It can also providebenefits for community, equality, the environment, and economicdevelopment, with relatively low cost infrastructure as compared to othermodes of transport.We have identified key issues with the current investment process thatpresent barriers to appropriate levels of investment in walking, including:¿ Exclusion of walking benefits in infrastructure business cases¿ Insufficient delineation of current walking spend by governments¿ A lack of overarching responsibility for walking investment¿ A lack of focus on walking for transport and recreational trips, as well asusing walking to access services