HOW FAR WILL PEOPLE WALK TO FACILITIES IN THEIR LOCAL NEIGHBOURHOODS

In walkable neighbourhoods, residents are within easy walking distance of shops, schools and local services. It has been suggested that these community services would need to be within a 400 meter radius of residents' homes - approximately 5 minutes walking time - if they are to be regularly accessed using non-motorised forms of transport. Data on distance walked are limited and are largely based on pedestrian studies conducted in large North American and European cities. A recent community survey was conducted at the University of Western Australia among 1803 sedentary workers and home-makers aged 18-59 years living in advantaged and disadvantaged SES areas in the Perth metropolitan area. Among other factors investigated, the respondents were asked to specify which destinations they had walked to during the two weeks prior to the survey. Using Geographic Information System (GIS) technology, a road network analysis was undertaken to determine the distance between each respondent's home and the destination. In this way, the actual distance travelled was determined for a range of community facilities including shops, parks or bushland, river, beach, and public transport. Some of the other factors that may influence whether an individual will walk to a destination in their neighbourhood that are examined in this study include demographic characteristics such as age, gender, socioeconomic status, employment status, and the presence of young children in the household. (a) For the covering entry of this conference, please see ITRD abstract no. E204599.