Walkability in less advantaged areas

The built environment and its impact on daily walking

The Heart Foundation provides guidance to local councils and other industry practitioners to help them design and deliver local places that make it easier for all people living in Australia to incorporate walking into everyday life. This is part of our National Walking Initiative and compliments the work we do through our Walking Groups and Personal Walking Plans,

There is evidence to show that how our cities and towns are designed can have an influence on how active we are. This can have an impact on community health and wellbeing, including heart health. For instance, research shows that people who live in walkable neighbourhoods are 1.5 times more likely to receive the recommended levels of physical activity each week, than those who live in areas where the built environment is unsafe, uncomfortable or not conducive to walking[1].

The Heart Foundation has created its flagship program ‘Healthy Active by Design’ as a digital, online toolkit to support local councils and other built environment industry practitioners. This program has supported built environment professionals for over 15 years to have the tools to support designing and implementing healthy active environments for communities.

New materials to support walking in areas of low socioeconomic advantage

In November 2024 we launched a new supporting module on Healthy Active by Design: Walkability in Less Advantaged Areas.

The new resources include information about the link between lower levels of physical activity and walking in areas of low socioeconomic advantage. It presents the evidence base – including insights provided from workshops with three communities in urban, suburban and regional areas across Australia – and health impacts. It also includes local case studies and international examples showcasing projects that help address and overcome barriers to walkability in less advantaged areas.

A practical checklist has been developed as part of the module. The Checklist enables local councils and other industry practitioners to audit existing neighbourhoods and to consider the various nuances and complexities of new projects.

This will help to support professionals in designing communities to strive towards greater equity, diversity and inclusion to support more people living in Australia to achieve the recommended levels of physical activity each week and resulting improved heart health outcomes.

Find out more on the website:

https://www.healthyactivebydesign.com.au/walkability-in-less-advantaged-areas

Thanks

We express our utmost and sincere thanks to Dr Suzanne Carroll, Allison Wood and Thomas Vasey of the University of Canberra’s Health Research Institute for their collaboration on this work. We also thank staff at George Town Council Tasmania, City of Stirling Western Australia and Fairfield City Council New South Wales, and the community and practitioners who participated in workshops that have helped inform this new module. 

This work has all been made possible through funding provided by the Federal Government’s Department of Health and Aged Care as part of the Heart Foundation’s National Walking Initiative. We’re appreciative for this support and are hopeful for continued funding to help achieve shared goals.

How you can get involved

Our Community Walkability Checklist is designed to help all people living in Australia to undertake an audit of features in your local area that either help or hinder your ability to incorporate walking as part of your everyday life.

In 2025, we’re going to be updating the Checklist and providing further resources to assist local communities to advocate for neighbourhood improvements to make it easier, safer, more comfortable and enjoyable to walk every day. Stay tuned!

https://www.healthyactivebydesign.com.au/resources/community-walkability-checklist