Europe beats the US for walkable , livable cities , study shows

In Zurich, Switzerland, 99.2% of residents live within a 15-minute walk of essential services like healthcare and education, making it a highly walkable city. This contrasts sharply with San Antonio, Texas, where only 2.5% of residents have such easy access. The study, published in Nature Cities, used open data to calculate the average distance people must walk or bike to reach these services, revealing significant global disparities. The most accessible cities were found to be midsize European ones such as Zurich, Milan, Copenhagen, and Dublin, with over 95% of residents within a 15-minute walk of essential services. In contrast, sprawling North American cities like San Antonio, Dallas, Atlanta, and Detroit scored poorly. The researchers developed an algorithm to explore how much changes would be needed for cities to become more accessible. For example, Atlanta would need to relocate 80% of its amenities, while Paris would only need to relocate 10%. Despite the benefits of reducing car dependency for healthier and safer lives, the study acknowledges that making a city more accessible is not enough to discourage private car use. The authors emphasize that the concept of a 15-minute city is not new and has been researched for decades. The study s limitations include the quality of open data, which is less reliable outside of Europe and North America, and the practicality of walking in some cities due to heavy traffic, high crime rates, bad weather, and steep hills. In conclusion, the study highlights the unequal accessibility of essential services across cities worldwide and emphasizes the need for more inclusive and sustainable urban environments. However, it also acknowledges that simply making a city more accessible is not enough to reduce car dependency and improve public health.

Source: theguardian.com
Published on 2024-09-16

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