Cities are wonderful places to live for a variety of reasons – a city like Melbourne has so many incredible restaurants and bars, as well as an amazing cultural scene. But, a downside of city living is that having such a high density of people crammed into one area, all using the same roads and relying on the same public transport, can feel overwhelming.
That’s why living in a ‘walkable’ place is such a blessing. It’s not only more convenient, shaving valuable time off your journey between cultural spaces, restaurants, nightlife (or just from home to work), but it’s also good for us. Sure, there’s obviously the chance to get more steps in, but pedestrianised streets actually make us happier and foster stronger communities, as well as serving businesses. Research has found that pedestrianised town centres have higher sales than those with people arriving by car, so walkable areas are better for our local economies.
Then there are the environmental benefits – cities in Europe like Paris and London have been taking steps to reduce traffic in certain neighbourhoods to help lower emissions, with the French capital set to ban cars from another 500 streets. Clean air and little-to-no vehicles sounds like a pretty nice place to stroll around, right?
As you can tell, we love a walkable city – so Time Out set out to find out which cities across the planet are the most pedestrian-friendly. To do this, we asked 18,500 people in cities all over the world one simple question: how easy is it to get around your city by foot? These 20 cities are home to the highest proportion of locals who rated their city’s walkability either ‘good’ or ‘amazing’.
Melbourne came in at equal 16th on the list, tied with Singapore, with 80 per cent of surveyed locals responding positively for walkability. Our city has long been renowned as one of the most liveable overall for a number of reasons, and getting around with ease is a prominent factor in that reputation. Just last year, an external study also ranked Melbourne among the top cities worldwide for walkability, so we're not the only ones that think our city is ideal for strolling around.
Topping the whole list is Abu Dhabi. The Emirati capital is mostly flat, and Downtown Abu Dhabi in particular boasts plenty of pedestrianised areas. The Corniche Beach overlooks the Arabian Gulf all the way to Al Lulu island, and has 8km of promenade with children’s play areas, restaurants and expansive views – no wonder 91 percent of locals rate the walkability of this city.
Boston came in second place, with 89 percent of locals positively rating the city’s walkability. Not only are Boston’s core sights all pretty closely packed together, but one of them is actually a walk – the Freedom Trail, a 4km stroll that connects 16 significant historic sights, all the way from Boston Common to the Bunker Hill Monument.
In third place? It’s Brighton. Despite the seaside city’s hillyness, 88 percent of the people who live here describe its walkability as either ‘good’ or ‘amazing’. Three of the city’s top attractions, the Royal Pavilion, the Brighton Palace Pier and the North Laine, are all within a five-minute walk of each other, and city’s best pubs, bars and restaurants all fall within the same small radius.
Read on for the full list.
These are the world’s 20 most walkable cities
1. Abu Dhabi, UAE, 91 percent
2. Boston, US, 89 percent
3. Brighton, UK, 88 percent
4. New York, US, 87 percent
5. Bilbao, Spain, 86 percent
= Chicago, US, 86 percent
7. Edinburgh, UK, 85 percent
= Marrakech, Morocco, 85 percent
9. San Francisco, US, 83 percent
10. Cardiff, UK, 82 percent
= Shanghai, China, 82 percent
= Hong Kong, Hong Kong, 82 percent
= Paris, France, 82 percent
14. Oslo, Norway, 81 percent
= Stockholm, Sweden, 81 percent
16. Singapore, Singapore, 80 percent
= Melbourne, Australia, 80 percent
18. London, UK, 79 percent
= Lyon, France, 79 percent
= Washington DC, US, 79 percent
Stay in the loop: sign up for our free Time Out Melbourne newsletter for the best of the city, straight to your inbox.