Walkability
Walkability is a measure of how friendly an area is to walking. Walkability has many health, environmental, and economic benefits. Factors influencing walkability include the presence or absence and quality of footpaths, sidewalks or other pedestrian rights-of-way, traffic and road conditions, land use patterns, building accessibility, and safety, among others. Walkability is an important concept in sustainable urban design.
Definitions
One proposed definition for walkability is: "The extent to which the built environment is friendly to the presence of people living, shopping, visiting, enjoying or spending time in an area". Factors affecting walkability include, but are not limited to:
Street connectivity
Land use mix
Residential density (residential units per area of residential use)
Presence of trees and vegetation
Frequency and variety of buildings
Entrances and other sensations along street frontages
Transparency, which includes amount of glass in windows and doors, orientation and proximity of homes, and buildings to watch over the street