Depending on where you live in BC walking can look quite different, whether because of infrastructure, the landscape or the culture that surrounds walking.
Where many urban areas have been pushed to allocate more physical space and resources to active transportation, this poses a bigger challenge in many rural areas where distances are longer and it may be less feasible to get around on foot. Walking around BC can have many perspectives.
Here are 4 factors that can affect your walking experience, depending on where you live:
Distance
In urban areas, you may be more likely to live within walking distance of shops, markets and cafes, and often with an abundance of choices. You may also live with a number of neighbours — beside, below and above. This density of dwellings often means that we can walk to a variety of destinations from our homes and often see people we know; counter-intuitively, such highly social environments can also make it easier to keep to ourselves, even while being in close proximity to many people.
In rural areas, this often isn’t the case. With longer distances between neighbours and amenities, driving is a more necessary part of an outing. This might mean driving into town, parking and walking that last kilometre to the shops.
Infrastructure
Proper pedestrian infrastructure is a significant factor in feeling safe while out on a walk. With urban areas much more concentrated and dense than rural areas, the availability of such infrastructure can play a major role in a person’s desire to walk in the first place. With shorter distances between locations, the value of good quality sidewalks - and their network-style connectivity - is much more obvious. Whereas in rural areas, given the distances between destinations, walking infrastructure like sidewalks and paved multi-use paths are harder to fund and implement, and trail networks are sometimes relied upon.
Aside from sidewalks, infrastructure for healthy living and walking extends to local trail networks, often largely present and accessible in smaller and rural communities where driving to your walking destination is a normal and encouraged activity.
Connectivity
As a result of distance and infrastructure, urban areas often have more connected walking networks than rural areas. These connected networks make it easy to go from home to work or to shops, and often encourage urban dwellers to get out on foot in their immediate communities.
Although connectivity from home is convenient, multi-modal connectivity in rural areas is often necessary for getting out and about in the community; driving, biking or busing to a destination before lacing up your shoes are particularly common as part of getting out for a walk.
Landscape
We are quite fortunate in British Columbia to have beautiful landscapes most everywhere, both urban and rural. As a result of this, and for the large majority of our communities, we have access to thousands of unique, natural places for walking and general leisure. Whereas in urban landscapes you are often looking out to these beautiful landscapes, rural landscapes are often immersed in these landscapes. Surrounded by water, wildlife and mountains, you’re sure to have somewhere beautiful to walk whether you’re living in Vancouver, Courtenay, Revelstoke, or Smithers.
Walking throughout BC can look very different, and although distance, infrastructure, connectivity and landscape are important, taking into account the regional and cultural context of our urban and rural communities should help guide how we support walking, as opposed to a single, common set of standards.
Tell us more about where and why you walk by filling out the Living Streets Survey!
