Walkable neighbourhoods tend to be livelier, more enjoyable places to live. They aren’t a specific type of area but tend to be found more in dense urban areas, although some small towns can also be considered walkable areas.
The defining characteristic is that everything you need for daily life is within reasonable walking distance. This means you can walk from your home to the grocery store, restaurants, entertainment, shopping, work, and transit. Adding a bike to the mix can help to extend the range of your walkable neighbourhood. However, you lose opportunities for spontaneous experiences that tend only to happen when walking down a sidewalk.
There are plenty of reasons to live in a walkable neighbourhood. Here are five good ones.
Richer Experiences
When you walk where you need to go, you’re treating yourself to an enriched experience instead of driving. Walking down the street on the way to the grocery store, you’re open to all sorts of spontaneous experiences. You might run into someone you haven’t seen in a while for a chat, or duck into a shop for a treat. You could even find a new favourite shop by taking a different route. When compared to driving, the experience of getting to your destination by walking is more fulfilling.
Eat, Drink, and Shop Local
“Support local” is a common mantra, and with good reason. Independent businesses give a place its unique feel and add to a sense of specialness and community. Without these independently owned shops and restaurants, walking around an urban neighbourhood would just feel like going to a mall, where all the stores are the same, no matter the city. The joy of living in a walkable neighbourhood is the ability to shop and dine at these businesses weekly. You get to feel good about helping to support fellow community members, their businesses, and their families.
Healthier Habits
Walking is good for you. We all know that. But it can often be hard to find time in the day to just go for a walk. This is especially true when driving is the quicker, easier way to get somewhere. But in a walkable neighbourhood, especially in urban areas, it’s often quicker and less hassle to walk short distances than driving. You need to deal with traffic, find parking, pay for parking. Or you could just put on a pair of shoes and get there in the same amount of time. In a walkable neighbourhood, you end up choosing healthier behaviours by default. Exercise becomes something that happens while you’re on your way somewhere. Often, it’s not even considered exercise. The result, however, is the same – a healthier, happier you.
Less Need for a Car
Walkable neighbourhoods don’t require a car to live your daily life. At best, they’re a convenient way to escape to the country when you need to. At worst, they’re a cost with no benefit. Consider that you still need to pay for insurance, registration, parking, and car payments (if you have them) even if you never drive your car. All that money could be put to other uses, like saving for a renovation or supporting those local shops and restaurants.
In a walkable neighbourhood, a car can feel like more of a hassle than a benefit.
Better for the Environment
Cars, as useful as they are, are undeniably bad for the environment. Even electric cars are taxing on the planet, when you consider the resources necessary to make them and the electricity to keep them on the road.
By driving less, you’re helping to clean the air of pollution and generally contributing to a more pleasant urban environment.
When it’s time for you to find a home in a walkable neighbourhood, like Unionville in Markham, get in touch.
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