WalkSydney

On 13 March 2025, Committee for Sydney collaborated with WalkSydney to produce a report: Putting our best foot forward: a checklist for walkable density. This is because walkability starts with how we build our precincts – the structure of places influences 54% of all walking.

Since we can design our neighbourhoods to make it more likely for people to walk, but often the challenge and complexity can be overwhelming, the checklist reduces a vast body of research into what makes good walkable places into a simple 10 minute question-and-answer form, that includes providing diverse, higher-density housing like apartments and townhouses, along with good access to jobs, childcare and schools, parks, shops and public transport.

🚶🏽‍♀️ The checklist outlines four key criteria that define a walkable area:

1. mixed land use;
2. a transport network where walking, cycling and public transport are the easiest options;
3. streets that are comfortable and captivating; and
4. housing that supports walkability for everyone

Density doesn’t have to mean towers – it just has to support life on foot, and ‘gentle density’ such as mid-rise apartments can achieve this (Paris is a great example).

The report was launched on the 13th Mar 2025 with a keynote and panel conversation featuring Marc Lane, Anna Bradley, Annie Tennant, Alexander Wendler and Estelle Grech, who spoke about the relationship between walkability and density, why the checklist matters, and how it can help keep designers, developers and decision-makers on track when it comes to building neighbourhoods that put people first.

We welcome everyone to check out the report linked:

The report also features 3 case studies of walkability done well:

WalkSydney was also pleased to launch our new logo into the world alongside this report. Thank you to Loni and the team at Bicycle NSW for their help with the refresh!