According to Walk Score, a website that measures how walkable your place to live is, Nairobi surprisingly scored quite high at 82, which means the city is “very walkable” and that “most errands can be accomplished on foot.”
Walk Score believes that walkable cities are healthier and for the sake of better living, people who live in walkable neighbourhoods weigh 6-10 lbs less, walkable places make people happier and healthier, and short commutes reduce stress and increase community involvement.
Walk Score’s mission is to promote walkable neighbourhoods, which is one of the simplest and best solutions for the environment, our health, and our economy.
It’s true, geographically, Nairobi is very small in area at 696 km2 and presumably more walkable than cities with expansive urban planning, such as Toronto at 7,124.15 km2
With proximity of shops, banks, restuarants and other amenities quite close to residential areas in Nairobi, perhaps more of us should go about our day with a “walkable mentality” and take advantage of that – avoiding getting stuck in the unpredictable Nairobi traffic for hours on end.
It’s great that Nairobi is considered “very walkable” as a city by Walk Score, which shows over 6 million scores per day to users globally, but why are most Nairobians still driving more than walking.
When was the last time you walked to the grocery store on a Saturday, yes the one just 5 minutes away?
