car-free modern condominiums

Walking Towards Inclusion

Walkability's many benefits can lead to an increase in the value of housing. For low-income renters, this can mean displacement. David Dixon explains the main challenges to building equitable walkability and how planners can act to allow everyone to enjoy increased walkability in existing urban neighborhoods.

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Course Info

  • Duration 6 video lessons (41 Mins)
  • Published Published
    2025
  • Trending Trending
  • 4.50
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Browse Course Chapters

  • Chapter Locked
    1.
    Introduction
    Chapter Duration 3 mins
  • Chapter Locked
    2.
    Why does Walkability Matter?
    Chapter Duration 4 mins
  • Chapter Locked
    3.
    What does it Really Take to Unlock Walkability?
    Chapter Duration 3 mins
  • Chapter Locked
    4.
    Why does Walkability Pose Challenges?
    Chapter Duration 12 mins
  • Chapter Locked
    5.
    Sharing the Economic and Social Benefits
    Chapter Duration 15 mins
  • Chapter Locked
    6.
    Conclusion
    Chapter Duration 2 mins

What You Will Learn

  • What are the economic, social, and environmental imperatives that “drive” the need to enhanced and expanded walkability?
  • Why it is critical to understand walkability through an equity lens?
  • Why does walking represent an amenity to “advantaged” neighborhoods and a necessity to disadvantaged neighborhoods?
  • Why does walkability represent a power engine for expanding gentrification and displacement?
  • What planning, public policy, design, and other considerations are essential to promote inclusive walkability?
  • How can communities tap the economic, social, and environmental value of walkability to transform economic diversity into shared community?

Course Description

Enhanced and expanded walkability represent core goals for every region in North America. Focusing growth toward compact, walkable, places is central to improving regional economic and environmental performance. However, the benefits at a regional scale fall unevenly at a neighborhood scale. While “advantaged” neighborhoods welcome tree-lined walkable streets and convenient walkable access to nearby cafés and shops, lower-income neighborhoods view these same qualities as harbingers of gentrification and displacement — and they are right: Displacement has driven suburban poverty up by roughly 70% since 2000. How can we bring walkability, equity, and inclusion into alignment?

Learn these skills

  • Economic Development
  • Equity
  • Land Use
  • Pedestrian Planning
  • Transportation
  • Urban Design
  • Walkability

AICP CM

This course is approved for .75 AICP CM credit.

Meet Your Instructor

David Dixon

David Dixon

David is well known for helping create new, mixed-use urban districts (in both cities and suburbs) and the planning, revitalization, and redevelopment of downtowns.

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