Walking matters: we need to create and support walkable communities
7 November, 2025
Participants at the 2025 Living Streets Aotearoa Walking Summit, held on Thursday 6 November, have called for action to create and support walkable communities. In walkable communities, people can walk to the shops, to school and work, and to access public transport. Everyone benefits from communities and spaces that encourage walking for transport and recreation.
Indeed, the benefits of walking were highlighted by keynote speaker Dr Alice Miller: “Walking regularly is absolutely brilliant for our health. As a doctor, I know the research and I see the results in my clinic: people who are more active have a better chance of staying well. When people in government and councils make it easy and safe to walk, it gives people of all ages the opportunity to be active in their everyday lives. Spaces designed for walking are also lovely places to work, shop, rest and play!”
Summit attendees included people from councils and central government, researchers, consultants, and community advocates, in addition to Living Streets Aotearoa members.
Speakers at the Summit presented inspiring examples of urban design, policy, and planning that cater for people on foot. However, many speakers also talked about the current lack of infrastructure and investment in walking in Aotearoa. While there is some shift happening to create more walkable communities, walking remains severely underfunded1, especially because the 2024 Government Policy Statement on land transport2 made it much more difficult for walking improvements to be included as part of wider transport projects.
“Pedestrians in Aotearoa face the paradox that walking is officially at the top of the sustainable transport hierarchy, but in practice is frequently relegated to last place, chronically underfunded and regarded as politically expendable,” said Living Streets Aotearoa President Tim Jones.
The Walking Summit provided a much needed space to put pedestrians first. As Tim Jones put it in his opening address: “At Living Streets Aotearoa, we say that pedestrians matter and that walking matters. We say that a walkable community is a livable community. It’s a community of people who know one another, not an atomised collection of individuals. As a nation, we must invest in walkability for the health, safety, and wellbeing of our communities.”
Media contact:
Tim Jones
President, Living Streets Aotearoa
tjonescan@gmail.com
0273590293
About Living Streets Aotearoa
Living Streets Aotearoa is New Zealand’s national pedestrian advocacy organisation, promoting walking-friendly communities.
References
- Newsroom. Dead end for cycle and walking paths in new transport budget. https://newsroom.co.nz/2024/03/06/dead-end-for-cycle-and-walking-paths-in-new-transport-budget/
- New Zealand Government. Government Policy Statement on land transport 2024. https://www.transport.govt.nz/assets/Uploads/Government-Policy-Statement-on-land-transport-2024-FINAL.pdf