In the words of Jane Jacobs, to understand your city you have to "get out and walk".

The 10th annual International Conference on Walking and Liveable Cities (Walk 21 ) 2009, recently took place in New York City.  The four themes of this year's conference, taken from the Walk 21 New York site, clearly outline the social, economic and health benefits of walkable cities; highlighting the importance of investing in and improving pedestrian infrastructure in our communities.  

1. More footprints, less carbon: walkable communities are sustainable communities.
Dense, pedestrian-oriented, walkable cities have significantly lower greenhouse gas emissions than more sprawling, car-oriented counterparts. Practitioners discussed how they are linking pedestrian planning and environmental goals in their cities.

2. Paving with gold: investing for a successful city.
In the age of global mobility, employers, investment capital and people are attracted to liveable cities - those with the best urban quality of life. Attendees presented the relationship between investment in walkable cities for people and cities’ economic fortunes, and the types of investment that have yielded the strongest results. 

3. There is more to walking than walking: design strategies for urban quality.
Creating cities and towns where walking is a pleasure and a choice involves more than wider sidewalks or more time at crosswalk signals. The conference examined a wide range of experiences in the development of lively, high-quality public life on urban streets, and how to re-develop the public realm in places that are primarily oriented to the flow of car traffic. 

4. Fit cities: community design for active living.
As rates of obesity, heart disease, and diabetes grow, more communities are exploring connections between public health and city design. International practitioners discussed best practices in active design and communications strategies to get more people walking.