This indicator is part of Low and high density living.

Indicator description:

This indicator measures the percent of commuters who walked to work in 2002 and 2007 in Albuquerque and five other southwestern benchmark cities. The results of 2005 and 2007 Albuquerque citizen surveys showing residents who often walk for exercise are also shown. Results for the Southwest Mesa and South Valley were combined in these surveys.

Why is this indicator relevant?

More residents will walk to work and walk for exercise if their neighborhood environments are pedestrian friendly. Measuring the percentage of the workforce that commutes by walking and the percentage of residents who walk for exercise in their neighborhood gives insight into the balance of pedestrian friendly environments in Albuquerque’s Community Planning Areas (CPA).

Data Sources:
American Community Survey, US Census Bureau, 2002-2007. City of Albuquerque, Citizen Perception of Community Conditions surveys, 2005, 2007.

What can we tell from the data?

• The percentage of Albuquerque residents who commuted by walking increased between 2002 and 2007. This is similar to three of five other southwestern benchmark cities.
• Only two other benchmark cities, Colorado Springs and Tucson, reported a higher level of commuters who walked to work than Albuquerque. Other benchmark cities had rates similar to Albuquerque’s, although the Oklahoma City rate was somewhat lower.
• At least 27% of the residents in every CPA strongly agreed with the statement, “Neighborhood residents often walk for exercise in my neighborhood.”
• The percentage agreeing with the statement increased or stayed the same in six of the nine CPAs between 2005 and 2007. The percentage in Albuquerque overall increased between the 2005 and 2007 surveys.

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