Mapping walkability for a healthier built environment in Peel Region, Ontario

Abstract

The Peel Walkability Composite Index (PWCI) comparison tool enables Peel Public Health and the Region of Peel's municipal partners to track changes in walkability by looking at key features of the built environment that are associated with walking behaviour. It includes the following indicators: residential density, access to transit, access to food stores, access to services, access to greenspace, access to schools, land-use mix, and housing diversity. In addition to monitoring changes over time, the tool can be used to identify areas where the likelihood of walking behaviour is high and investments into pedestrian infrastructure and amenities may be of increased value. This presentation will review the first update to this tool, which allows us to compare the 2016 baseline indicators against indicators created using 2021 data for census tracts across Peel. 

Speaker

Michael Bennington MPH (he/him) is the Supervisor of Peel Public Health’s Built Environment Team. In this role, he oversees an interdisciplinary team of Registered Professional Planners, Public Health Nutritionists and Research and Policy Analysts that take a health in all policies approach to promote health through development planning, housing, land-use, the community food environment, transportation and road safety projects. He holds a Masters Degree in the Social and Behavioural Health Sciences from the Dalla Lana School of Public Health at the University of Toronto. Prior to joining Peel Public Health, Michael worked for an environmental charity focused on active transportation, community engagement and supporting resident-coalitions across Ontario as they developed community-led visions for their neighbourhood streets and public spaces.