Results

Our objective was to validate whether locations offering good access to basic needs needed a high population density to support these businesses and whether these locations correlated with lower automobile use.

Our walkability score includes frequently-visited businesses, such as grocery stores and pharmacies, as well as their pleasantness to access – for example, a business located across an overpass is penalized.

The analysis looked at these different variables for each street segment rather than on a larger scale in order to properly analyze the impact of the built environment and land use.

The results are telling.

• The average density in places where primary services are easy to access on foot (⅘ or more Local Logic walkability score) is around 10,000 inhabitants per square kilometer.
• The car modal share in these sectors is less than 40% compared to approximately 74% for the Greater Montreal region.
• At the other end of the spectrum, where locations score between 1 and 2, the density drops to 1,780 people per square kilometer, and the share of automobile mode more than doubles to 83%.

It is important to mention that in the absence of nearby services, a dense environment in itself does not necessarily lead to a decrease in car usage. Indeed, new developments on Île du Tremblay in Laval have one of the highest urban densities in the Greater Montreal area but also lead the pack in car modal share at over 85%.

Correlation between walkability and car usage