Editing Walking (section)

==Leisure activity==<!--this is a link anchor, please check what links here if you change it-->
{{main|Hiking|Walking tour}}
[[File:0 15e16 17027a85 orig.jpg|thumb|Hiking with full packs]]
Many people enjoy walking as a recreation in the mainly urban modern world, and it is one of the best forms of [[exercise]].<ref>{{cite web|author=Ramblers |url=http://www.ramblers.org.uk/go-walking/advice-for-walkers/walking-and-your-health.aspx |title=Walking benefits |publisher=Ramblers.org.uk |access-date=2012-08-22}}</ref> For some, walking is a way to enjoy nature and the outdoors; and for others the physical, sporting and endurance aspect is more important.

There are a variety of different kinds of walking, including [[bushwalking]], [[racewalking]], beach walking, [[hillwalking]], [[volksmarching]], [[Nordic walking]], [[trekking]], [[dog walking]] and [[hiking]]. Some people prefer to walk indoors on a [[treadmill]], or in a gym, and fitness walkers and others may use a [[pedometer]] to count their steps. Hiking is the usual word used in Canada, the United States and South Africa for long vigorous walks; similar walks are called tramps in New Zealand, or hill walking or just walking in Australia, the UK and the [[Irish Republic]]. In the UK, rambling is also used. Australians also bushwalk. In English-speaking parts of North America, the term walking is used for short walks, especially in towns and cities. [[Snow shoe]]ing is walking in snow; a slightly different [[gait]] is required compared with regular walking.

===Tourism===
In terms of tourism, the possibilities range from guided [[walking tours]] in cities, to organized [[trekking]] holidays in the [[Himalayas]]. In the UK the term walking tour also refers to a multi-day walk or hike undertaken by a group or individual. Well-organized systems of trails exist in many other European counties, as well as Canada, United States, New Zealand, and [[Nepal]]. Systems of lengthy [[waymark]]ed walking trails now stretch across Europe from Norway to [[Turkey]], Portugal to [[Cyprus]].<ref>See [[European long-distance paths]]</ref> Many also walk the traditional [[Pilgrimage|pilgrim routes]], of which the most famous is El Camino de [[Santiago]], The [[Way of St. James]].

Numerous walking festivals and other walking events take place each year in many countries. The world's largest multi-day walking event is the [[International Four Days Marches Nijmegen]] in the [[Netherlands]]. The "Vierdaagse" (Dutch for "Four day Event") is an annual walk that has taken place since 1909; it has been based at [[Nijmegen]] since 1916. Depending on age group and category, walkers have to walk 30, 40 or 50 kilometers each day for four days.{{citation needed|date=July 2015}} Originally a military event with a few civilians, it now is a mainly civilian event. Numbers have risen in recent years, with over 40,000 now taking part, including about 5,000 military personnel.{{citation needed|date=July 2015}} Due to crowds on the route, since 2004 the organizers have limited the number of participants. In the U.S., there is the annual [[Labor Day]] walk on [[Mackinac Bridge]], [[Michigan]], which draws over 60,000 participants; it is the largest single-day walking event;{{citation needed|date=July 2015}} while the [[Chesapeake Bay Bridge]] Walk in [[Maryland]] draws over 50,000 participants each year.{{citation needed|date=July 2015}} There are also various walks organised as [[Charitable organisation|charity]] events, with walkers sponsored for a specific cause. These walks range in length from two miles (3&nbsp;km) or five km to 50 miles (80&nbsp;km). The [[MS Challenge Walk]] is an 80&nbsp;km or 50-mile walk which raises money to fight [[multiple sclerosis]], while walkers in the Oxfam Trailwalker cover 100&nbsp;km or 60 miles.

===Rambling===
In Britain, [[The Ramblers]], a registered [[charitable organisation|charity]], is the largest organisation that looks after the interests of walkers, with some 100,000 members.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ramblers.org.uk/about-us/our-history.aspx |title=Our history |publisher=Ramblers |date=1935-01-01 |access-date=2018-06-11}}</ref> Its "Get Walking Keep Walking" project provides free route guides, led walks, as well as information for people new to walking.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.getwalking.org |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100211124049/http://www.getwalking.org/ |url-status=usurped |archive-date=February 11, 2010 |title=Get Walking Keep Walking website |publisher=Getwalking.org |access-date=2012-08-22}}</ref> The [[Long Distance Walkers Association]] in the UK is for the more energetic walker, and organizes lengthy challenge hikes of 20 or even 50 miles (30 to 80&nbsp;km) or more in a day. The LDWA's annual "Hundred" event, entailing walking 100 miles or 160&nbsp;km in 48 hours, takes place each British [[Spring Bank Holiday]] weekend.<ref>[Ramblers, " Our History".http://www.ldwa.org.uk/history.php] Long Distance Walkers Association: History.</ref>

===Walkability===
{{main|Walkability}}
[[File:Gauchetière Street, pedestrian section (take 2), Montreal 2005-10-21.JPG|thumb|Gauchetière Street, [[Montreal, Quebec]], Canada]]
There has been a recent focus among [[urban planning|urban planners]] in some communities to create [[pedestrian-friendly]] areas and roads, allowing [[commuting]], shopping and recreation to be done on foot. The concept of [[walkability]] has arisen as a measure of the degree to which an area is friendly to walking. Some communities are at least partially [[Auto-free zone|car-free]], making them particularly supportive of walking and other modes of transportation. In the United States of America, the [[active living]] network is an example of a concerted effort to develop communities more friendly to walking and other physical activities.

An example of such efforts to make urban development more pedestrian friendly is the [[pedestrian village]]. This is a compact, pedestrian-oriented neighborhood or town, with a mixed-use village center. Shared-use lanes for [[pedestrians]] and those using [[bicycles]], [[Segways]], [[wheelchairs]], and other small rolling conveyances that do not use [[internal combustion engines]]. Generally, these lanes are in front of the houses and businesses, and streets for motor vehicles are always at the rear. Some pedestrian villages might be nearly car-free with cars either hidden below the buildings or on the periphery of the village. [[Venice, Italy]] is essentially a pedestrian village with canals. The canal district in [[Venice, California]], on the other hand, combines the front lane/rear street approach with canals and walkways, or just walkways.

Walking is also considered to be a clear example of a [[sustainable]] mode of [[transport]], especially suited for urban use and/or relatively shorter distances. Non-motorized transport modes such as walking, but also [[cycling]], small-wheeled transport (skates, skateboards, push scooters and hand carts) or wheelchair travel are often key elements of successfully encouraging clean urban transport.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.eu-portal.net/material/material2.phtml?sprache=en&kt=kt11 |title=Non Motorised Transport, Teaching and Learning Material |publisher=Eu-portal.net |access-date=2012-08-22 |archive-date=2012-08-02 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120802003601/http://www.eu-portal.net/material/material2.phtml?sprache=en&kt=kt11 |url-status=dead }}</ref> A large variety of case studies and good practices (from European cities and some worldwide examples) that promote and stimulate walking as a means of transportation in cities can be found at [[Eltis]], Europe's portal for local transport.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Eltis &#124; The urban mobility observatory|url=https://www.eltis.org/|access-date=2023-01-02|website=www.eltis.org}}</ref>

The development of specific rights of way with appropriate infrastructure can promote increased participation and enjoyment of walking. Examples of types of investment include [[pedestrian mall]]s, and [[foreshoreway]]s such as [[oceanway]]s and also river walks.

The first purpose-built [[Pedestrian zone|pedestrian street]] in Europe is the [[Lijnbaan]] in [[Rotterdam]], opened in 1953. The first pedestrianised shopping centre in the [[United Kingdom]] was in [[Stevenage]] in 1959. A [[List of car-free places|large number of European towns and cities]] have made part of their centres car-free since the early 1960s. These are often accompanied by [[car park]]s on the edge of the pedestrianised zone, and, in the larger cases, [[park and ride]] schemes. Central [[Copenhagen]] is one of the largest and oldest: It was converted from car traffic into pedestrian zone in 1962.