GfK Research, on behalf of Kaiser Permanente and the Every Body Walk! Collaborative, has conducted a nationwide survey on walking and walkability in both English and Spanish.  The survey, which reached 1,224, finds that walkable environments are key to encouraging people to walk more.  Results also indicate that, while the large majority of Americans know that walking is good for their overall health (both physical and mental), 64 percent of the respondents are not walking enough to meet the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) guidelines for health benefits, which is 150 minutes per week.

According to the survey, the biggest neighborhood barriers to walking are a lack of sidewalks, and drivers who speed or who use their phones while driving.  Among the survey's 15 neighborhood barriers to walking, crime ranked eighth overall, though it ranked fifth among both African Americans and Hispanic respondents as compared to 12th among white respondents.