The Independent have a good piece on walkable cities, including the great following quote:

Walkability is the measure of how easy and pleasant it is to get around a place on foot, whether that’s quick road crossings; lots of routes; cut-throughs and meeting areas; housing in central areas and transport links. If a city is walkable then more people will walk. Simple. And what does a walkable city get you? Healthy citizens, clean air, economic vitality (having people walk past smaller shops instead of driving to out-of-town shopping centres), higher house prices and lower fuel costs.

Find out more at http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/motoring/features/walk-on-the-wild-side-pedestrians-could-soon-be-given-equal-footing-with-cars-6273707.html