Health. Walking in Daily Life: Benefits That Are Also Economic?

How many steps do you take each day? 5,000, 10,000? This question ultimately doesn't matter that much. Studies on the subject struggle to define a precise objective, but agree on the health benefits of walking. These benefits are underestimated, given their number, and represent a significant economic impact. This is the conclusion of a study by the French Environment and Energy Management Agency ( ADEME ), published Wednesday.

An indicator: the French walk on average 1 hour 12 minutes per day , the equivalent of 3.5 kilometers. These figures should be taken as an order of magnitude, since they are probably underestimated. The benefits are felt (slightly) in the wallets of the walkers themselves: walking costs 3.5 cents per kilometer, assures Ademe, compared to 16 to 27 cents for other modes of transport. Currently, each French person saves 33 euros per year.

Through this study, Ademe aimed above all to quantify for the first time the total economic potential of walking for society. Thanks to the policies implemented, this net impact exceeds 57 billion euros. It is felt in worker efficiency (better productivity, lower absenteeism and turnover ), improved health (47,000 deaths and numerous illnesses avoided per year), and even reduced road costs - building and maintaining a sidewalk is less expensive than a road. Although sometimes difficult to quantify precisely, the list of benefits is long. "Physical activity improves health in the broadest sense, both physical and mental," adds Mathieu Chassignet, an engineer specializing in sustainable mobility, who led this study. "An employee who walks will therefore be less stressed, and will have better concentration and sharper attention. A study commissioned by Medef in 2015 shows that an active employee increases their productivity by 6 to 9%."

For the past 30 years, the proportion of walking travel has stabilized at around 23% (car travel has reached 63%). Given the context and the climate targets set for the coming years, Ademe has projected a scenario in which the proportion of walking travel would reach 30%: "The additional benefit would be around 35 billion euros," it asserts. "30% walking is roughly the level of 1990," recalls Mathieu Chassignet. "Some associations, such as the Place aux piétons collective, have formulated this objective, which seems realistic. The time horizon would be around twenty years, the time it takes for policies to transform public spaces to take effect."

From rural areas to Paris and its suburbs, the share of walking logically increases with urbanization, from 12.8 to 38% of trips. Like small towns, medium-sized municipalities, where the car still plays a major role (66% of trips, compared to 5% by public transport), seem to have real room for improvement. From Colmar to Valence via Chalon-sur-Saône, INSEE has counted 133 of these municipalities with 20,000 to 100,000 inhabitants, which together have a total population of more than 13 million.

"To achieve this goal, we must succeed in transforming public spaces," continues Mathieu Chassignet. "Today, it's mainly the large cities that have successfully made this transition, with a much better pedestrian space. Small and medium-sized towns need to make this transition." This may involve developing public transport, the share of which (5%) remains minimal in medium-sized towns, as explained by Brice Boussion, mobility specialist for Cerema, a public institution that supports local authorities: "What distinguishes medium-sized towns from large cities is the weakness of public transport. This is immediately evident in the figures: when there is no public transport, walking is much less developed."