A study in Galway, Ireland

A study in Galway, Ireland, one of the fastest-growing places in Europe, shows that “residents living in walkable, mixed-use neighborhoods are more likely to know their neighbors, to participate politically, to trust others, and to be involved socially.” In the September 2003 issue of the American Journal of Public Health, Kevin M. Leyden, associate professor of political science at West Virginia University, reports that “social capital” is substantially stronger in mixed-use, pedestrian-oriented neighborhoods in or near the city center or in older, mixed-use suburbs than in Galway’s newer automobile-dependent suburbs.

Leyden surveyed 750 households in Galway — Ireland’s fastest-growing city, with 65,000 residents within its boundaries, plus 30,000 more in the immediate environs. “The results,” he found, “are clear and consistent: the more places respondents report being able to walk to in their neighborhood, the higher their level of social capital.” To read an abstract of the study, “Social Capital and the Built Environment: The Importance of Walkable Neighborhoods,” or to order a copy on-line, go to the journal’s Web site at www.ajph.org/cgi/content/abstract/93/9/1546. Or contact Leyden in Morgantown, West Virginia, at kleyden@wvu.edu to request a reprint.