Walking in Cities An Urban Geography Study Portland, Maine

Study Background In our automobile-dependent American cities, the ability to walk within our communities is often challenging.  In spite of these challenges, people walk in urban areas for many reasons including commuting to work and school, walking for recreation and health, and as a mode of transport to perform errands or attend social events.  Urban areas vary in how walkable they are for pedestrians.  This study examines the criteria developed by urban geographers and others to determine the walkability of cities including:  access, movement, design, community, health, economics, and safety.    Portland, Maine is the largest city in Maine with a population of 64,249 (2000 U.S. Census) and is located in Southern Maine on Casco Bay.  Portland’s downtown is geographically located on a peninsula in Casco Bay, known as the Portland Peninsula.  In addition the downtown, or the central business district, several neighborhoods, including the West End, the East End, Munjoy Hill, and Bayside are on the Portland Peninsula.  The City of Portland extends further inland from the Peninsula where the urban character changes from a dense, compact downtown to areas of varying density and land use activity.  This study focuses on the walkability of the Portland Peninsula. Portland, Maine Field Research Field research involved walking the sidewalks and streets of Portland, observing pedestrian activity from an automobile, an interview with a transportation planner, and listening to other students' experiences with walking in Portland.  As the research was performed over the course of the fall semester, the weather conditions were a factor in determining walkability when the snow began to fall as the semester progressed. Project Author Sally Rose, University of Southern Maine, Urban Geography Class with Professor Lydia Savage, Fall 2003 Note:  Although the photographs on this website are of Maine communities,  they are not all of Portland.

Portland's Victorian red-brick sidewalks

The Old Port, a walkable shopping and business district