A city can be measured in kilometers of roads, subway lines and skyscrapers. But there is another way to understand it: by walking through it.

Walk a few blocks in Beijing and the city begins to reveal itself differently. Buildings that seem distant from a car become part of the streetscape. Parks become shortcuts. A neighborhood that might look like a collection of apartment blocks becomes a network of restaurants, small shops, public spaces and everyday encounters.

Walking slows the city down enough to notice it.

And increasingly, cities around the world are paying attention to what happens when people are encouraged to move this way.

For Beijing, the question is not simply whether people can walk from one place to another. It is whether the city can make walking convenient, comfortable and appealing enough that people choose it as part of everyday life.

That distinction matters. A sidewalk alone does not make a city walkable.

More than getting from A to B

Walkability is often reduced to distance: how far someone can travel on foot within a certain amount of time.

But urban researchers look at a much wider range of factors, including connectivity, access to public transport, land-use diversity, street design, safety, greenery and proximity to everyday services.

One increasingly influential concept is the 15-minute neighborhood, where residents can reach basic services and amenities within roughly 15 minutes on foot.

Research examining Chinese cities has found that the idea has increasingly become part of discussions about healthy community planning. A 2019 study published in the Journal of Transport & Health examined 15-minute walkable neighborhoods in urban China and linked the concept to efforts to encourage walking and improve public health.

The idea is simple: if a person can reach a supermarket, school, park, restaurant, health service or public transport within a reasonable walk, walking becomes less of an exercise activity and more of a normal part of daily life.

That is perhaps the most important distinction. You don't necessarily have to decide to "go for a walk." You simply walk because that's how you get somewhere.

Beijing at walking speed

This is something I have noticed while exploring Beijing on foot.

The city can feel enormous when viewed from a subway map. But walking breaks that scale into smaller pieces.

A subway station exit leads to a residential street. A busy intersection gives way to a tree-lined road. A park becomes a shortcut between two neighborhoods. A river creates a natural corridor through the city.

The experience is different from running, too. Running gives you momentum. Walking gives you time.

You notice elderly residents gathering beneath trees, people stopping for breakfast, delivery riders making their rounds and children playing in neighborhood parks.

You hear conversations that would disappear into the background at a faster pace.You notice the small businesses that serve a neighborhood rather than a tourist.

None of these things necessarily make headlines. But together, they make up the city.

And that is where walkability becomes more than an urban-planning concept. It becomes a question about how people experience their surroundings.

The health case for walking

There is also a strong public-health argument.

Walking is one of the simplest forms of physical activity because it does not necessarily require a gym, special equipment or a training plan.

The World Health Organization (WHO) identifies walking and cycling as forms of active mobility that can improve physical and mental wellbeing while reducing the risk of several noncommunicable diseases. It also points to wider environmental benefits, including lower traffic congestion, improved air quality and reduced emissions.

Green space can make that experience even more valuable.

A WHO review says urban parks and other green spaces can support physical activity, psychological relaxation and social interaction while helping reduce exposure to heat, noise and air pollution.

Research conducted specifically in Beijing reinforces that connection.

A 2017 study examining urban parks in Beijing found that park users were more physically active than non-users in almost every form of physical activity measured, while having a park within 500 meters of home was significantly associated with physical activity. The researchers also found that physical activity and interaction with nature in parks were associated with mental-health benefits such as relaxation and improved self-perceived confidence.

Another study, published in Frontiers in Public Health, examined data from Beijing residents and found that both perceived quality and accessibility of urban green space were positively associated with self-rated health. Social interaction and perceptions of air quality were among the factors helping to explain that relationship.

The findings don't mean that simply living near a park automatically makes someone healthier. But they do point to an important relationship between access to green space, how people use it and how they feel afterward.

That matters in a city as large as Beijing.

Greenery matters more than we might think

There is an interesting detail in Beijing's walking environment that is easy to overlook: trees.

A shaded street can feel completely different from a wide, exposed road on a hot summer afternoon.

A small pocket of greenery can turn a route from somewhere you simply pass through into somewhere you want to linger. Research supports that observation.

A 2020 study of Beijing examined how street greenery affects active travel and found that greater greenery was associated with a higher probability of walking and cycling. The relationship was particularly relevant on lower-class roads, where traffic tends to be lighter and accessibility higher.

More recently, research published in Scientific Reports in 2025 examined street greenery and physical activity among older adults in Beijing, using street-view imagery and other data to investigate how exposure to greenery at street level relates to physical activity.

That suggests greenery does more than make a street look attractive. It can influence whether people choose to walk and how they experience the journey when they do.

This is one reason Beijing's expanding network of parks, greenways and riverside paths matters to the wider question of walkability.

But green infrastructure isn't automatically successful simply because it exists. People need to be able to reach it.

What I noticed by slowing down

That is perhaps what has surprised me most as my own journey has moved from running to walking. When I run through a city, I tend to think about distance. When I walk, I think about place.

I notice where people stop. I notice which streets feel inviting and which ones feel like somewhere you simply want to cross. I notice how quickly a dense urban environment can turn into a pocket of greenery.

And I notice how many different generations can occupy the same public space at the same time. That may be one of the most valuable things about walking.

It puts you at the same speed as the city around you.

The measure of a walkable city

Perhaps a walkable city isn't one where everyone walks everywhere. It is one where people have the choice.

Where an older person can comfortably reach a park. Where a child can move safely through their neighborhood. Where a commuter can combine the subway with a short walk. Where a resident can reach a shop without crossing a major road. Where greenery provides shade along the journey.

And where walking isn't treated solely as exercise.

It is simply part of living.

Beijing is still a vast, complex and rapidly changing city. Its roads are busy, its distances can be enormous and its neighborhoods vary considerably.

But at street level, another city exists. 

It is quieter. 

Slower. 

And much more human.

Editor's Note: Denique Daniëls is a multimedia editor for CGTN Digital. This article is part of China in Motion, a recurring column that explores contemporary Chinese life through movement – from running and walking to the design of public space, health culture and community. By observing cities at a human pace, the series captures how ordinary routines shape the experience of life in China.