The American Journal of Preventive Medicine just published the results of a study that looked at the effect of land use density on peoples' walking behavior and included Forsyth County residents as part of the study. It's really a "no duh" result, but having data to inform municipal planning decisions is always helpful. From the study:
After adjustment for individual-level characteristics and neighborhood connectivity, it was found that higher density, greater land area devoted to retail uses, and self-reported proximity of destinations and ease of walking to places were each related to walking. In models including all land-use measures, population density was positively associated with walking to places and with walking for exercise for more than 90 minutes/week, both relative to no walking. Availability of retail was associated with walking to places relative to not walking, and having a more proportional mix of land uses was associated with walking for exercise for more than 90 minutes/week, while self-reported ease of access to places was related to higher levels of exercise walking, both relative to not walking.
