Hi Nguyen,

A college of mine once said, the use of the term 'community' suggests that we don't have any. That is, if we had community we would not need to assert it everywhere. In Canada we have community policing, community events, and community centers, all of which are trying to reconstruct something that no longer exists. And, a community center, no mater how nice, cannot bring back or recreate community.

That being said, I think the question is inverted. It's not that community encourages walking, but that walking encourages community. When I lived in the city I walked more because the structure of the city itself determined my actions and behaviors--unlike the suburbs where walking is discouraged through a design that privileges cars.

Anyhow, because everyone was walking around, I liked to walk, and I liked to walk because I had a sense of community, and I had a sense of community because everyone was walking around. In other words, form determines function just as much as function determines form. As a function I need to sit so I design a chair, but once I have designed the chair it determines its function, in the sense that it demands I use it in a particular way--it is determining my behavior.

New Urbanism is an urban design movement that started in the U.S. in the 1980s. One of the main concepts is to promote walkable neighborhoods. To do this you create more diversity by encouraging a variety of housing and jobs within the neighborhood, and design pedestrian friendly walkways and bike paths. I have even seen housing that designs porches and decks to be at the front of the house, as opposed to the back of the house, as a means of encouraging people interact with those walking by. All of this is an effort, among other things, to create a sense of community. So the answer to your question is, walking encourages community, and we can build communities by designing walkable spaces.

Thank you Mr. Guy Letts. Your information is really useful for my research.

Walking encourages community, and we can build communities by designing walkable spaces.

Do you have any evidence to prove that we can build communities by design ?

we understand that shop, public open space, neighbouring activities, walkable space or feelings of safety and security (Francis, Billie , Wood and Knuiman, 2012) are the senses of community. However, no one apply these elements to architecture.

For example, if i design a community centre, can i use these elements as rules for designing. How can i ensure that the community centre will be success when i use these elements ? Thank you.

Yes, I believe you can apply such design concepts to something like a community center. I know, for instance, that shopping malls are designed to disorient as a means of keeping you in that space longer. In contrast, international airports are designed to move people. While these principles are well developed, they are not necessarily utilized.

I don't have any direct references that I can site at this time. However, I know there is information relevant to this topic in architecture, social geography, and urban planning. A good place to start would be with 'New Urbanism'.

Thank you so much. I will start with that book.

It seem to be very useful for me