Walkable Salt Lake City

Walkability is an important factor in promoting public health, reducing environmental impact, and supporting the local economy. One key variable in walkability is the proximity to essential amenities—people are more likely to walk when everyday services like grocery stores, schools, parks, and public transportation are close to where they live.

Walkable SLC is a data-driven mapping tool developed by the Planning Division to better understand and visualize the City’s current conditions and access to the amenities that support a high quality of life, like grocery stores, parks, and schools. By analyzing the access to amenities at a city-wide and neighborhood level, staff can identify areas that may require additional amenities or investment to improve walkability. This approach supports planning efforts by highlighting areas where increased access to amenities could improve overall community well-being, promote sustainable transportation options, and reduce reliance on cars.

How Was This Map Created?

The Walkability Heat Map identifies areas of the city with the most different amenity types within walking distance. The greater variety of amenities available in an area, the more walkable. Areas with a high variety of amenities are shown in bright yellow, while areas with less variety are shown in dark purple.

1. Identify Amenity Locations

To determine the locations of existing amenities, our team collaborated with the City’s business licensing department and zoning data. This process helped identify the precise locations of amenities like grocery stores, parks, schools, and other community resources. 

2. Create “Walksheds”

Using the database of identified amenities, our team employed mapping software to visualize a 15-minute walking distance around each amenity. These walksheds represent the areas within which residents can easily walk to a particular amenity within 15 minutes or less.

3. Overlay Walksheds

Once the walksheds were created for each amenity, our team combined them into a single layer on the map. This resulted in a heatmap that highlights areas, based on either city block or parcel, with the highest variety of accessible amenities, providing a visual representation of where residents have the greatest access to services and resources.

  _{Note: Walkability analysis is inherently complex, and multiple factors may influence the outcomes for any given neighborhood. While every effort has been made to utilize the most accurate and up-to-date data, the findings should be considered as general guidance rather than precise determinations.}  

The Interactive Walkable SLC Storymap allows you to explore the walkability of Salt Lake City and discover areas that have easy access to a variety of amenities.

Here's how to get started:

1.     Navigating the Map

Zoom In/Out: Use the zoom controls in the top left corner or scroll with your mouse to zoom in and out of the map. You can also click and drag to pan around the map. 

Enter an Address: To explore a specific area, simply type in an address or neighborhood name in the search bar at the top. The map will automatically zoom in to that location.

Scroll and Explore: If you prefer, you can manually scroll through the map to any area in SLC. This will let you explore the walkability of different neighborhoods.

2. Identify Walkability Gaps

As you navigate the walkability heat map, pay attention to areas in purple. These may indicate locations that are less walkable, with fewer amenities within walking distance. This may indicate a need for additional amenities or investment to improve walkability.

Similarly areas in yellow, the most walkable areas of the city, may indicate areas that could support a greater variety of housing types to ensure more residents have access to amenities. 

3. Dive Deeper

Click on specific locations to see detailed information about the amenities within walking distance. This includes information on which amenities are in 5, 10, and 15-minute walk-sheds, so you can easily see which services and destinations are accessible by foot in those time frames.

4. View Neighborhood Analysis

Under the  Community Profiles  section, you can explore detailed analyses of each neighborhood in Salt Lake City. This section provides in-depth insights into the walkability of different areas, highlighting strengths and potential gaps in access to amenities and services. It’s a great resource for understanding the walkability across the entire city, neighborhood by neighborhood.

Enjoy exploring SLC’s walkability and see where improvements could make the city even more pedestrian-friendly!

Welcome to the Interactive Walkable SLC StoryMap! This interactive map allows you to explore the walkability of Salt Lake City and discover areas that have walkable access to a variety of amenities. 

This section provides in-depth insights into the walkability of different areas, highlighting strengths and potential gaps in access to amenities and services. It’s a great resource for understanding the walkability across the entire city, neighborhood by neighborhood.

•  FULL COMMUNITY PROFILES REPORT 

Identified Amenities

The goal of this study was to evaluate as many amenities as possible, using the most comprehensive data available. Ultimately, 15 categories of amenities were chosen. Future updates to the study could add more categories or update data sources as needed. 

• Bus Stops: The bus stop data includes all UTA bus stops. Data includes all stops within city boundaries, mapped at their physical location on either side of the street.

• Childcare: Daycares and childcare centers were mapped based on all licensed daycare facilities. These facilities range in size from a small home daycare to larger preschools. 

• Grocery Stores: This category includes only those stores offering year-round fresh food. This includes grocery stores like Smith’s or Rancho Market, supermarkets like Target and Walmart, and warehouse stores like Costco and Sam’s Club. 

• Healthcare: This category includes mental health clinics, orthodontists, medical clinics, dental clinics, therapists, nursing homes, and other similar healthcare amenities.

• Hospitals: Hospitals include the Redwood Health Center, Sugar House Health Center, LDS Hospital, Salt Lake Regional Medical Center, Intermountain Salt Lake Clinic, the Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Shriners Hospital for Children, Primary Children’s Medical Center, the University of Utah Medical Center, and the Huntsman Cancer Institute.

• Libraries: This category includes all public libraries in the Salt Lake City Public Library System.

• Offices: This category includes businesses dedicated to office-related uses. This includes a wide variety of office types, such as law firms, financial services, real estate offices, corporate headquarters, and other general office uses. 

• Parks: This category includes public parks maintained by Salt Lake City, like Liberty Park, Fairmont Park, and the Jordan River Parkway. The category also includes parks maintained by Salt Lake County (Tanner Park), the State of Utah (This is the Place Park), and the University of Utah (Red Butte Garden).

• Pharmacies: This category includes all licensed pharmacies within city boundaries. Examples include hospital pharmacies, grocery store pharmacies, and retail pharmacies. 

• Recreation: This category includes recreation and entertainment businesses outside of parks and trails, such as movie theaters, escape rooms, and museums. This also includes outdoor venues, such as tennis courts and the Tracy Aviary.

• Restaurants: This category includes full-service restaurants and fast-food locations. Bars and cafes were not included unless licensed as a restaurant. 

• Retail: This category includes licensed retail goods businesses such as clothing and jewelry stores, sporting goods stores, and bookstores. 

• Schools: This category includes public and private elementary, middle, and high schools. The category does not include colleges, universities, or trade schools.

• Trails: This category includes natural trails, such as the Bonneville Shoreline Trail, and urban trails, like Parley’s Trail.

• TRAX Stops: This category includes all UTA Trax Stations.

We want to hear from you! You can send comments, feedback, and questions to  Noah.Elmore@slc.gov .