The whitest areas enjoy 144% more local footpaths than the most ethnically diverse areas, and the most affluent parts have 80% more local paths, defined as within a 10-minute walk of the area, according to research published by the Ramblers.
The analysis of more than 140,000 miles of public rights of way reveals that public footpaths are missing from communities that could most benefit from the public health gains associated with them, while fewer footpaths are being included in or are close to modern housing estates.
The provision of public footpaths near new housing has steadily declined since the 1970s. Housing estates built in the 1990s have 19% more local public footpaths than those mostly built in the 21st century.
The bottom five local authority areas for public footpath provision in England and Wales are Norwich, North East Lincolnshire, Liverpool, Southampton and Blackpool; the best are Rossendale, Stroud, Monmouthshire, Malvern Hills and Calderdale.
People in Norwich have on average just 129 metres of public rights of way within 800 metres (a 10-minute walk) of where they live, while in Rossendale in east Lancashire, on the border with Greater Manchester, on average people enjoy 9,232 metres of footpath within a 10-minute walk.
This story is from the September 20, 2023 edition of The Guardian.
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This story is from the September 20, 2023 edition of The Guardian.
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