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When much of the country shut down during the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, walking became a lifeline for exercise and socialization for many people, including, professor of economics at UNH鈥檚 Peter T. Paul College of Business and Economics. 听

鈥淎ll my kids came home during COVID 鈥� they were adults;听one was in college, two were in grad school 鈥� and we must have gone on walks three or four times a day,鈥� Conway says. 鈥淚t was our salvation. And it wasn鈥檛 just physical activity. It was that we saw other people, we could wave across the street and say, 鈥楬ey, how鈥檚 it going?鈥� It was a mental thing more than a physical thing.鈥� 听

Conway took her personal experience and combined it with her research interest in walkable communities and found that walkability played a role in helping people maintain their mental health during the pandemic. 听

In a study recently published in , Conway and longtime collaborator Andrea Menclova, an associate professor of economics at the University of Canterbury and Paul College alum, analyzed national census and survey data around walkability. They used the Environmental Protection Agency鈥檚 0鈥�20 Walkability Index to measure different communities and found that increasing a neighborhood鈥檚 walkability just a little bit 鈥� about four points on the index 听鈥� was associated with a 4% reduction in average pandemic-related mental health deterioration. 听

For context, neighborhoods that are considered in the low range of walkability have index scores under 6, while the most walkable communities have scores above 15.听

鈥淲hat we did was look at that raw effect of COVID and ask whether it varied depending on how walkable your area was. In other words, we estimated the effect of COVID on mental health deterioration, but let that effect depend on local walkability,鈥� Conway says. 鈥淲e found that the effects were substantial, but not unbelievable, enough to reasonably help suppress and mitigate the negative impact that COVID had.鈥澨�

The study compared mental health trends before the pandemic (2018鈥�2019) and during it (2020鈥�2021) across more than 55,000 Census tracts nationwide, linking CDC survey data with the EPA Walkability Index. By focusing on differences within the same county, the team could isolate the influence of local walkability.听

鈥淐OVID hit people differently across the country, based on restrictions, deaths, local policies,鈥� Conway says. 鈥淲e were able to look within a county, where cultural, environmental, and other characteristics are pretty similar. But walkability is a very local characteristic that can vary within a county. By making those within-county comparisons, we could see how areas hit by COVID in the same way still experienced different mental health impacts depending on walkability.鈥澨�

The researchers also factored into their models whether people moved during the pandemic, worked remotely, or lived in rural versus urban areas, along with numerous other demographic and economic factors like age, income, education, and urbanicity, to better isolate walkability's specific effect.听

Additionally, the research showed that walking habits shifted sharply in the early months of the pandemic. Walking for transportation declined, while leisure walking, often close to home, became more common. The study notes that more than three-quarters of survey respondents said they walked near home 鈥渁lmost always鈥� or 鈥渕ost of the time,鈥� and that share grew as the pandemic went on.听

鈥淲e saw walking for transportation fall off a cliff from March to April of 2020, while walking for leisure shot up,鈥� Conway says, noting the increase in leisure walking persisted throughout 2020. 鈥淚t was striking to see how the pandemic shifted these patterns. 鈥淧eople weren鈥檛 walking to work anymore, but they were walking a lot more for leisure.鈥澨�

Because sidewalks, roads, and neighborhood layout don鈥檛 change overnight, walkability itself tends to remain stable, according to Conway. This makes it difficult to use the typical 鈥渂efore and after鈥� approach needed to measure how changes in walkability affect health outcomes. However, COVID-19 provided the 鈥渞andom shock鈥� needed that allowed them to observe its potential impact.听

Conway says the study鈥檚 findings suggest that investing in walkable infrastructure could be a cost-effective mental health intervention, especially given the relatively modest investments required for improvements like sidewalks and traffic calming measures.听

She also hopes the findings open the door to more research into how walkability can help people cope with stressors, whether that鈥檚 grief, divorce, job loss, or everyday anxiety. 听

鈥淪hocks happen that impact your mental health, and this was one we could observe on a wide scale. The takeaway is that walkability may help provide resiliency in other situations, too. I鈥檇 love to see more research explore that,鈥� Conway says.听

Additional research could also focus on racial and economic disparities in walking behavior and how walkability may contribute to or help address health inequities. 听

In 2023, Conway and Menclova published a showing that pregnant women in more walkable counties were less likely to experience complications like gestational diabetes, hypertension, and preterm birth. 听听

Conway says walkability is an economic and public health issue, influencing everything from health outcomes and productivity to infrastructure costs, yet it remains an underexplored area.听

鈥淢ost economists don鈥檛 even know the walkability index exists,鈥� Conway says. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 why I like doing this kind of work. It鈥檚 this small space where no one else seems to be looking, and yet it鈥檚 something we can control. It鈥檚 something communities can invest in.鈥澨�