When major cities are filled with traffic congestion, pollution, and inequality, alternatives such as walking and cycling are overlooked by policymakers, even though these options may be the key to safe, equitable, and livable cities for everyone.

This article explores why walking and cycling are not just leisure activities but are the heart of sustainable cities in terms of health, equity, and environment, while raising the question of why the risks that this group of road users faces unfairly are neglected.

When walking and cycling become the heart of sustainable cities

In a world where major cities are rapidly expanding, walking and cycling have become important solutions at a time when people’s well-being is being challenged by traffic congestion, health problems, and increasingly severe climate crises. These seemingly simple forms of transportation are not only healthy choices but also reflect environmental sustainability, structural social equity, and global sustainable development goals. However, the reality of walking and cycling is filled with uncertainty. This group of road users remains in the most vulnerable position compared to motor vehicle drivers, facing the highest risk of accidents, death, and injury on roads designed with cars as the center. This reflects the structure of cities that are still unsafe.

On the occasion of the 8th UN Global Road Safety Week (8^th UN Global Road Safety Week) held in 2025 under the theme “Making walking and cycling safe,” the World Health Organization (WHO) has published an important report Promoting walking and cycling: a toolkit of policy options. This report not only proposes urban design approaches but also serves as a policy tool for transforming transportation systems to be human-centered, making walking and cycling truly part of the transportation system. It emphasizes that walking and cycling are not merely options for those without alternatives, but are long-term investments that create returns for both cities and citizens in multiple dimensions.

The importance of promoting walking and cycling is not limited to health issues but encompasses economic and environmental concerns in the overall picture. Cities that facilitate sustainable transportation can reduce public health costs as the population’s health improves when they move their bodies more in daily life. Walking and cycling help reduce rates of non-communicable diseases such as heart disease, diabetes, and obesity, while also reducing greenhouse gas emissions and decreasing the need for fossil fuel energy, which is an important common point with international efforts to combat global warming.

“Walking and cycling help develop health and make cities more sustainable. Every step and every ride helps reduce congestion, air pollution, and disease,” said Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director-General of the World Health Organization, emphasizing that promoting cycling or walking cannot happen at all if the most basic condition is neglected: “safety.”

Image source: UNAIDS (2017)

This issue reflects that creating cities safe for walking and cycling is not just about convenience, but it is about restoring dignity and equal rights for all forms of road users. It is about designing environments that reduce barriers, increase opportunities, and make healthy choices the easiest option. Ultimately, if cities do not make roads safe for everyone, walking and cycling will remain choices that many people dare not make, and this simple solution may never become the true answer for cities in the 21st century.

Increasing risks on roads: Warning signs of road user vulnerability

At a time when cities worldwide are rapidly adapting to environmental and health challenges, walking and cycling have become important alternatives that address sustainable transportation, population health, and reducing the impact of climate change. However, they face severe and chronic dangers: road safety hazards. Road accidents remain the leading cause of death and disability in all regions of the world, with 1.2 million deaths per year from accidents and over 50 million injuries. Of this number, pedestrians and cyclists account for more than 1 in 4 of all deaths. This alarming figure reflects the vulnerability of road users who do not drive motor vehicles, with pedestrians accounting for 21% of all road traffic deaths. However, at the policy level, it is found that only 46 countries report having national policies on walking and cycling, which is a small number compared to the actual losses occurring globally.

Regional trends further emphasize the urgency of the problem. For example, in the Southeast Asia region, pedestrian deaths increased by 42%, while the European region faces an increase in cyclist deaths of 50%. In the Western Pacific region, this figure soared to 88%.

Policy design that prioritizes the safety of pedestrians and cyclists is therefore not just about infrastructure, but is also an important link between health, equity, and climate change solutions. Viewing safety from this broad perspective will help make walking and cycling not just “alternatives” but become “main routes” that everyone can access.

Source: WHO (2025)

Why walking and cycling are key to sustainable cities

Reconsidering the role of walking and cycling has become an important question in global policy forums because these are not just transportation options, but mechanisms that help drive overall social well-being, reflecting a change in thinking about long-term quality of life.

In terms of health, walking and cycling help reduce the risk of non-communicable diseases (NCDs) and promote mental health by providing opportunities for the body to move and connect closely with the surrounding environment.

In terms of environment, they help reduce greenhouse gas emissions, especially in urban areas with high vehicle density, and help mitigate the long-term impacts of climate change.

In terms of safety, properly designed infrastructure can concretely reduce rates of injury and death from traffic accidents.

In terms of economy, they help stimulate local economies, create jobs, and increase area attractiveness. Areas that facilitate walking and cycling often attract both people and businesses, creating more widespread economic activities while creating livable and investment-worthy environments.

Source: WHO (2025)

When policies for creating walkable and cyclable cities become the foundation of sustainability

Promoting walking and cycling in cities is an important strategy involving multiple sectors. Making these lifestyles a reality requires systematic implementation with 7 key policies as main supporting mechanisms to create conducive environments physically, socially, and institutionally.

1. Integrating walking and cycling into all relevant policies

Starting with comprehensive policy design by incorporating walking and cycling issues as part of transportation, health, environment, education, urban planning, and tourism plans. Clear, measurable goals must also be set and cooperation mechanisms between various agencies established so that all sectors move in the same direction.

2. Creating safe and connected networks

Walking and cycling paths should be developed comprehensively, connecting important areas such as schools, workplaces, and community centers while being continuously maintained. Integrating green spaces and sustainable urban design concepts will truly enhance users’ quality of life.

3. Designing inclusive streets and sidewalks for everyone

Streets should not be reserved only for motor vehicles. Design should be user-centered, especially for pedestrians and cyclists of all ages. This approach should be coupled with safety measures such as speed limits and road design standards that reduce accident risks.

4. Systematically changing road user behavior

Besides infrastructure, road user behavior is also an important component. Law enforcement such as speed limits, controlling driving under the influence, and campaigns for safe road use are measures that must be implemented simultaneously.

5. Protecting and prioritizing space for pedestrians and cyclists

Streets should be designed to have continuous safe spaces for walking and cycling, including creating and enforcing pedestrian zones and parking control measures.

6. Integrating walking and cycling into the entire transportation system

Walking and cycling should not be viewed separately from other transportation systems but should be part of seamless travel, connecting with public transportation and shared mobility services so that people can plan their journeys efficiently and conveniently.

7. Promoting and creating incentives to build a culture of walking and cycling

Creating sustainable behavior requires more than urban design but must include promotion through campaign activities, public relations campaigns, workplace and school programs, as well as financial and social incentives so that people feel ownership and participation in the changing lifestyle.

Source: WHO (2025)

In the context of Thailand, developing cities for convenient and safe travel is not just about creating infrastructure, but about organizing cities to respond to people’s lives. Bangkok has therefore initiated various policies and projects to create a city that is convenient, safe, and friendly for everyone, including “Bangkok Livable Smart City Good and Safe Travel” to encourage people to turn to walking, using public transportation, and reducing dependence on private cars, focusing on making walking the heart of a vibrant city by improving sidewalks to standards, increasing transportation system connectivity, and using intelligent traffic technology to help manage.

In 2023, concrete results were achieved, such as improving sidewalks for over 222.47 kilometers with reinforced concrete materials for strength, installing 100 bicycle parking points accommodating 900 bicycles and 30 CCTV points that helped catch over 400 violations, along with deploying municipal officers for safety at over 890 points. Additionally, BMA Feeder pilot 4 routes were expanded to connect people’s travel, and over 7,100 kilometers of drainage pipes and over 2,900 kilometers of canals were dredged to alleviate flooding and improve drainage efficiency. There is also the “Walk Comfortably, Cycle Safely” project that focuses on developing Bamrung Mueang Road area in Phra Nakhon District to facilitate walking and cycling through cooperation between Bangkok Metropolitan Administration, civil society, and educational institutions through community surveys and planning, starting with 7 pilot routes: Bamrung Mueang Road, Tanao Road, Fueang Nakhon Road, Mahannop Road, Dinso Road, Samran Rat Alley (Maha Chai Road-Siripong Road), and Ratchabophit Road through participatory processes of all sectors.

Additionally, Bangkok Metropolitan Administration cooperated with Metropolitan Police to test cycling routes in 4 areas: Phrom Phong Station, Sam Yot, Lat Phrao 71, and Tha Phra, opening for a 3-month trial to evaluate actual usage. The long-term goal is to reduce car use for short distances and sustainably promote walking and cycling with police as role models for daily use to drive the city to become a space that everyone can access equally and safely.

Youth participation is changing the future picture of road safety

Creating sustainable change in global issues like road safety cannot happen without the power of young people who dare to think, express themselves, and take action. International forums in 2025 have clearly shown the role of Thai youth in driving this issue.

Participation in the 3^rd World Youth Assembly for Road Safety in Marrakech, Kingdom of Morocco, in February 2025 was the first time Thailand officially sent youth representatives to participate in this international activity. The Ministry of Social Development and Human Security (MSDHS) supported Ms. Nada Binrorheem, former President of the National Children and Youth Council of Thailand, and Mr. Pitchakorn Chotsuphap, Assistant President, to participate in exchanging visions, expressing creativity, and presenting constructive policy solutions through various activities including speeches, workshops, art activities, and symbolic street movements to send messages to world leaders that youth are ready to be part of concrete change.

Thailand has important strengths in creating continuous youth support systems, such as the Children and Youth Council with over 300,000 members nationwide along with funds supporting youth projects at local and national levels, especially in road safety which has just begun serious implementation in the past year, with budgets from both government and the Road Safety Fund.

Image source: Office of the Prime Minister’s Secretariat (2025)

Walking and cycling are key to creating sustainable and people-friendly cities

When basic activities like walking and cycling become important tools for promoting health, reducing chronic disease burden, increasing economic opportunities, and connecting communities more closely, investing in safety is investing in humanity’s future. Efforts from multiple sectors, including voices of youth worldwide, have shown that change is not distant but is a shared responsibility that we can all start with the first step on roads that are safe and friendly for everyone.

Strategy and International Cooperation Coordination Division
National Economic and Social Development Council

References

UNAIDS. (2017). Interview with Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO Director-General elect. Retrieved from https://www.unaids.org/en/resources/presscentre/featurestories/2017/april/WHO-next-director-general_Tedros

United Nations. (2025). ‘We can do better’ for pedestrian and cyclist safety worldwide. Retrieved from https://news.un.org/en/story/2025/05/1163101

WHO. (2025). 8th UN Global Road Safety Week. Retrieved from https://www.who.int/campaigns/un-global-road-safety-week/8th-un-global-road-safety-week

WHO. (2025). Promoting walking and cycling: a toolkit of policy options. Retrieved from https://www.who.int/publications/i/item/9789240109902

WHO. (2025). Safer walking and cycling crucial for road safety and better health. Retrieved from https://www.who.int/news/item/09-05-2025-safer-walking-and-cycling-crucial-for-road-safety-and-better-health

Bangkok News (BMA Newsletter). (2023). Bangkok Livable Smart City Good and Safe Travel. Retrieved from https://bookkurry.com/bookkurry.com/burinh/publication/bkk_news/288/#page=1

Traffic and Transportation Department. (2024). BMA partners with Metropolitan Police to enhance safety on 4 pilot cycling routes, promoting walking-cycling, reducing private car use. Retrieved from https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1EHmenhaBf/

Office of the Prime Minister’s Secretariat. (2025). “Warawut” reveals MSDHS brings Thai youth representatives to participate in global road safety forum, hoping for real participation. Retrieved from https://www.thaigov.go.th/news/contents/details/94128