10.1177/0013916504274016 ENVIRONMENT AND BEHAVIOR / November 2005 Alfonzo / WALKING NEEDS TO WALK OR NOT TO WALK? The Hierarchy of Walking Needs MARIELA A. ALFONZO, MURP, is a doctoral student in the Department of Plan- ning, Policy, and Design at the University of California, Irvine. She is interested in the effects of the physical environment on quality of life. Her major research interests in- clude community revitalization and the relationship between urban design, walk- ability, and sense of place and community. ABSTRACT: The multitude of quality of life problems associated with declining walking rates has impelled researchers from various disciplines to identify factors related to this behavior change. Currently, this body of research is in need of a trans- disciplinary, multilevel theoretical model that can help explain how individual, group, regional, and physical-environmental factors all affect physical activity behaviors. To address this gap, this article offers a social-ecological model of walking that presents a dynamic, causal model of the decision-making process. Within the model, a hierar- chy of walking needs operates and organizes five levels of needs hierarchically and presents them as antecedents within the walking decision-making process. This model can (a) serve as a framework by which to understand the relative significance of the cornucopia of variables identified by existing research, (b) offer hypotheses for how these factors affect peoples’ decision to walk, and (c) help to guide future research and practice. Keywords: urban form; walking; environment-behavior theory In the past 20 years, walking in the United States has been decreasing steadily, both as a means of transportation and as a form of recreation. According to the nationwide personal transportation survey (Federal High- way Administration, 1995), in 1977, walking trips made up 9.3% of the aver- age annual person trips per household, whereas in 1995, walking trips accounted for only 5.3% of trips (Federal Highway Administration, 1995). 808 AUTHOR’S NOTE: I would like to thank both Dr. Kristen Day and Dr. Daniel Stokols for their invaluable help, support, and input on this article. It is gratefully acknowledged. ENVIRONMENT AND BEHAVIOR, Vol. 37 No. 6, November 2005 808-836 DOI: 10.1177/0013916504274016 © 2005 Sage Publications