CityLab Daily: Why the ‘Trick-or-Treat Test’ Still Matters

Eyes on the treats: If you’re heading out trick-or-treating tonight, here’s an experiment to try: Count how many doors you knock on and how many steps it takes to get to each one. As you navigate the sidewalks, stoops, driveways, and porches in a neighborhood, you’re seeing what’s known to urbanists as the “trick-or-treat test.”

The test is a way to measure what kids know pretty intuitively: Where the design of streets and homes is optimal, the greatest amount of candy can be collected. But it also shows that walkability is just as much about where it is pleasant and interesting to stroll as it is about taking the shortest possible path. In this CityLab classic from 2012, city planner Brent Toderian describes why “Halloween can still be a catalyst for a much-needed discussion on what great neighborhoods … are made of.” Read: Why the “Trick-or-Treat Test” Still Matters