Which five cities in Switzerland are the most 'walkable'?

The study, carried out by active-trafiC, Pedestrian Mobility Switzerland, and the HES of Technical Sciences in Rapperswil, covered 16 Swiss cities in different regions and of varying sizes based on info from 2020. 

Five received a "Golden Shoe Brush"  award for the walking infrastructure they have in place.

These are the award-winning cities:

Aarau

This small town in the north of Switzerland scored high in most of the criteria the researchers used in their analysis — "walkability", user satisfaction, and the completion of planned pedestrian improvements. It got particularly high marks for paths and crossings.

Interestingly enough, Aarau took the first place in another survey as well, that of most disliked Swiss towns that was carried out in 2019.

Basel

The port city on the Rhine river in the northwest part of Switzerland ranks high in terms of urban planning and infrastructure for footpaths and hiking trails.

Neuchâtel

The medieval town on the northern shore of the eponymous lake received points for the network of direct paths, the vegetation, and the number of fountains. In addition, the population there is less critical about bikes on sidewalks or about waiting times at traffic lights.

Bellinzona

Ticino’s capital scored for its walkable piazzas and the high satisfaction the city’s residents expressed about the local pedestrian infrastructure. 

Chur

The largest town in the canton of Graubünden ranks high in terms of the satisfaction of local residents with the walking infrastructure.

Additionally, Ticino towns Lugano and Locarno got the best scores for the number of walkable squares. Zurich and Zug beat all the other cities for the quality of bus and tram stops. And Lucerne did well for the quality of the pedestrian crossings.