How walkable is Christchurch?

Is Christchurch a walkable city?

Partly. Christchurch has a walkability score of 61 out of 100 across the 5 km around its centre, which makes it somewhat walkable: some errands can be done on foot. Its centre scores 100. The score covers about 80 km² around the busiest point rather than the whole city, and suburbs further out are usually less walkable, so check a specific address on the map. It ranks 2nd of 3 cities in New Zealand and joint 439th of 690 worldwide on How Walkable.

What is the most walkable city in New Zealand?

Auckland is the most walkable of the 3 cities ranked in New Zealand, with a score of 69. Christchurch ranks 2nd with 61.

How does Christchurch compare with nearby cities?

Christchurch sits between its nearest ranked neighbours: it scores 61, against Wellington (55, 306 km away) and Auckland (69, 766 km away).

Which part of Christchurch is most walkable?

Christchurch's most walkable area is its centre, the point near the middle of the city with the most places in walking range, which scores 100. Walkability averages 93 within 1 km of it. Beyond 2.5 km, it holds up best to the west (averaging 75) and falls most to the east (46).

How is Christchurch's walkability score calculated?

For Christchurch it is the average of 82 points spaced 1 km apart within 5 km of its busiest point, leaving out water and land without streets; 32 of them score 70 or more. Each point counts groceries, restaurants, shops, cafés, banks, parks, schools, libraries and cultural venues within a 30 minute walk, gives nearer places more weight, and loses up to 20% where streets are sparse or blocks are long, using open map data from Overture Maps (release 2026-09-23.1) and OpenStreetMap. It measures what is within a walk, not what the walk is like: pavements, traffic, safety, hills and heat are not part of the score.