Walk’n’Smile
About this good practice
The Walk'n'Smile app – developed in the scope of an Interreg Danube project called CityWalk – was created as a tool to increase the number of people choosing walking over motorized vehicles by making it more fun. The app is based on a traditional pedometer (it requires the Google Fit app to count steps) but supplements it with various exciting functions:
- Awards based on the number of steps taken – it allows the user to compare their result to the length of worldwide-known routes such as Route 66, Tour de France and the original Marathon in Sparta
- The ability to take funny photos with the help of AR technology (including exotic animals, celebrities such as Christiano Ronaldo, Pink and Einstein and also the famous Abbey Road photo with the Beatles)
- A possibility to calculate how many steps are needed to burn the calories of a croissant for breakfast (and also calculating the savings of money and CO2 emissions compared to driving the same route)
- Taking an urban walkability evaluation survey
While most of these functions already exist in one form or another, the use of gamification and fun challenges to promote walking was a novel approach at the time that appeals to the younger generations. The app is also a good channel to raise the awareness of users regarding the importance of walking as the most sustainable form of urban mobility. All in all, the mobile app represents an innovative form of promoting individual behavioural change for the benefit of the community.
Resources needed
The budget for the partner working on the development of this app was more than 60,000 euros. However, this amount has covered travel and accommodation costs too – the budget relevant to this good practice was less than 40,000 euros.
Evidence of success
The CityWalk project entered the 2019 DTP Photo Competition with three pictures created by the Walk'n'Smile app – and won it with one of them, while one of the other photos was selected into the top 20 list. Consequently, both photos were printed on postcards to be distributed at many events related to Interreg project activities. The whole project itself was also the winner of the Public Choice Award (as an audience favourite) of REGIOSTARS 2019.
Potential for learning or transfer
Walk&Smile is a mobile app available for both Android and iOS – it can be used by anyone, but currently contains survey options and statistical comparative data only for the 10 project partner cities around the Danube. Designing a similar app is possible with sufficient resources, but the plan of the partnership was to provide it as a base which can incorporate new cities later – filling in a walkability assessment template with the required information and providing a customized survey that suits the specific city’s circumstances would be enough.