Automobiles have changed humans' lifestyles. Motorization and suburbanization have changed human behavior to one that is reliant on automobiles. Consequently, most of us are diagnosed as sedentary: short of exercise. It is also increasingly clear that the shortage of exercise is not good for human health. It is recommended that everyone should practice light exercise habitually, such as walking. It is easily imagined that urban planning to encourage walking can improve the situation. It is also clear that past urban planning has not considered this topic. If we focus on conventional planning for residential areas, housing with sufficient space has priority. To improve urban planning for residential areas considering quality of life, we must know the relationship between the urban form and residents' walking behavior. First, this study aims to develop a new method to measure the walking volume of each activity and trip using an original survey. Second, the walking volume of each resident is estimated by residential zone type. National Person Trip Survey (NPTS) data are applied to obtain general results through Japan. Third, several ideas concerning urban improvement are suggested to shift walking from driving. Results show that public transportation users tend to walk more than automobile users. It is clarified that residents who live in the center of metropolitan areas used to walk more than 3,000 steps per day for various trips. On the other hand, those who live in distant suburbs of cities typically walk less than 1,000 steps for various trips. These results show that reform for a compact urban layout must present effective methods to encourage healthy walking. JEL classification: R20, R40